Jones, Marvin
MM2 MARVIN DALE JONES 19 October 1952
I, Marvin Dale Jones, was born 4 October 1931, at Rural Linwood, Kansas. My eyes are blue and I have brown hair.
I graduated from Linwood Rural
In 1952, I enlisted in the Navy. I went to boot camp at NTC San Diego, then reported for duty on board USS FRANK E. EVANS (DD 754) 19 October 1952, at Yokosuka, Japan. Shortly thereafter, she departed for home in Long Beach. I was assigned to the engineering division where I worked in the forward engine room. I was promoted to Machinist Mate second class, and eventually was made “top watch.”
My most memorable experience was the time FRANK E. EVANS was ordered out to assist a merchant ship foundering in a typhoon in the South China Sea. We struggled out into the storm for a day and a half. It was a real experience being on the throttle, trying to keep up with all the orders from the bridge. We had to brace ourselves to stay upright. The twin screws would come out of the water and rev up, then the fantail would slam down and shake the whole ship. Part of the time, FRANK E. EVANS would slide sideways and tip back and forth until she righted herself. Trying to stay in your bunk was a real struggle too. We’d brace ourselves by hooking our arms and legs around something and just hang on. Nobody was hungry as all the pitching and rolling made us queasy. And to top it all off, just when we were getting close to the ship in trouble, we got a message that another ship had gotten there first. We were ordered to turn around and go back through the typhoon in the other direction!
Our oldest daughter was born in 1954 while I was overseas in Korea. I received notice of her birth through the Red Cross. In February 1955, I drove home from Long Beach to Kansas. Bud Hacker rode with me and then caught a plane on to St. Louis, Missouri, his home.
After the Navy, and thanks to the GI Bill, I finished college at Kansas State University with a BS degree in Animal Science. For several years I was a purebred beef cattle herdsman. Later, I worked for Farmland Industries, retiring in 1995.
I was married in 1953. We have 3 children, 11 grandchildren, and 6
