William Jones was one of the last Buffalo Soldiers, a U.S. Army Master Sergeant, Prisoner of War (POW) in Korea, and founder of the 9th & 10th Horse Cavalry Buffalo Soldiers Museum in Tacoma, Kansas.
Image Credit: HistoryLink.org
William Jones was born on July 15, 1918, to farmers Joseph Jones and Elizabeth Betty Jones Mabrey in Tamo, Arkansas, just 18 miles southeast of Pine Bluff. He was the youngest of seven children. His family relocated to Oklahoma, then settled in Coffeyville, Kansas where Jones attended the segregated “colored” school until he graduated high school.
On March 5, 1941, 22-year-old Jones enlisted in the U.S. Army at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Since the Army was still segregated, African-Americans could only serve in the 9th and 10th Cavalry, whose members were nicknamed Buffalo Soldiers. The Buffalo Soldiers were a segregated, African-American-only peacetime cavalry regiment created by Congress on July 28, 1866. During the westward expansion, these units fought against Native Americans in the Indian Wars. Their bravery and military prowess on the battlefield, as well as their dark curly hair, inspired Native Americans to call them Buffalo Soldiers.
Buffalo Soldiers also assisted in building infrastructure in the west as they constructed forts, telegraph lines, and roads. They protected settlers, travelers, the mail, wagon trains, and cattle. They participated in the development and protection of national parks. They were also deployed overseas during U.S. conflicts, fought forest fires, defended railroads, bridges, and the U.S. border, and filled in wherever needed. They did all this even in the face of rampant discrimination.
The Buffalo Soldier units were extremely selective in who they accepted because they had a reputation of being the best-trained in the Army. More than a year after applying, Jones was among the 1,500 men accepted into the 10th Cavalry Unit and stationed at Fort Riley, Kansas.
In 1943, during World War II, the 9th and 10th Cavalry was absorbed by the still segregated Army Air Corps where Jones became a member of the 15th Army Air Force. In March 1944, he was stationed in Casablanca, Morocco, and later in Naples, Italy, building airstrips for B-17 bombers. When Germany surrendered on May 8, 1945, his unit was deployed to the Philippines to build more airstrips to fly deep airstrikes into Japan. Before his unit became fully operational, atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan ending World War II. When Japan surrendered in August 1945, Jones was sent back to the United States.
Jones was stationed at Fort Benning, Georgia when he met his wife, Hannah Griffin, who served in the Women's Army Corps. When he was transferred to Fort Riley in Kansas and Fort Lewis in Washington, Griffin left the service to follow him. In December 1945, Jones was assigned to Fort Lawton, Washington. In 1946, his segregated unit was designated the 503rd Field Artillery with the 2nd Infantry Division. In 1949, Jones and Griffin got married in Tacoma, Kansas. Their son, Willie, was born in October. On August 3, 1950, Jones was deployed to Pusan, Korea while his wife was pregnant with their daughter Jackie.
Three months later, as his unit moved toward the Yalu River they ran out of munitions. Jones’ commander split them into smaller groups as they crossed enemy lines under the cover of night to meet up with the retreating army forces. Though he started in a three-man group, one soldier was killed and the other froze to death. Jones continued for two and a half days alone, struggling through the dark in unfamiliar territory. On December 1, 1950, he was captured by Chinese forces. He was held in the Pyok-Dong Prisoner-of-War camp, which was separated into compounds by rank and race. In Jones's compound, the men had no beds or blankets and were infested with lice and worms. Each man had one outfit per year. Eventually, the Red Cross was allowed access to the camp and supplied the prisoners with rice and thin blankets.
At Pyok-Dong, roughly 40 percent of the prisoners died, at least eight out of ten captives per night. Despite these odds, Jones remained optimistic, crediting his religious upbringing. Nicknamed “Preacher” by his fellow prisoners, Jones passed his time trying to "pep up" his companions by reading passages from an old Bible they were allowed to keep. Eventually, he was allowed to write letters to his wife Hannah, with the first one reaching her on July 9, 1951.
In 1953, the United Nations forces and North Korea reached a cease-fire agreement. In September 1953, Jones was released. He had lost 60 pounds. Seventeen days later, he boarded a ship, finally returning to Tacoma in October 1953. Upon his return, Jones met his two-year-old daughter Jackie for the first time. He again saw his 3-year-old son Willie, who had been just an infant when he was deployed. Jones and his wife later had two more daughters, Marilee and Gwendolyn.
On July 26, 1948, President Harry S. Truman signed Executive Order 9981, banning segregation in the U.S. Armed Forces, but the Buffalo Soldier units remained largely segregated. In 1953, Jones' unit integrated into the broader military. In 1954, he was incorporated into the 546th Field Artillery Battalion at Fort Lewis, Washington. During his time in the service, Jones held many jobs. Along with building runways, he drove trucks, fixed artillery in the field, organized warehouses, and was a proficient marksman and sharpshooter. In 1961, Jones retired after 20 years of service as a Master Sergeant. On May 1, 1961, his retirement was marked by a parade at Fort Bliss, Texas.
After retiring, Jones started a thriving recycling and vintage antique business in the hilltop area of Tacoma. In 2000, Jones began displaying memorabilia from his service years. In 2005, he opened the 9th & 10th Horse Cavalry Buffalo Soldiers Museum next door to Jones Glass.
On December 3, 2009, Jones died. After his death, his daughter Jackie Jones-Hook became the executive director of the 9th and 10th Horse Cavalry Buffalo Soldiers Museum. In 2012, the museum reopened, focusing on the often-overlooked period of American history from 1866 to 1944. The museum offers an extensive collection of military artifacts, books, articles, and DVDs from Jones’ military service to educate the public. It is one of only two museums in the country dedicated specifically to Buffalo Soldiers.
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Written by: Ninfa O. Barnard
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