Bill Jones, Army Reserve/Air National Guard veteran
The planes arriving directly from Vietnam to Travis Air Force Base in California were filled with wounded soldiers, some gravely.
Montana Air National Guard Sgt. Bill Jones was there with his team to help transport them to the base hospital for medical treatment. For those with life-ending injuries, the triage area was no longer an option.
In a short story he wrote nearly 50 years later about his experience during those days on the tarmac, he said: “The wounded heroes we carried off the plane on stretchers had serious wounds and fear had been replaced by a special brand of courage. Some were silent with private thoughts. Others wanted to tell how they were wounded. I listened with respect.”
He recalled one soldier from Kansas with a massive chest wound, who clutched a pocket-sized Bible in his hands.
“He showed me a picture of his high school sweetheart and invited me to the wedding he would never attend,” Jones said.
Another wounded soldier, who hailed from the Crow Reservation in Montana, was holding a pouch he said was filled with spirits, and told how Jones how proud he was to fight for America. The young man had been patrolling a jungle road when a Viet Cong enemy sniper sent a bullet to his midsection.
“All this soldier wanted to do was to thank the Army medic who risked his own life to carry him to safety,” Jones said. “He wasn’t even thinking about his injury, just that he wanted to thank the one who had saved him on that jungle road.”
Another soldier whose courage stuck with Jones was “a farm boy from Iowa” who was not deterred when told by the doctor he would have to lose a leg. Upon hearing the news, the soldier responded, “Thank you, doc. I guess that’s why God gave me two legs.”
In Jones’ story “Wounded Heroes,” he writes, “You know, those things stick with you. I was seeing firsthand the tragedies of war, and having been raised on a small farm, I considered myself to be a tough wrangler, but I was wrong. It was devastating to carry wounded soldiers who just hours ago were fighting in a strange country. I tried to control my composure, but my tears flooded when they smiled and said, ‘thank you.’ Their words cut to my heart. I should have been the one to say ‘thank you.’”
Jones, 82, served six years in the military, first in the Army Reserve then in the Air National Guard, serving one weekend each month plus annually two weeks of active duty. His main job was clerical, but he was also cross-trained in the X-ray department. Along the way, he married, attended the University of Montana, worked in the food industry in San Francisco and was a hospital administrator before moving back to Billings, where he worked as the administrator for a law firm until his retirement in 2005.
With poker skills passed down to him from his father, Jones also competed in two World Series of Poker main events (2003, 2004) in Las Vegas and played on the World Poker Tour for a few more years.
“I actually paid a lot of my way through college by playing poker at several bars in Missoula,” Jones said. “I’ve written all about that in the first story I wrote, called ‘Texas Hold ’em Montana Style.’”
The stories. His time in the military, his poker experiences and his observations about life in general are all recorded in the short stories he started writing after he retired. In fact, Jones credits his time serving for the confidence he had in his ability to do things that may seem difficult, including looking at a blank page and trying to write that first sentence of every story. He is currently working on combining several of his short stories into a book.
Recounting his years serving, Jones said he “witnessed courage that changed my life. I returned to civilian life with a better understanding of the narrow gap between freedom and sacrifice. Every day I carry a vivid picture of those soldiers, but one nameless soldier has forever taken up residency in my mind.”
Jones said this particular soldier, a graduate of a college ROTC program, had stepped on a land mine and had returned home without legs to a future filled with endless surgeries.
“I often wonder if he knows his sacrifice was not in vain. I have never forgotten his sacrifice and would someday like to tell him, ‘thank you.’”
Jones encourages anyone interested in the military to join, even if it’s for just a few years.
“I think all branches of the military are fantastic,” Jones said. “I think two of the most important life lessons you learn by serving are respect for authority and the confidence you gain in your ability to perform anything you want to do. I’ve run across a lot of people who have been in the military and there is an instant camaraderie that exists between us and it doesn’t matter the age gap.” Jones remains humble to this day, admitting his military experience was not like most and because he wasn't on a battlefield, others deserve more attention.
He closes his "Wounded Heroes" story with reference to a Purple Heart, which is awarded to soldiers wounded or killed in battle. “I (Purple Heart) prefer to remain invisible, but when called upon I’m proud to be pinned to the uniforms of heroes as a reminder of the sacrifices made by these brave American heroes.”
To learn more about the "Stories of Honor" series, please visit states.aarp.org/montana/storiesofhonor. AARP is the sponsor of the Stories of Honor series, which features profiles of veterans across Montana.
