Charles S. Jones, Jr.: Abstract | Full Story | Images and Artifacts

Charles S. Jones, Jr. is humble when he tells me his World War II stories. “You don’t have to be known for something outstanding”, he says, “You just have to be known”. “If this is the case, Mr. Jones is certainly successful, and his story is truly remarkable. Twenty-four year old Jones joined the Army Air Corp in 1941 after graduating from the University of Kentucky, where he played basketball. He had always dreamed of being a pilot or dreamed of flying and he was going to learn. He was stationed in Long Beach, CA. The Army Air Corp was the predecessor of the US Air Force today. The Air Force was established in 1947. Jones’ first days after flight school were missions ferrying aircraft (B-24’s) from San Diego to Detroit, where they would ultimately be reassigned to Britain as part of the U.S. offer to support our British allies by loaning military equipment to aid their war effort.

Jones remembers the December day in 1941 at the end of one of these missions in downtown Detroit with his friends. At first, it was like any other day, and then people began congratulating them, buying them drinks, and wishing them luck. They were reacting to the news of Pearl Harbor. Life was about to change. The men were ordered back to Long Beach for their assignments. Jones was trained to fly B-29’s in combat. The people of Detroit and the entire country were behind them one hundred percent.

The initial plan was to use B-29s to attack Japan from airfields in southern China, with the main base in India, and to attack other targets in the region from China and India as needed. The first B-29s started to arrive in India in early April 1944. The first B-29 combat mission was flown on 5 June 1944, with 77 out of 98 planes launched from India bombing the railroad shops in Bangkok (5 B-29s were lost to non-battle causes). This was Charles Jones’ first mission. He went on to fly more than twenty of the 49 B-29 missions during the war.

Charles felt lucky to be in the Air Force. When asked by a fellow crewman if he was frightened that their mission would not be successful and they would not return, Jones said that he would not go if he thought he wouldn’t succeed. His confidence and straight thinking were his greatest ally.

When the war ended, Jones was in Great Bend, KS. He heard the news on the radio and remembers the celebrating everywhere. He and his friends wanted to celebrate but they weren’t allowed off the base. So they climbed the fence and hitched a ride to Wichita. They ran out of gas halfway there and a farmer and his wife picked them up. They never did get to the city but did enjoy a hot meal, a couch to sleep on, and a chance to refuel before they headed back to base. Charles’ mother insisted he write to her weekly after he left home and he did so. His letters cover 1937 to 1952 and tell quite a few stories that his family enjoy today.

Charles stayed in the Air Force until 1965. He was an Air Force ROTC instructor in Pennsylvania when he met and married his wife in 1952. After the war he was an integral part of Project Tan Glove. This project, in partnership with the University of Chicago in 1956, involved Jones and two civilian scientists. Their mission was to measure cosmic rays as they crossed the magnetic equator. The mission took 50 days and 250 flight hours as they flew around the entire planet, measuring the magnetic equator. For his part in this history making scientific experiment, Charles Jones received the Distinguished Flying Cross in Peace Time. Their results proved that the magnetic equator had shifted by 40 degrees. John Glenn later flew this same flight path and the mission was part of the science that ultimately became our space program today.

Mr. Jones has successfully established himself in our nation’s history to ensure that his work and life’s accomplishments will make themselves known.

After his retirement in 1965, Jones returned to Lexington, KY where he opened a Savings and Loan. He now resides in Annapolis, MD to be near his daughter Diana and his grandchildren. He still has season tickets to University of Kentucky football where he returns twice a year to cheer them on. There’s nothing like a 93 year old Wildcat!

Charles S. Jones, Jr.: Abstract | Full Story | Images and Artifacts