THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, July 18, 1995 TAG: 9507180270
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: STAFF REPORT
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Short : 43 lines
O.B. Jones, the Vietnam veteran whose story in The Virginian-Pilot last month illustrated the tragic legacy of the wartime defoliant Agent Orange, has died of cancer.
He was 52.
Jones, a marine surveyor, was a Coast Guard retiree whose military service included a year as an Army port operations officer on the Vietnam coast in 1969-70.
He was diagnosed in 1992 with large-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a cancer affecting the lymph nodes, bone marrow, spleen and liver.
A bone marrow transplant was unsuccessful, and the cancer entered his lungs.
Jones was one of thousands of U.S. veterans who developed cancer and other diseases after being exposed to Agent Orange, which was sprayed on Vietnam's lush foliage to make the enemy more visible. It contained dioxin, a potent poison.
Because many of the diseases take years to show up, some experts expect a surge of Agent Orange cases as Vietnam veterans move into their 50s.
In an interview last month, Jones described the anger and frustration of coming to grips with a vigorous life cut short.
``I never really accepted that I was sick until this March,'' he said. ``I never really accepted it. I was going to beat this.''
Jones died Saturday. He is survived by his wife, Jane M. Jones; a daughter, Sherry Ann Sjeck; a son, Michael B. Jones; his mother; a sister; a brother; and two grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held Thursday at 2 p.m. at Messiah Lutheran Church in Virginia Beach. Jones' ashes will be scattered over the Atlantic from a Coast Guard cutter Friday.
KEYWORDS: VIETNAM VETERAN AGENT ORANGE OBITUARY by CNB