Theodore Thomas Jones Jr. was born on June 27th, 1918 in Hennepin County, Minneapolis, Minnesota. His father was Theodore Thomas Jones Sr. (also known as T.T., b. 1880; d. 1950), and his mother was Marion Thwing Jones (b. 1886; d. 1955). Theodore Jr also had two younger brothers. One by the name of Frank Jones (b. 1919; d. 2010) and the other simply known as Baby Boy Jones who passed as an infant in 1914.

Theodore and his brother Frank were both determined students, remaining in school through their early twenties until they volunteered to serve in the armed forces. Frank would also serve in the ETO in the US Army Signal Corps. Theodore, known by friends and family as Ted, attended West High School in Minneapolis, graduating in 1936. Around this time he participated in competitive sport and trapshooting as a hobby. He later attended and graduated from the University of Minnesota in March 1941, at age 22. He was a member of the Psi-Upsilon fraternity there. It has been written by members of Theodore's family that he might have been known to enjoy a party on occasion! He was just under 6 feet tall and 150 lbs with brown hair and eyes.

1941 would mark a sharp contrast in Theodore’s life soon after graduating. With Nazi Germany already at war with most of Europe (and Canada), it was clear the United States would become involved sooner rather than later. Whether he knew his service would lead toward an airborne combat drop two years later, or he just expected one year of service, Theodore enlisted in the US Army Corps of Engineers on September 24th, 1941 at 23 years old.

It’s important to note that he enlisted in the Army prior to the US entering the Second World War, when it was known as the “Regular Army,” and there were finite terms on his service period. He enlisted at Fort Snelling, Minnesota, not far from his home town of Minneapolis. Just 3 months later however his enlistment terms would change indefinitely, as the country was attacked at Pearl Harbor and thrust into the war.

Meanwhile, Theodore had met a woman in college at University of Minnesota, named Marian Lindvall Comb, of Minneapolis, MN. Marian’s father was actually a Lt. Colonel in the US Army, and served in both world wars, leading battalions overseas in the Pacific and commanding replacement depos. He also played a role in the development of the US Army’s first howitzer regiment at Ft. Bragg, where Theodore would later train as a paratrooper.

Marian Lindvall, in her later life, came into contact with Theodore’s nephew, and spoke about her memories of him. According to Theodore’s nephew, Chip Jones (of Edina, MN), Marian was quoted speaking of Theodore: “He was a fine fellow, intelligent, a lot of integrity, a great sense of humor.” She also said, “He was a special person. A gentleman.” Chip writes of his uncle - “They were engaged at the end of 1942, but waited to get married ‘simply because of the riskiness of the situation,’” to use Marian’s words (source).

So, Theodore received his officer’s commission at Fort Belvoir, Virginia in early 1942, as a 2nd Lieutenant, and volunteered for the paratroops in the fall of 1942, taking his experience with the Army Corps of Engineers to the wartime army, and joining a new specialized unit. He was assigned to Company C of 326th Airborne Engineer Battalion, 101st Airborne Division, which had been around since the First World War, but were being newly outfitted as an airborne combat engineer unit, initially raised at Camp Claiborne, Louisiana.

In the latter half of 1942 the battalion moved to Fort Benning, Georgia then north to Bragg, North Carolina where they participated in a grueling physical and technical training curriculum. Theodore was at Fort Benning in fall of 1942, when he went on leave and visited his parents, possibly the last time he was home before shipping out to Europe.

They partook in large scale training maneuvers across the southeastern US for the next year, before heading to New York and eventually England. Theodore and the 326th sailed with other major elements of the 101st Airborne on HMS Samaria across the Atlantic, arriving in Liverpool, England in October 1943. There they were moved by train to Basildon Park near Reading, in Berkshire, where they trained further in unit maneuvers and field problems. Theodore was eventually promoted to first lieutenant before DDay.

A local Minnesota newspaper noted in February 1944 that Theodore and his brother Frank had a cheerful weekend reunion in London together before going back to their separate bases in England. This was also possibly their last time together prior to DDay.

On June 5th, 1944, Lt. Jones and his company were gearing up to be transported across the channel and spearhead the Allied invasion of France. Company C of the 326th Airborne Engineer Battalion were moved by bus from Basildon Park to their marshaling areas, and departed England from two different RAF Airfields - Platoons 1 and 3 of the company left from RAF Exeter, home of the 440th Troop Carrier Group (TCG). The HQ and 2nd Platoon of Company C took off from RAF Merryfield, home of the 441st TCG. Both airfields are in the southeastern parts of the UK, between Weymouth and Exmouth.

We believe Lt. Jones was in either 1st or 3rd Platoon of Company C due to the fact that he was in the vicinity of Vierville and Carentan on DDay (more on that below), which was a location involved in the objectives for 1st and 3rd Platoons after landing. With that knowledge it can be determined that Lt. Jones took off from RAF Exeter with the 440th TCG on June 5th. They were part of Serial 16 in Mission Albany that morning, a serial of 45 C-47s (most airborne serials during the war were flown in increments of 36 or 45 aircraft).

For Operation Bigot-Neptune (this portion of the Allied invasion) Lt. Jones’ section (1st & 3rd Platoons) would be attached to 3rd Battalion/506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, with the objectives of destroying a series of bridges, destroying German communication lines wherever possible, breaching the dikes outside of Carentan, and controlling the locks at La Barquette, just to name a few (see direct orders for 326th Airborne Engineer Btn objectives in Normandy here).

