DETROIT – It was decades in the making for a Metro Detroit World War II veteran who never got the recognition he deserved as a young man.
Many veterans who returned from World War II didn’t know how to sign up for the veteran’s benefits they deserved. But, on Thursday (Dec. 7) in Detroit, the John Dingell Veterans Hospital helped make things right for a 99-year-old man.
Early Jones served in World War II. Fiercely independent, he didn’t want anything from anyone he didn’t earn. It wasn’t until he was in his 70s that he first reached out to the V.A. and didn’t participate in any ceremonies after the war.
Jones cut quite an impressive figure as a young army draftee. Having just left West Virginia, he says he had his first taste of the 40s era Jim Crowe South in a Georgia boot camp.
“I didn’t know I had to drink out of a different fountain from somebody else because in West Virginia where I come from we didn’t have to deal with that,” said Jones.
Jones served in the South Pacific Theatre as a quartermaster and said of his important job that if you don’t eat, you can’t fight.
An army really does travel on its stomach, and he spent a lot of time on him, considering the number of times he dodged Japanese firepower, all the while praying for God’s protection.
“Dropping bombs on the mess hall, we was at breakfast to show how early they come and some of them got wounded, but god took care of me,” Jones said.
At the V.A. hospital, the Michigan Veteran’s Affairs Office gave Jones his certificates of appreciation and coin medallions from the Michigan National Guard, thanking him for his proud service.
The father of seven daughters stayed true to his character.
“I’m grateful that God brought me this far and allowing me to be here,” Jones said.
Jones said he felt that the U.S. Army could’ve done a better job for Army soldiers like him better. But he said he was proud of his service, and he said he was proud to be getting up in the morning.