WW2 Fallen 100: WW2 Fallen - B-24 ball turret gunner Shirley Jones and baseball legend Ted Williams

Thursday, August 30, 2018

WW2 Fallen - B-24 ball turret gunner Shirley Jones and baseball legend Ted Williams

Sgt. Shirley Jones served in the 44th Bombardment Group.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/76561592/shirley-a-jones
http://www.626-squadron.co.uk/willem21.htm

Shirley Alexander Jones never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.

He was born on August 30, 1918 in Utah. His parents Leroy and Laura were also both born in Utah. His father worked as a high school teacher first in Fillmore and later in Salt Lake City. Shirley had two older sisters, one older brother and two younger sisters. By 1940 Shirley had moved to Jacksonville, Florida where he worked as a delivery clerk and lived with a couple who took in lodgers.

Shirley married Bessie Sweat on August 9, 1942.

He was drafted into the army on January 23, 1943. He then volunteered to serve in the Army Air Forces and became a sergeant and ball turret gunner in the 506th Bombardment Squadron, 44th Bombardment Group which was equipped with B-24 Liberators. The 44th BG was originally stationed in England as part of the 8th Air Force. It was transferred to the Mediterranean Theater in the summer of 1943 to be part of the 15th Air Force. One of its bombing mission was the costly August 1, 1943 Ploesti mission. It was back in England by the end of the year.

On August 8, 1944, Sgt. Jones' plane, with the name Flying Log, took off but encounter mechanical problems. The plane crashed a couple of miles away from the base. All of the crew perished.

His grave is at Clearwater Municipal Cemetery in Clearwater, Florida. His widow remarried and died in 2002. Had he lived he would have noticed the singer and actress Shirley Jones would make his name famous. She starred in movies like Oklahoma and TV shows like The Partridge Family.

Thank you Sgt. Jones for your sacrifice. Let's Earn It for Shirley.

TED WILLIAMS

Born on the same day as Shirley Jones was the legendary Boston Red Socks slugger Ted Williams. Born in California, he joined the Boston Red Socks for the 1939 season. In 1941 he became the last Major League player to bat over 0.400.

Ted Williams joining the Military in 1942.
https://www.si.com/mlb/2016/08/30/mike-trout-angels-stats

Williams joined the Naval Reserve in May 1942. The next year we was trained as a Marine fighter pilot. He learned to fly the F4U Corsair. He served as a flight instructor and had orders to go to the Pacific when the war ended. He would fly combat missions seven years later when his baseball career was interrupted a second time for service in the Korean War.

Ted Williams is consider one of the best hitters in baseball history and is often included on the top ten list of all time greatest players. He died in 2002.

Last year on this date I profiled Faythe McGinnis, a pilot from the all black Tuskegee airmen. You can read about Faythe here.

On behalf of the fallen, if you would like to see more people become aware of this project to honor the WW2 fallen, be sure to share with others on Twitter, Facebook, etc. Thanks for your interest!

I created this video to explain why I started this project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXt8QA481lY.

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