Lt. Jones and his platoon were headed for Drop Zone “D” which is just north of Carentan and slightly northeast of St Come-du-Mont, south of Vierville, and just north of La Barquette Locks. See photos for map of airborne landing zones and DZ “D.”

Riding in his Dakota C-47 with a stick of roughly 14-17 other paratroopers and 5 aircrew, 1st Lt. Jones made his first combat jump into Normandy, France with other members of Company C, 326th Airborne Engineers at around 140am on June 6th, 1944. They landed in the fields and hedgerows outside the towns of Carentan and St. Come-du-Mont, some of which were intentionally flooded by the Germans. The engineers wore a bold white letter “E” on their helmets to signify the battalion. As airborne engineers, they jumped into combat with specialized loads of gear as well. They were required to remove mines, obstacles, barbed wire, and emplacements, while also relied on for road and bridge building. On top of this they needed to set up defensive emplacements when the battle plan called for it. And, when called upon, the engineers would fight alongside the infantry as riflemen and heavy weapons platoons.

One report states that Lt. Jones was fighting with his platoon north of Carentan outside of Vierville on DDay, D+1, and D+2. It notes that he was last seen on June 8th, actually, having survived the fighting for two nights before he was killed in an explosion outside of Vierville. Lt Jones’ nephew Chip writes:

“[Lt. Jones’ objectives after DDay] were to get to an already delivered ammunition truck and then take it to their destination in Carentan, France. These explosives would be used to destroy the bridge there and cut off the German supply routes to Utah beach. What happened en route – according to one of his platoon members – was that my Uncle Ted was in the ammunition truck when it was hit by German artillery. His remains were never found.”

Another source writes of an event that aligns with this story too:

“Theodore Thomas Jones…was a paratrooper and member of the Screaming Eagles who jumped into France in the early hours of D-Day. Subsequent correspondence from fellow soldiers indicated that he was last seen on June 8, 1944 at Division Headquarters in Hiesville, France and that he likely died in an explosion near Vierville, France. His body was never found, but his helmet was recovered near the area of the explosion.”

This is an important development in his story for many reasons - indicating the possible operations that he was killed in, and also what particular section of Company C/326th ABN Engineers he was part of. The writer of this story hopes to continue research on Lt Jones and fill in the blanks one day soon.

Lt. Jones’ fiance Mirian said in her later years: “I’ll always remember what sadness this all has been, and realize what a fine life Ted would have had, could have had. But it was taken from him.” She had a picture of him in her home until she passed just a few years ago. Ted was 25 years old at time of his death, fighting some of the most intense bocage and hedgerow terrain seen by Allied forces in France. He led multiple squads, if not an entire platoon of highly trained paratroopers by the time he was only 25, and gave his life fighting alongside them. He was officially listed as MIA, until listed as KIA in June of 1945 one year later.

He is memorialized at the American Cemetery and Memorial in Colleville-sur-Mer, Normandy, France, in the Walls of the Missing, and also at the US National DDay Memorial in Bedford, Virginia, on plaque W-106.

We Will Remember Him.

This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project (see www.storiesbehindthestars.org). This is a national effort of volunteers to write the stories of all 400,000+ of the US WWII fallen here on Fold3. Can you help write these stories? Related to this, there will be a smart phone app that will allow people to visit any war memorial or cemetery, scan the fallen's name and read his/her story.

Sources:

Chip Jones, Nephew of 1st Lt. Jones Jr - Edina, MN

http://www.oisterwijk-marketgarden.com/326_airborne_engineer_battalion-.html

https://www.ancestryinstitution.com/family-tree/person/tree/64073911/person/32115786767/facts?_phsrc=Qhm279&_phstart=successSource

https://www.newspapers.com/image/187900977/?terms=theodore%20jones&match=1

https://www.newspapers.com/image/182529280/?terms=theodore%20jones&match=1

https://www.ancestryinstitution.com/family-tree/person/tree/64073911/person/32115786767/story

https://www.newspapers.com/image/182800612/?terms=theodore%20thomas%20jones&match=1

http://ww2f.com/threads/326th-airborne-engineers-101st-airborne-in-normandy.72085/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/181861330/?terms=t.t.%20jones%2C%20jr.&match=1

http://www.6juin1944.com/assaut/aeropus/en_page.php?page=ann5_fo1_101

https://www.ancestryinstitution.com/mediaui-viewer/collection/1030/tree/64073911/person/32115786767/media/fb06dff9-fe78-40ee-8541-9d16e5c3196a?_phsrc=Qhm285&usePUBJs=true

https://www.fold3.com/record/84568777/theodore-t-jones-jr-wwii-army-enlistment-records

https://www.honorstates.org/index.php?id=67176

https://www.newspapers.com/image/187690191/?terms=t.t.%20jones%2C%20jr.&match=1

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https://www.ancestryinstitution.com/discoveryui-content/view/16381083:2238?tid=&pid=&queryId=7b8c5b7aff6f5ae0869fd31051ea765a&_phsrc=Qhm277&_phstart=successSource

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56646158/theodore-t-jones/photo

https://www.ancestryinstitution.com/discoveryui-content/view/97135442:2442

1st Lt. Theodore Jones Jr..jpeg

326th Insignia

Theodore T Jones, Jr