HomeMy WebLinkAbout Remus Jones, Brazos Valley HeroesGeneration" who served our country during world war 11
When Remus Jones graduated from high
school in Corsicana, the Great Depression was in full
bloom and no lobs were available. The only work he
could get was with the Texas National Guard, so he
enlisted. With the war in Europe heating up, the
Texas National Guard was mobilized on Nov. 25,
1940 as the 36th Division, at Camp Bowie, during the
biggest ice storm in Texas history.
"I was a buck sergeant when we were called up.
When I heard they had an opening for officer candi-
date school, I volunteered and was sent to Fort Sill
for training as an artillery officer. I graduated and
received my commission as a second lieutenant and
was sent back to the 36th."
The 36th received replacements from every
state but remained a division comprised primarily of
Texas boys and became known as the Texas Division.
They wore a T patch as their insignia and they
became known as the "T Patchers."
The 36th trained in Louisiana and
Massachusetts, where it "invaded" Martha's
Vineyard during an amphibious landing. The division
was sent to North Africa, landing there in September
1943. It was at Arzew and Rabat that the division pre-
pared for America's first invasion of the European
continent at Salerno, Italy.
"We had been training for a long time and the
guys were eager to get into action. But no amount of
training truly prepares you for combat. We were
headed into the beach on LSTs when German artillery
hit and sank the LSTs on either side of ours. That got
your attention."
Invading Martha's Vineyard was a lot easier
than Salerno. The 36th was barely ashore when the
Germans counterattacked with tanks. It quickly
turned into a bloody man -to -tank battle. When
Jones' artillery was set up, the 105s were able to fire
almost point blank into the tank formations until the
Germans retreated. The 36th held Salerno and won
its first Presidential Citation; four of its men received
the Medal of Honor for personal heroism.
"By the time we hit Italy, I was a first lieutenant
and was especially glad that I was, because as a sec-
ond lieutenant, your job usually was as a forward
observer. That put you on the front line where you
were best able to provide fire coordinates for our
guns. The problem for an artillery forward observer
is, you never left the line. If the unit you were with
was replaced by another, you stayed with the new
unit and in the line. It was a dangerous lifestyle."
The division fought from Salerno to Anzio to
Cassino to the Rapido River to Rome and all the way
up the Italian Peninsula.
"Wherever we went, we had to root the
Germans out. They made a war out of it. But wher-
ever we went, we were welcomed with open arms by
the civilian population. They appreciated us being
there. As an artillery unit, we were usually out in the
countryside away from town, which was good when
you had to worry about keeping your men from
becoming too friendly with the local ladles and they
with the men."
When the war ended, Jones and the Texas
Division were in Austria. They had fought and defeat-
ed the Germans in Italy, France, Germany and
Austria. They had spent more than 400 days in com-
bat, fought in five campaigns, conducted two major
amphibious operations and suffered more than
27,000 casualties —the third highest in the European
Theatre. But they had also captured over 175,000
enemy soldiers, had 14 Medal of Honor recipients
and six Presidential Citations as a unit. The Texas
Division was ready to go home. To Texas.
After the war, Jones remained in the Army and
retired in 1962. He returned to Texas to work at the
Texas Employment Commission until his second
retirement. He and his wife moved to College Station
in 2000 to be near their children, who came to A &M
and 'refused to leave."
"It Is great to be an American. All you have to
do to appreciate America is go live somewhere else
for a while."
Remus Jones' name can be found on the
Brazos Valley Veterans Memorial. For more informa-
tion, to make a contribution, or If you know a World
War II veteran whose story needs to be told, contact
the BWM at www.veterans-memortatorg, or Bill
Youngkin at 979- 260 -7030.