Duke Emerson Jones was born on June 11, 1896 in Whiterock, Texas. He attended public schools in Altus, Oklahoma, and enlisted in the U.S. Army on May 6, 1917. He became a part of Company L, 16th Infantry Regiment and was stationed in El Paso, Texas. In June 1917 he and his unit went overseas and saw significant action in Europe. Jones rose to the rank of sergeant while taking part in battles at Cantigny, Soissons, St. Mihiel, and Meuse Argonne. He returned to the U.S. in 1919, reenlisted into the Army's Medical Department, and returned to Europe for occupation duty at Coblentz, Germany where he served through 1924. Upon returning to the United States, Jones served briefly at Camp Custer (Michigan) and Fort Sheridan (Illinois) before being appointed a Sergeant Instructor with the Wisconsin National Guard. He married Elsie in 1926 and the two had three children: Duke, Jeanne, and Roberta.
Jones remained with the Wisconsin National Guard, gaining the rank of Captain, until being called into active duty in 1935 and began a whirlwind of transfers and promotions. He received assignment as Assistant Adjutant General for the 32nd Division in 1940 before being promoted to Major in February 1941. From there, Jones transferred to Special Troops, 32nd Division where he served as Commanding Officer. In October 1941 he was assigned as Assistant Headquarters Commandant and Provost Marshal with the 3rd Army and the Southern Defense Command. In August 1942 he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and transferred to Headquarters, 6th Army as Commanding Officer for the Special Troops unit. He served overseas in Australia and New Guinea before being sent back to the U.S. to serve as an instructor at the Infantry School, Fort Benning, Georgia until 1947.
From August 1947 to April 1948 Jones served a brief tour in Korea as Executive Officer, G-4 Section. He returned to Wisconsin as Officer-in-Charge of the Fond du Lac office of the Organized Reserve Corps. He received a promotion to Colonel in September 1950 and left again for Korea in September 1951. On this second tour, he served as Commanding Officer of Prisoner of War Camp No. 1 (later No. 10), located in Pusan, Korea. He also served as Headquarters Commandant and Commanding Officer, Special Troops for the 8th Army Headquarters (EUSAK).
Jones returned to the U.S. in January 1953 and began duty as Senior Army Advisor (Army Reserves) for the Illinois Military District. He retired from the military in June 1954 after more than 37 years of service. During that service he received two Silver Stars, one Bronze Star, the Legion of Merit, and many other awards and medals. Living in Milwaukee, he remained active in many veterans' organizations including the Reserve Officers Association of the US, the American Legion, the VFW, and the 32nd Division Veterans Association. He passed away on April 26, 1978.
