When B.J. Jones joined the Marine Corps at the age of eighteen, he was fulfilling a childhood dream. Little did he realize that all his dreams would be shattered in the rice fields of Vietnam and that at the age of nineteen he would become a paraplegic from a Vietcong bullet. Many young American men lost their lives that day in Vietnam, something Jones will never forget.
Jones' parents were told he probably wouldn't make it. Doctors told him he would never walk again. Jones thought his life was over.
Jones credits his wife Brenda with, as he puts it, "finding him in the dark forest and bringing him back into the light." Both are active in the local fire department and Jones. is a member of "Mars" which sends messages to military personnel and their families all over the world. he's proud to help, because as he says, "once a Marine, always a Marine."
Joan Hallmark, Reporting joanhallmark@kltv.com
