| |
| |
|
|
R E S O L U T I O N
|
|
|
WHEREAS, Dr. Willis Thomas Jones Jr. of Baytown is deserving |
|
|
of highest commendation for the valiant service he rendered to his |
|
|
state and his nation during World War II; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Dr. Jones enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Forces in |
|
|
November 1941, just one month prior to the Japanese attack on Pearl |
|
|
Harbor; he attended flight school and graduated from Armor School |
|
|
in April 1942, at which time he was commissioned a second |
|
|
lieutenant; shortly thereafter, he was assigned to one of the first |
|
|
B-17 bomber groups to head to England for the war; in the fall of |
|
|
1942, his unit was detached from the VIII Bomber Command in England |
|
|
and sent to serve in the North African campaign, which culminated in |
|
|
the surrender of the Axis forces under General Erwin Rommel in May |
|
|
1943; Dr. Jones was subsequently assigned to the 15th Air Force and |
|
|
based in Italy, where he arrived on December 25, 1943; after flying |
|
|
numerous missions as a gunner, he assumed the role of bombardier; |
|
|
and |
|
|
WHEREAS, On July 26, 1944, while Dr. Jones was flying his |
|
|
45th combat mission of the war, his bomber squadron was attacked by |
|
|
a group of German fighters over Vienna, Austria; the assault |
|
|
destroyed his plane and killed the crew's pilot, copilot, and |
|
|
engineer, but Dr. Jones was able to bail out of the aircraft at |
|
|
22,000 feet, after all remaining crew members had ejected; although |
|
|
miraculously unharmed, he was quickly captured by enemy forces and |
|
|
taken to the Stalag Luft I prisoner of war camp near Barth, Germany; |
|
|
there, he endured several months of imprisonment, until the camp |
|
|
was liberated by Russian forces in May 1945; Dr. Jones was |
|
|
discharged from the military with the rank of major in 1946; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Following his return home to the Lone Star State, |
|
|
W. T. Jones married his wife, Ada Mae, on August 25, 1945, and the |
|
|
couple has since shared nearly seven rewarding decades together; |
|
|
Dr. Jones went on to attend medical school from 1946 to 1950, and he |
|
|
enjoyed a long and successful career in Baytown until his |
|
|
retirement in 1985; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Dr. W. T. Jones embodies the highest ideals of the |
|
|
U.S. armed forces and deserves the lasting respect and gratitude of |
|
|
all Americans, and it is a privilege to commend him for his |
|
|
outstanding contributions to his country and his community; now, |
|
|
therefore, be it |
|
|
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 84th Texas |
|
|
Legislature hereby honor Dr. Willis Thomas Jones Jr. for his brave |
|
|
and steadfast service in this nation's behalf; and, be it further |
|
|
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
|
|
prepared for Dr. Jones as an expression of high regard by the Texas |
|
|
House of Representatives. |