A letter to a grandson

** Hayden is a fun little boy, sometimes naughty, but overall he is a good boy. When he is curious about something, he is very curious and he asks lots of questions. Dare I say he obsesses a bit. For any of you who KNOW me, you understand that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. One day we were driving in the car, and it came up that my Dad was a marine. My Dad's "coolness" factor jumped threw the roof with Hayden. We immediately called my Dad and Hayden talked and talked and talked...about being a Marine, war, weapons, the fact that MY Grandfather was in WW2 was almost too much to handle. I'm not sure why I don't have a picture of my Dad in uniform yet...Dad?? You got all of these other shots together, what's one more :) Hayden is working on a school project/poster and had some questions for my Dad. My Dad didn't just respond to his questions, he went above and beyond. Did you know, for every birthday, for EVERYONE in our family, my Dad writes us a birthday letter. Someday, we should have them all published. **

Okay Hayden, here is a little history:

Hayden's great grandfather, Maurice G. Jones was in the Navy in World War II. He was a aircraft mechanic on board the U.S.S. Saratoga in the Pacific Ocean. He was in a lot of famous naval battles in the Pacific Ocean. This picture was taken in 1944 (he was 20 years old and had been away at war for about 2 years) before he met his future wife and two years before Hayden's grandpa Micheal was born.

In this picture, Maurice was a Second Class Petty Officer (Aircraft Machinist Mate). He ended the war as a First Class Petty Officer and was recalled to active duty in 1951 for the Korean War. I remember when he came home.

The picture of Eunice and Maurice Jones (Hayden's great grandparents) was taken in about 1990.

Maurice's parents were Ronald M. Jones (picture from about 1971)

and Edna Gerrard (her engagement picture from about 1922).

Ronald Jones' parents were Charlotte Judd (picture from sometime in the early 1960's)

and Thomas A. Jones (he died in about 1936 and this picture was taken shortly before he died).

The last picture is of Orville R. Atkin and Nina Atkin (Hayden's other great grandparents) and Wayne Goodman (Nina's brother who just returned from World War II fighting in Italy). The picture was taken in Oakland, California in 1945 about two months before Hayden's grandma (Marleen) was born.I knew all of these people except Thomas A. Jones.

I love you.

Grandpa Michael D. Jones