Photo courtesy of Jerilou Jones
2001 graduate Kirby Jones (R) was awarded a Bronze Star Medal for his service in Iraq. Here, he stands with two other lieutenants in the Charlie Company.
Photo courtesy of Jerilou Jones
Kirby Jones salutes AJ Vandayburg, who died in Iraq, at his memorial service.
Photo courtesy of Jerilou Jones
Kirby Jones is awarded his Bronze Star
Medal.
As enemy fire pelted the dry ground and bullets sprayed the sand, First Lieutenant Kirby Jones was not thinking about a Bronze Star Medal, which would later be pinned to his uniform.
Rather, this 2001 Hillsdale graduate had led a platoon of 150 soldiers into enemy territory in Buhriz, Iraq, and he was determined to get them out.
Jones' quick thinking, under the type of pressure that can only be associated with army combat, allowed his 1 st Infantry Division platoon to "gain fire superiority and kill at least 50 enemy personnel." This battle took place from April 9 to 12 of this year.
"The reality for infantrymen on the ground in Iraq is dirty, scary and violent," Jones said.
As their leader, Jones displayed courage that remained strong for the duration of the battle, which he described as a "high intensity, urban fight involving foreign fighters from Syria and Saudi Arabia."
As a symbol of Jones' exceptionally valorous achievement during ground combat operations, he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal with Valor only two weeks ago.
Some, however, had recognized Jones' valor before the U.S. Army and a bronze 'V' identified these characteristics.
"It doesn't surprise me that he got the Bronze Star [because] he's always been a leader," 2001 graduate Conor Brown said. "People are drawn to him."
Brown and Jones met on the third floor of Galloway their freshman year and became "brothers" as members of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity.
Will Porter, who graduated in the spring of 2001, also became a member of this fraternity and a close friend.
"Everyone had a tremendous respect for Kirby before he put on the uniform," Porter said. "The term 'hero' is a cliché, but it really does apply."
Jones' decision to wear camouflage and serve his country came at the end of his third year at Hillsdale, according to 2002 graduate Rob Clements, who roomed with Jones in the Delta Tau Delta house during their junior year.
"Once he decided on it, he came back his senior year and was 100% determined-he had made his mind up," Clements said. "He got in shape and started reading military history."
"He kept dropping weight [because] he wanted to make sure he was well under the weight requirement," Brown said.
Jones, who graduated with a history major and a sociology minor, was inspired by the history, intelligence and strategies of the military. Yet when this native of Lynden, Wash., decided to join the Army, not everyone was prepared for it.
"It came as a shock to all of us-we really weren't a military family," Jones' mother, Jerilou Jones, said.
Associate Professor of Sociology and Social Thought Peter Blum, who worked extensively with Jones, was not surprised by his military achievements because, for him, college was "more than book-learning."
"He found his energy," Blum said. "He's the kind of guy who, getting into a stressful situation, would exhibit bravery and be there for the other guys."
Blum credited Jones' spirit of camaraderie on the battlefield with his involvement in the Greek system, and he attributed his military success to "the combination of the resources at Hillsdale and the resources he discovered in himself."
Clements said at Hillsdale Jones was always a pretty social guy, a good IM football player, and also the bassist for the "Kirbstreet Blues"-a band comprised of Delts who ultimately won the "Battle of the Bands."
The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 came two weeks after Jones enlisted into the Army, and America readied to fight a war on terrorism.
Jones began basic training, followed by combat infantry training and officer candidate school at Fort Benning in Georgia.
Permanently stationed in Vilseck, Germany, Jones started out in Kosovo and was then moved to Iraq, where he has been since February of this year.
Now Jones is stationed 30 miles outside of Baghdad in Muqdadiyah as the Executive Officer for the Charlie Company.
"He's in charge of logistics for the company," Jerilou Jones said. "He keeps everything running and makes sure they are supplied with enough ammunition and gasoline."
While Jones looks out for his own guys in Iraq, his "brothers" back in the States are supporting him.
Brown, who works for a congressman in Washington, D.C., gathered donations from his co-workers and put together a care package for Jones.
"It was just like Christmas-Kirby gave most of the items away," Brown said. "He gave me hell for sending him chocolate though, but there were more than enough men willing to lick the chocolate off the paper."
For these soldiers, who know firsthand the rush of a rocket attack and the uncertainty accompanied with jumping into their Bradley Fighting Vehicles on a mission outside of camp, anything to remind them of home is a welcome distraction.
"[Jones] had his share of fun at college," Associate Professor of History Tom Conner said. "Now he is in the most serious of all businesses and I salute him for that-I honor that."
"I have so much respect for him and every other soldier who's fighting under the American flag and defending the country," Porter said.
Apparently Jones' friends and family aren't the only ones to admire this first lieutenant, who was given a leave at the end of September to attend his brother's wedding in Ohio-an unusual occurrence.
"It was spectacular," 2002 graduate and president of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity Drew Jones said. "His commanding officer pulled some strings [because] they were really impressed with him."
Although it took Jones four days to arrive in northern Ohio from Baghdad, he was given a much needed two-week break from "The Sand Box." Drew Jones said it was great to see him.
However, duty called and Jones picked up his role in Operation Iraqi Freedom along with "over a hundred thousand [other] Americans in Iraq who do not get the weekend off," he said.
"These guys are not any different than most college-aged Americans, they are simply here and making the best of it," Jones said. "They do not ask for anything else other than competent leadership, the tools to accomplish the mission and a clear end-state. For all of them, I am thankful."
His family's perception on the home front is realistic and yet remains optimistic.
"He can't wait to get out. It's a bloody mess, yet he believes in what he's doing and knows it's his responsibility," Drew Jones said. "This is a war and he doesn't try to pretend like it's all roses."
"He'd like to not be in Iraq," Jerilou Jones said. "[Yet] he thinks the training for the Iraqi National Guard is going well. They started out pretty green, but now Kirby thinks that they are taking ownership."
According to Jones' younger brother, "When Kirby talks about this stuff, he talks about the people resisting," Drew Jones said. "[Yet] he's optimistic about how things are going to work out."
Indeed, war comprises both hope and hard realities, and, for Jones, the two are inseparable.
"Americans need to realize that what they are seeing long distance is nothing short of a war," Jones said. "There are many success stories and positive steps being made with the local population and security forces, but the fact remains that not two or three days go by without hostile shots being fired."
Jones is scheduled to leave Iraq in February and head back to Germany as his three-year commitment is up in May. He is undecided as to his future plans.
"He'll either make a career out of the Army or he'll be honorably dispatched," Porter said.
Wherever his future takes him, Jones will be remembered as "a war hero" and a decorated soldier.
Yet, for Jones, his bronze medal signifies a life-the life, and death, of 20-year-old SPC Allen Vandayburg, "who [made] the ultimate sacrifice and who deserves the real credit," Jones said. SPC Vandayburg was killed at the battle in Buhriz.
"All I ask of people at home is to realize that whether or not they agree with the foreign policies that landed us in Iraq in the first place, remain humble in the face of the sacrifices that are being made here everyday," Jones said.
"There are 19 and 20-year-old men who sleep in holes, never quit, and who learn brutally how costly freedom from tyranny can be."