Jones, Robert “Bud”

Robert “Bud” Jones was born in the St-Henri District of Montreal, and educated in the school districts of St. Henri, Montreal and Verdun , Quebec. Bud Jones is a decorated career soldier of 30 yrs, and a veteran of WWII who also served in Korea. He grew up in Depression-era Montreal, where Bud remembers his family going on relief, while he went to school.  When he decided that school wasn’t for him, Bud went to work, and when the war came, he enlisted alongside his friends.  Bud recalls that being an African-Canadian was not too much of an obstacle for him; he remembered that his diminutive stature – he is 5’1″ – was the more significant issue.  He went to Petawawa for basic training, where Bud was at first put in the armoured corps, though he was later reassigned to the infantry.  Sent overseas at the midpoint of the war, Bud was stationed in England for a time, before his regiment was deployed across the Channel after the initial D-Day invasion.  As Bud was on leave at the time they made the crossing, he rejoined his men in France, where they quickly learned the realities of battle as they pushed in through Normandy.  Bud served all the way through to Germany, liberating villages and towns in France, Belgium and the Netherlands; he was not physically wounded, but at the conclusion of the war, the army put him in S category, meaning there were concerns about his stability after witnessing the horrors of war.  Bud‘s doctor suggested boxing and physical training, and the combination worked so well that Bud excelled and became a champion, and a member of the Canadian Boxing Hall of Fame.  He also went on to become a career officer, which included overseas duty during the Korean War.   Bud is a man of many talents, and one who has proved through his life what a proud Canadian man of colour can accomplish.

Bud was interviewed for this project in December 2018 at his home in Brockville, Ontario, by Scott Masters and Eric Brunt.