Colonel
William H. Jaynes

Colonel William H. Jaynes was born in Pennsylvania on October 5, 1914 and graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1938. Colonel Jaynes was instrumental in establishing the Ordnance Replacement Training Center at Aberdeen Proving Ground in 1941 in preparation for the massive training mission of World War II. He served as its Director of Military Training. He assisted in the conversion of the Santa Anita Race Track, California, into a large Ordnance Training Center.

In October 1942, he became the Director of Technical Training of that Center, which handled a peak training load in excess of 12,000 soldiers. He was responsible for the programs of instruction for 4 different small arms courses and more than 80 different automotive and tank mechanic courses.

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In September 1943, Colonel Jaynes assumed command of the 62d Ordnance Battalion (Ammo), which became operational in Italy three days after the Allied landings at Salerno, and which had the distinction of being the first U.S. Ammunition Battalion Headquarters to operate in the combat zone in World War II.

In December 1943, he commanded the 6694th Ordnance Group, which was composed of three ordnance battalions. In August 1945, at the close of hostilities, he became Ordnance Officer of U.S. Forces in Austria. Here, he was an early contributor to the rehabilitation of war-torn Europe. Under his direction, the Setyr Automobile Factory was returned to operation, producing commercial cars and trucks. Colonel Jaynes retired from the service in 1946 but was recalled to active duty during the Korean Conflict.