Death
Ball was killed in action in Algeria on February 1, 1943, by the explosion of a bomb. He was buried in a grave marked by a wooden stake in Tunisia in 1943, but he was later disinterred, put into a casket, and properly buried on January 30, 1948. As per his family's wishes, he was buried surrounded by his comrades who had also fought in the war. His final resting place is Plot A, Row 4, Grave 41, at the North Africa American Cemetery and Memorial in Carthage, Tunisia. His personal items, mailed to his family in April of 1944, included a a diary, eleven pictures, a pocket knife, a key holder with five keys, a carton of cigarettes, books, stationery and paper, fingernail clippers, hair tweezers, his Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity card, and shoulder patches. Commemoration
Ball's parents were visiting their daughter and her husband in Athens, Georgia, when they received the news of their son's death. Shortly after his death, his parents gave ten acres of land in St. Theresa, Florida, for the construction of Camp Weed's new location. Ball is honored in the James Dorsey Ball, Jr. Memorial Athletic Field at Camp Weed. He also was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart Medal. Several news publications paid tribute to him after his death, such as the Jackson Daily News and the Yazoo City Herald. |