It was 1941, and Marian Jones (then Arner) was studying to be a nurse at St. Luke's Hospital in Bethlehem. At home for a break in December, she heard the terrible news of Dec. 7 - Pearl Harbor had been attacked. Roosevelt's "Day of Infamy" speech, delivered the next day, would go on to set the course of Jones' life.

Jones died in 2013, but her family remembers her dedication and the speeches she gave throughout the region about her military career.She decided to give up her goal of becoming a missionary, instead pursuing a position as an Army nurse."I felt that is where I could best serve my country, my chosen profession and myself. I felt I was needed, and that feeling, to me, just suited me fine," Jones would say in a speech she often delivered at schools, Legions, and other locations later in her life.Jones would go on to complete her courses at St. Luke's before going to Philadelphia in 1942 and signing up for service."She was extremely patriotic, very proud of her service and her country," Jones' daughter Susan Dorshimer of Palmerton said. In her later years, it was pretty much all she talked about."As an RN of the Third Army, 34th Evacuation Hospital, European Theater, Jones would witness the devastation and horror of World War II, but she did it for the men on the front lines, and her country."She did take care of so many wounded. She saw so many horrible things as the front line moved," Dorshimer said."When the troops moved forward, so would we," Jones said in her speech. "We would evacuate half our patients, tear down those tents, pack up that gear and move forward closer to the front lines. In the new area we would set up as quickly as possible and start to receive patients."This process took Jones and her unit across France, Luxembourg and Germany, following the path of the legendary Gen. George S. Patton.Throughout her speech, the Lehighton woman would recall the masses of wounded soldiers - "They look so pitiful, you feel like crying, but you force yourself to smile. How glad they are to see our faces! - and those sick with pneumonia, dehydration, burns, malaria and just about everything else."When the war finally came to an end, Jones was ecstatic."We had the biggest bonfire in all of Europe. No blackout conditions anymore. There was singing and dancing like you wouldn't believe, lots of hugs and kisses. There were prayers of thanks, plenty of grateful tears, and finally we could allow our minds to think of home," she said in her speech.Even though the Army had prepared Jones and hercompatriots for combat, she acknowledged that they were never prepared for the psychological effects, which lasted throughout her life. Flashbacks could be triggered by a sound, a smell, a song, but she weathered it all with the aplomb of the toughest grizzled combat vet."She was very into women's rights. She always felt women can do whatever men can do," Dorshimer said of her mother.After returning home, Jones would go on to marry her husband Kenneth, have two daughters - Linda and Susan - and several grandchildren. She worked as a nurse for doctors in Weissport and Bowmanstown. Her time as a nurse, and her time in service, would influence the lives of her daughters as well."Because of my mother, I served in the Navy for six years," Dorshimer said. "My sister Linda became a nurse because of my mother."Later on in life, Jones would attend reunions of the 34th Evacuation Hospital and the Veterans of the Battle of the Bulge, sharing stories of their past, memories both dark and wonderful. The bond they built would last them the rest of their lives."She got to be with people who experienced what she experienced," Dorshimer said. "I was really glad about that."This would inspire Jones to write her well-read speech, delivered throughout Carbon County and beyond, to groups ranging from schoolchildren to fellow veterans. Tales of wading through the mud, hearing the sounds of gunfire in the distance, trying to use her Pennsylvania Dutch knowledge to communicate with Germans in the POW ward barely scratch the surface of her service. But there are good times, too, as she recounteed meeting Bing Crosby in Verdun, and tasting French wine and cognac.In the end, she wished for nothing but peace on earth, but Jones accepted the reality of the world - that being, wars will happen. Jones' speech calls to mind the sacrifices of many people, and how important that was. Though proud of her own service, her words come off as selfless.Jones' speech concludes with the passage, "I will never forget, and I don't want any of you to forget those brave men who died on our battlefields gave up their todays for our tomorrows. God bless us, every one!"Jones held this respect and pride throughout her entire life, passing it on to her family and the many people and groups who she spoke to over the years. Though Jones passed away at the age of 92 in October 2013, her wisdom survives through those who have heard her story."To my mother, when she passed, it meant everything that she served her country," Dorshimer said.