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| Sgt. Jack Ball served with Darby's Rangers (shown in the photo above) in North Africa. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/173661346/john-jesse-ball https://www.eucmh.be/2018/02/24/1st-ranger-battalion-djebel-el-ank-operation-torch-1942/ |
John "Jack" Jesse Ball never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
He was born on June 20, 1919 in Council Bluffs, Iowa. His parents John and Eleanora were also both born in Iowa. His father worked as a mail carrier. Jack had two older sisters and one older brother. By 1940 Jack had completed four years of high school and found work as a meter reader.
He volunteered for the army in September 1940 and volunteered again for the new Ranger unit patterned after the British Commandos. Of the original 1,500 volunteers, only 600 were picked, and after extensive training, only 500 remained. John became a sergeant in Company C, 1st Ranger Battalion (Darby's Rangers). The Rangers were one of the first units to land in Algeria in November 1942. In Tunisia, it regularly conducted missions behind enemy lines.
In took an important role in the Battle of El Guettar, beginning when it was the first unit to capture the town on March 18, 1943. The Americans engaged the Germans there through April 3. Sgt. Ball was killed on March 25, 1943 when the Rangers were positioned in the main line of resistance and were attacked by 60 enemy tanks supported by an infantry battalion.
His grave is at Valhalla Memorial Park in North Hollywood, California.
Last year on this date I profiled B-24 pilot Leroy Madson. You can read about Leroy 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.
Please consider joining the public Facebook group to increase the exposure of this project. Go to: WW2 Fallen 100
Thank you Sgt. Ball for your sacrifice.Sakit.info
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