Dan Jones makes it home
The New York Times tells the story of Dan Jones, the sole survivor of a 1968 Marine CH-46 helicopter crash, when the craft was accidentally shot out of the sky as it passed an artillery battery that was firing support for Marines in contact in Vietnam. 1LT Jones was rescued by a corpsman, Lloyd E. Colvin, who was awarded a Bronze Star for racing through a minefield to save Jones.
The other three members of the crew had died, and the pentagon decided that they didn’t deserve the Purple Heart Medals. 1LT Jones disagreed and spent the next 47 proving his point.
Last year, the Marine Corps reversed previous decisions and approved Purple Hearts for all the Marines who had been aboard the aircraft. A spokesman said the family of the one Marine who had not yet been formally recognized, a door gunner who was ejected from the crippled helicopter and fell to his death, would receive the medal as soon as his surviving family members set a date.
[…]
The turn of fortune came last year after George Ross, another fellow pilot from the squadron, submitted a bundle of documents to the Marine Corps.
Mr. Jones had not been optimistic as the records were assembled. “I’m afraid they’ll never get the award,” he wrote in an email from the time. “I’ve been hauling around these letters and such for forty-some years. Perhaps I’ll leave them to my grandson.”
Several months later, Mr. Ross called him to say the Purple Hearts were approved for the entire crew. As Mr. Jones described the conversation, his eyes welled with tears.
“My reaction to that call was pretty much the same as it is now,” he said. “I cried. I was at a loss for words.”
“They were my buddies,” he added. “I felt their deaths needed to be honored, and as the surviving crew member it was my responsibility to make sure that occurred.”
Here’s a link to the 76 pages of documentation that Dan Jones assembled to get his friends a medal that they’d never get to wear. A medal that some people never think twice about pinning it to their own bony chests even though they didn’t earn it. Welcome home, 1LT Jones.
Category: Marine Corps
outstanding
One honest and tenacious man made a difference. I have no doubt whatsoever that if the issue of the Purple Heart had pertained only to him, he would have said nothing and done nothing. But it was about that crew–his crew–and they were not to be forgotten or overlooked so long as he was breathing. And he prevailed.
Concur. He was doing it for them, not for himself. There are some bonds that can never be broken.
A fellow employee at Walmart received the Purple Heart for being shot in the knee while in Afghanistan and got the million dollar wound for a Grunt.
He was cycled out and is now a full blown civilian. The modesty he shows about receiving that medal reminds me to continue the fight against Stolen Valor.
What a great kid, a great kid and a great soldier, CIB Purple Heart and a couple of others I am struggling to find out about…
To think that so many claim the PH and other awards that clearly don’t deserve it and then read this article makes me sick to my stomach.
I could not imagine the heartache that 1Lt felt when he was continually turned down for this.
Of all the chickenshit things to do to men that gave their all is indicative of the mindset of the upper echelons during Vietnam that us grunts weren’t worth shit…
Thank God cooler heads have prevailed…
Good Job Lieutenant, Salute.
Is it dusty in here???
Damn allergies…
Talk about dusty… go to the link for the supporting documents and read his first person recollection of events.
Nobody will give John Fuckin’ Kerry’s dubious awards a second glance, but for these fallen Marines it took 47 years of campaigning, lobbying, and being a pain in the ass to get Purple Hearts awarded? WTF?
Until 1993 the Purple Heart wasn’t explicitly authorized for friendly-fire casualties, Other Whitey. That year PL 103-160 specifically stated that those wounded by friendly fire were eligible. Prior to that date, friendly-fire casualties often were held to be ineligible, as their injuries were held not to be due to enemy action.
Not sure why it took another 20+ years, but that explains why the PH wasn’t awarded at the time. It does appear that the USMC moved fairly quickly once the application was submitted, however – the NYT article seems to indicate the request for reconsideration began in 2013.
Well done, my elder brother-in-arms.
I’d be tempted to assert that this was not “friendly fire” as it is usually encountered, as the gun line was targeting a real enemy position with marking rounds at the time. It is not the case that the helicopter was being mistakenly targeted…they just flew into a hostile fire trajectory.
Yeh, but it was easy for horse face to get his bronze star and 3 purple hearts…being a shithead basic type officer, he just put himself in for the medals! easy peasy! Funny, never went to an infirmary?
First well done 1LT Jones Sir. Then and for these many years to honor your brothers.
Second, this is what bothers me most about phonies stealing the valor of a Purple Heart. Because they are alive to do it, they only equate the PH to wounds. Wounds are awful, terrible experiences with often lifetime altering consequences. But it is the award to those who gave their lives as well. This is what they don’t think about for care about when they buy it and wear it. A young troop, in country for two weeks, on his first or second patrol is killed. He is sent home in a casket with a flag and a Purple Heart. One medal, as the nation’s recognition to family and friends that he gave his life, his all.
I agree 1000% Sparks, well said. The heroes you speak of are not able to raise their voices when their valor is stolen. The thiefs that get caught rarely if ever apologize to the fallen.
1LT Jones and crew, thank you. After reading the full report I find it incredible that it took so long for our nation to recognize and honor you and your crew.
Makes me wonder if the crew of Knife-13 will ever receive their recognition too. I think any time one is KIA/LOD for any reason, we need to honor them.
Knife-13
http://www.usafpolice.org/mayaguez-rescue-operation.html
Many thanks Lt Jones. BRAVO ZULU on your fine work. MAy we be worthy of your, and your crew’s sacrifice.
Outstanding work Sir! Welcome Home, God Bless!
This is why, for those who question “what does it matter”, or “who does it hurt”…