Thursday, December 7, 2006
Herbert C. Jones at Pearl Harbor
From the Naval Historical Center,
The destroyer escort U.S.S. Herbert C. Jones (DE-137), launched in 1943, was named for him. It's service in 1943-1944 is recounted in photos in A Destroyer Escort at War. The ship then came back to the U.S. for refitting and a new crew, which included my father, recently graduated from Messmer High School in Milwaukee. The ship's service from that point is summarized in the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
And so Dad spent the last day of the war at Pearl Harbor on a ship named for an ensign who had died there on the first day of the war. ¶ 12/07/2006 12:01:00 PM
During the 7 December 1941 Japanese air raid on Pearl Harbor, he was serving as an officer in USS California (BB-44). When his ship was attacked and badly damaged, he rescued a sailor from a smoke-filled compartment, then led an anti-aircraft battery in firing on the raiders. When the ammunition hoists were put out of action, Ensign Jones organized an ammunition passing party and led it until he was fatally injured by a bomb. He then refused evacuation out of fear for the lives of his rescuers. For his heroism during the Pearl Harbor battle, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.
The destroyer escort U.S.S. Herbert C. Jones (DE-137), launched in 1943, was named for him. It's service in 1943-1944 is recounted in photos in A Destroyer Escort at War. The ship then came back to the U.S. for refitting and a new crew, which included my father, recently graduated from Messmer High School in Milwaukee. The ship's service from that point is summarized in the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
In December 1944, she joined a hunter-killer task force for antisubmarine patrol in the Atlantic out of Norfolk. Remaining on this duty until V-E Day, HERBERT C. JONES sailed for the Pacific 24 June 1945 after training exercises in Cuba. She was at Pearl Harbor when news of the Japanese capitulation was received 15 August, and from there sailed to the Marshall Islands for precautionary air-sea patrol duty. HERBERT C. JONES sailed to Green Cove Springs, Fla., via San Diego, the Panama Canal, and New York City 15 March 1946.
And so Dad spent the last day of the war at Pearl Harbor on a ship named for an ensign who had died there on the first day of the war. ¶ 12/07/2006 12:01:00 PM
