James Bavesi Ord, Jr. – Colonel, United States Marine Corps

From a contemporary press report

James B. Ord, Jr., Colonel, United States Marine Corps, retired, died on February 16, 1997 at Cottage Hospital of Nantucket, Massachusetts, the beloved husband of Virginia Shepherd Ord; father of James S. Ord and Letitia C. Ord.

Colonel Ord will be buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery on Thursday, February 27. Friends and extended family are invited to join the funeral procession which will assemble at the administration building at 10:30 a.m. to depart for a graveside service at 11:00.

As a distant cousin to James Basevi Ord, Jr., whom you have listed among the Marines buried in Arlington (February 1997), I have information regarding his connection to the ORD (Army) family also buried there.

James Basevi Ord, Jr. was the great-grandson of Major General Edward Otho Cresap Ord.  James Basevi is listed in the “HISTORY OF THE CRESAPS” as James Basevi Ord II, born 1919, married to Virginia Sheperd in 1951. This information is from the “HISTORY OF THE CRESAPS”, 1987 revision by Bernarr Cresap, my father’s brother.

James Basevi reportedly lived in Nantucket, Massachusetts at the time of this book’s revision.

Thank you,  Nina Cresap Higgins

Of the Vietnam War, Colonel James B. Ord, Jr noted:

The enemy always has the advantage, as I see it, of operating in the jungle, in the canopy.  You only get a point to point contact.  You cannot maneuver on a broad front, so you are on a parity with him as far as the infantry is concerned.  Since your observation is limited and your fields of fire are limited, it is difficult to make use of supporting arms in which we have a distinct advantage.  And the enemy can always break contact and he can always evade.  And so this being the case, we are just about equal: we have no advantage.

12/68
Centered on Da Nang, the division deployed its four infantry regiments, the 1st, 5th, 7th, and elements of the 26th Marines, in a series of radiating belts. To the north, Colonel Clyde W. Hunter’s 26th Marines secured portions of the Hai Van Pass and sections of Route 1. Colonel Herbert L. Beckington’s 7th Marines patrolled the scrub-covered piedmont and mountainous jungle that rose to the west. To the southwest, the 5th Marines, under the command of Colonel James B. Ord, Jr., scoured the Hoa and Song Thu Bon basins. Included within the regiment’s area of  responsibility wasthe infamous Arizona Territory, that rice paddy-dotted,  enemy-infested region set between the Song Thu Bon and Song Vu Gia. South of Da Nang and north of the area assigned the Korean Marines was Colonel Robert G. Lauffer’s 1st Marines, whose area of operations included Dodge City, Go Noi Island, and portions of the coastal lowlands. A reinforced artillery regiment, the 11th  Marines, provided fire support for the four infantry regiments, while the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion and 1st Tank Battalion supplemented and reinforced their efforts, as did contingents of engineer, transport, and service troops. (HM6) As 1969 began, all Marine artillery units within I Corps Tactical Zone were either under the control of the 11th Marines, the artillery regiment of the 1st Marine Division, or the 12th Marines, the artillery regiment of the 3d Marine Division.  The 11th Marines, commanded by Colonel Harry E. Dickinson consisted of four organic battalions and the attached 1st Field Artillery Group (1st 155mm Gun Battery, self-propelled [SP], later redesignated 1st 175mm Gun Battery); 1st Battalion, 13th Marines; Battery K, 4th Battalion, 13th Marines; 3d 8-inch Howitzer Battery (5P); Battery G, 29th Artillery (USA); Battery B, 8th Battalion, 4th Artillery (USA); and the 1st Armored Amphibian Company. Attached specifically for Operation Taylor Common, which was to conclude on 17 February, were elements of the 1st Battalion, 12th Marines in direct support of the 3d Marines.

ORD, STEPHEN ELLIOTT HOWELL S/O JAMES BASEVI JR

• DATE OF BIRTH: 10/10/1957
• DATE OF DEATH: 10/29/1957
• DATE OF INTERMENT: 11/07/1957
• BURIED AT: SECTION 2  SITE 982-1 LL
• ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY
  SON OF JB ORD JR. – MAJOR USMC

Michael Robert Patterson

Michael Robert Patterson was born in Arlington and is the son of a former officer of the US Army. So it was no wonder that sooner or later his interests drew him to American history and especially to American military history. Many of his articles can be found on renowned portals like the New York Times, Washingtonpost or Wikipedia.

Reviewed by: Michael Howard