�鶹��ƵAV

Jones was the featured speaker at the Host City Welcome dinner.

Decorated U.S. Marine Corps veteran Johnny “Joey” Jones was the featured speaker at Wednesday’s “Host City Welcome” for the 2026 American Legion World Series at the LeGrand Center in Shelby, N.C.

Jones, 39, frequently spoke of service and sacrifice to all eight teams and hundreds more Legion officials, volunteers and ALWS workers.

He compared his job working for his father’s masonry business in his native Dalton, Ga., and his military service to what the players were currently going through as they pursue a national championship.

“We live in the greatest country in the world. That’s a fact,” said Jones, now a Fox News contributor and consultant with U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. “It’s because when we go through challenges, we try to make it better for the next person who has to go through it.

“I’ve seen it. I lived it. Service and sacrifice are what we talk about all the time in the Marine Corps. And that can work in everyday life.”

A staff sergeant who lost both legs above the knee in combat in Afghanistan in 2010, Jones transitioned into civilian life after injuries and recovery and has used his platform to advocate for veterans, challenge stereotypes about combat injuries and inspire others to serve.

“Going through boot camp taught me a great lesson,” Jones said. “When you’re doing a three-mile run, being the fastest isn’t the necessarily the best thing. It’s like the saying we always use that, ‘Your team is only as good as the weakest link.’

“It’s why the fastest runner isn’t the hero. It’s the fastest who can come back and help the others and make the whole team better.”

During his high school years, Jones worked for his father’s brick and block masonry business in Dalton, Ga.

After graduating from high school in 2004, Jones enlisted in the Marine Corps in April 2005 as a radio technician where he was deployed twice, in Iraq in 2007 as a machine gunner and in Afghanistan in 2010 as part of Operation Enduring Freedom.

During his tour in Afghanistan, his EOD (Explosives Ordnance Disposal) team had destroyed nearly 85 improvised explosive devices before he stepped on an IED (Improvised Explosive Device) on Aug. 6, 2010, and lost both legs above the knee and injured his arms.

During the attack, close friend and fellow combat engineer, Corporal Daniel Greer of Ashland City, Tenn., died at 25. Greer had been a full-time firefighter before joining the Marines.

Jones told the crowd that Greer’s death helped created his motivation to walk again.

“Instead of being upset that it would be tough to walk again, I was determined to walk again because of Daniel,” Jones said.

Jones told the crowd that he travels around the country in hopes he can advocate, inspire and show that his service can continue in many forms even after a life-altering injury.

“The message is simple,” he said. “Americans always say, ‘Thank you for your service,’ all the time.

“I had a hard time knowing what to say back for a long time. Now I say, ‘Thank you for being worth serving.’”