602nd Special Operations Squadron
Lieutenant Colonel Jones flew an A-1H Skyraider on a rescue mission on 1 September 1968 in search of a downed U.S. pilot near Dong Hoi, North Vietnam. Although his aircraft was hit repeatedly by enemy fire, he continued his search until he sighted the survivor. Disregarding his own safety, Colonel Jones then attacked a nearby enemy position. His aircraft was again hit, destroying the pilot's ejection system and causing the cockpit to burst into flames. Colonel Jones attempted to transmit the location of the survivor, but his calls were blocked by friendly transmissions urging him to bail out. Despite intense pain from multiple burns, he elected to fly his damaged aircraft back to base, where, on the operating table, he reported the survivor's position. As a result, the downed pilot was rescued later in the day. Colonel Jones was killed in an aircraft accident before the medal could be presented. However, President Nixon presented the Air Force Medal of Honor to his widow on 6 August 1970.HM Number | HM1VTB |
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Tags | |
Placed By | The Hurlburt Field Memorial Air Park Council |
Marker Condition | No reports yet |
Date Added | Sunday, November 20th, 2016 at 1:03pm PST -08:00 |
UTM (WGS84 Datum) | 16R E 528751 N 3364666 |
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Decimal Degrees | 30.41370000, -86.70065000 |
Degrees and Decimal Minutes | N 30° 24.822', W 86° 42.039' |
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds | 30° 24' 49.32" N, 86° 42' 2.34" W |
Driving Directions | Google Maps |
Area Code(s) | 850 |
Closest Postal Address | At or near 210 Cody Ave, Hurlburt Field FL 32544, US |
Alternative Maps | Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap |
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