Information and photos via Cobb commissioner JoAnn Birrell:
The Squire “Skip” Wells Marine Corp League Detachment #647 hosted a birthday celebration for 99-year-old “Life Member” Harry Kone on Wednesday [Aug. 14] at Woodstock’s Semper Fi Bar & Grill. The event was well attended by fellow detachment members, other veterans and members of the Skip Wells Foundation.
Harry enjoyed his lunch of “S>O>S” (sausage gravy on toast) and a beer. After lunch Harry cut his birthday cake using a USMC NCO Sword. He cut it straight like the sharpshooter he is. Immediately after the cake cutting, I presented a framed Cobb County Commission proclamation declaring August 16, 2019 is to be officially known as “Harry Kone Day” in Cobb County.
Before cake was passed around, detachment Jr. Vice Commandant Jason Rusk, showed a framed display of ribbons and awards, including the Navy Cross, which were worn by Medal of Honor Recipient Gen. Raymond G. Davis. The display was presented to Ralph Roeger, owner of Semper Fi Bar & Grill, and will be hung at the restaurant, which was recently recognized by the Atlanta Business Chronicle as the Veteran Owned Small Business of the Year.
One grand highlight of the day was that Harry enlisted in the Marines after the attack on Pearl Harbor, General Davis was already a Marine Officer they both were in battle on Guadalcanal and both received praise. It’s also ironic that Gen. Davis was a member of Detachment 647, when it was known as Greater Atlanta, as Harry is now after a name change to honor “Skip” Wells.
Harry Joseph Kone was born on Aug. 16, 1920, in Baltimore to his loving and devoted parents Harry and Marie Kone. He grew up in Baltimore and graduated from Mt. Saint Joseph High School in 1938. Mr. Kone worked as a welder while attending the University of Wisconsin on a scholarship to help develop children’s programming for the early days of television.
Because of Pearl Harbor, he decided to join the U.S. Marine Corps in 1942 and deployed to the Pacific Theater as a machine gunner and expert rifleman. He was injured several times during his service in the South Pacific campaigns. He was then sent to Quantico for Officer Candidate School, but his injuries were too severe. He was honorably discharged in 1945.
Back in America, Mr. Kone married the love of his life, Marjorie, and they built a life together in Chicago. That same year, he was diagnosed with tuberculosis and spent two years in a VA hospital. After many prayers, he recovered and attended Northwestern University for his undergraduate and graduate degrees. He spent his life as a dedicated teacher in the Chicago Public School System, first in elementary, then high school and finally at the college level teaching public speaking and English as a second language.
Mr. Kone and Marjorie enjoyed a beautiful 65-year love story and had three children, Sue, Barbara and Stuart. After 50 years in Chicago, he and Marjorie moved to the South to spend more time with their family. In 2012, he joined Marine Corps League Detachment 647 in Marietta and became a life member of the Marine Corps League in 2013. Kone currently lives in east Cobb with his daughter.
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