Jones, Martin

Martin Jones – Marty – was born May 30, 1925 in Lamont, Alberta.  He grew up in a large family against the backdrop of the Great Depression, leaving school after Grade 10 to join the military – “we had business to attend to”, as Marty remembers. He was training with the Battleford Light Infantry in Dundurn, Saskatchewan when he was remustered to the RCNVR and assigned to HMCS Prince Henry, the same ship where his older brother was serving.  They left Esquimalt, B.C. en route to the Atlantic, encountering U-boats as they left the Panama Canal.  Marty was part of a 20 mm antiaircraft gun crew, so it was his job to keep on the lookout for and engage U-boats and enemy aircraft.  They made the Atlantic crossing successfully in 1943 and spent much of the next year in the Mediterranean doing operations in and around Italy and Greece.  They were sent to northwestern Europe to take part in D-day operations after that:  HMCS Prince Henry was in the Channel off Juno Beach, and troops were lowered on LCAs to make their way to the beach for the assault.  Marty remembers it as a chaotic day – one where he was unable to help men stranded in the waters below.  The Prince Henry made multiple trips across the Channel that day, returning the wounded to England and bringing additional troops and supplies to Normandy.  They returned to the Mediterranean for the final months of the war, and then to England as hostilities ceased.  Marty and the rest of the crew made their way back to Canada in short order, where they were greeted like heroes as they made their way back into civilian life.  Marty Jones was interviewed by Zach Dunn of Global Veterans’ Stories, and we thank Zach for sharing this video with us so that Crestwood students can hear another story from a Canadian veteran!