In memory of 2LT Robert W. Jones (February 5, 1922 – November 4, 1943)

Honoring the history, photographs, and personal stories of a life given in service.

The Early Years

1922-02-05 - Robert Born

Robert William Jones was born while the family lived in San Luis Obispo.  At the time Robert was born, his older sister Betty Ann was a little more than 2 years old.

1922-04-20 - Sew and So Club Gift

An article about a social club called the "Sew and So Club" - "Mrs. Wm Jones took this occasion to thank the club, on behalf of Baby Robert Jones, for the beautiful silver cup presented by them."    And later:  "Mrs. Wm. Jones and baby have returned to their home in San Luis Obispo."

1937-06 - Robert's Freshman year - Los Gatos High School 1937 Wildcat Yearbook

Picture from Robert's freshman year of high school.  See captions below photos for descriptions; some photos are "image carousels" showing zoomed in and zoomed out photos of the page.

1938-06 - Robert's Sophomore year - Los Gatos High School 1938 Wildcat Yearbook

Pictures and activities from Robert's sophomore year of high school.  See captions below photos for descriptions.

1939-06 - Robert's Junior year - Los Gatos High School 1939 Wildcat Yearbook

The Los Gatos Library did not have a copy of the 1939 yearbook, but I found a copy on eBay.  I'm planning to donate it to the library round out their yearbook collection.

Pictures and activities from Robert's junior year of high school.  See captions below photos for descriptions.

1939-09-22 - Bob Jones at Right Half

At the start of Robert's senior year of high school, an article about the football team.  Robert "Bob" Jones is mentioned in the very last sentence.

1939-12-01 - Football Banquet

Robert's senior year the football team won the championship.  "Formally closing the greatest season Los Gatos high has ever known, the annual father and son banquet was held in the Masonic Hall Wednesday evening".   Robert isn't mentioned in the article, but he was likely there; it mentions his father handled refreshments and mother, as president of the P.T.A., led the dinner committee.

1940-01-19 - Bob Jones, Eagle Scout

Robert was an Eagle Scout!  In the first paragraph, he is mentioned helping with a reforestation project.  

1940-02-09 - Boy Scout Award

In the right column, halfway down, Robert was awarded a Veterans' Award for five years of faithful service.

1940-02-23 - Senior Class Play

For the senior class play, Robert was in charge of scenery, and sister Betty was in charge of props (see third to last paragraph).

1940-06-07 - Los Gatos High School Class of 1940 Graduation

Robert and Betty graduated from Los Gatos High School on June 14, 1940 - the largest class in the history of the school with 150 graduates.  Click to the right to see the second half of the article with their names listed.

1940-06 - Robert's Senior year - Los Gatos High School 1940 Wildcat Yearbook

Pictures and activities from Robert's senior year of high school.  See captions below photos for descriptions.

The War Years

1940-07-02 - Robert Enlists in Army Air Corps

I titled this section "The War Years" because it's the start of Robert's service in the U.S. Army, even though the attack on Pearl Harbor wouldn't be for another year and half.  On July 2nd, 1940, Robert enlisted  in the Army Air Corps at Moffett Field, about 18 days after his high school graduation  Note that the newspaper article wasn't published until July 26th.  I reached out to the Moffett Field Museum for help with understanding which unit he as assigned to as part of the "1st platoon attached to the 9th squadron"; if I learn more, I'll update this section.

Robert's Enlistment Record from the National Archives

1940-07-19 - The Explorers' Club

The summer after graduating from high school, Robert and friends formed an outdoors Explorer's Club, and he was elected secretary.   He authored several articles which were printed in the newspaper, all of which follow.

1940-07-26 - Explorers' Club hike to Lexington and Alma Fire Station

The next report from Robert and the Explorers' Club, detailing two outings. 

1940-08-02 - Explorers' Club

The next report from Robert and the Explorers' Club.

1940-08-16 - Explorers' Club

The next report from Robert and the Explorers' Club; the final one that I found.

1941-05-16 - Home for Mothers' Day 

This article tells us that Robert was a mechanic in the Air Corps before he started flight training.

1941-09-12 - List of District Enlisted Men in Military Service

This article lists local enlisted men in military service - Robert is named about halfway down the article, in the "Los Gatos Army Men" section.

1941-10-17 - Furlough trip to Wyoming

Robert went to Wyoming on a 13-day furlough with his Army buddy Peter Larson.

1942-03-06 - Robert stationed at Moffett Field

This is the first article following Pearl Harbor.

In the article below, it gives us the first glimpse of Robert's flight training.  It says he was "Stationed at Moffett just last week following over two months of basic training at Santa Maria."  The training in Santa Maria was likely at Hancock College of Aeronautics.

I reached out to the library at present-day Allan Hancock College, but so far they haven't located anything specifically related to Robert.  They did share an Honor Roll of graduated pilots, which I think he should have been included in, but his name wasn't listed.

In the article below I'm including a larger clipping because of the interesting "Daylight Air-Raid Precautions" article adjoining the Robert Jones article which is on the left.

Last thing - the article starts with "Next time you see an army training plane going through maneuvers over Los Gatos, take a second look.  It may be piloted by aviation student Robert Jones, down from Moffett Field to give the hometown folks a thrill".  Sometimes I look at the sky over Los Gatos and think of this line, picturing him flying there.  Did he actually fly over the Daves ranch, with family below, looking up at his aircraft?  Consider this when reading his mother's poem, below.

Film of Flying Cadets at Moffett Field 

In other searching, I found a ~40 minute film of aviation cadets at Moffett and Santa Maria from the Hancock Family Estate Films.  To be clear, Robert is not in this footage (well, that we know of).  It doesn't have a specific date tied to it, but I'm sharing it here because it gives an insight into what his training might have looked like in these locations.

Film:   https://californiarevealed.org/do/50b714ea-255a-475f-9361-99cd926a4a3f  (same film, alternative link: https://archive.org/details/cstmaah_000026)

Film description: "This silent, color film contains footage showcases Moffett Airfield and Santa Maria Flying school, both of which played an important role during World War Two. The film contains views of the students of Santa Maria Flying school marching, performing physical training, and practicing their flying skills. Multiple types of aircraft are shown on the airfield, and various staff members and students flying."  

1942-06 - Los Gatos High School 1942 Wildcat Yearbook

Although graduated, Robert's name appears in the 1942 yearbook, when "Our Boys In The Service" were named.

1942-07-10 - Robert almost graduated from Luke Field

At the bottom of this article, it mentions that Mrs. Jones and daughter Geraldine traveled to visit Robert at Luke Field in Arizona.  Robert would have graduated with Class 42-F but didn't due to "flyer's ear trouble".  The first article, at the top, I left in because it describes an engagement part at the Jones home, for Mrs. Jones' niece.  It also mentions Neal attending summer school at the University of California - this being the summer after he graduated from high school.

Luke Field Class 42-F

Photo of Robert from the Luke Field Class 42-F Class Book, page 40:

1942-08-07 - Robert Graduates from Luke Field

Robert earned his wings when graduating as a Staff Sergeant pilot from Luke Field Class 42-G.  In attendance were both parents and both sisters.  See a bit further down below the article for more information about his classmate Buster.

Luke Field Class 42-G

Photo of Robert from the Luke Field Class 42-F Class Book, page 40:

Mervyn "Buster" Davenport, aka "Buzz"

Mervyn "Buster" Davenport graduated from Los Gatos High School in 1940, the same year as Robert.  They graduated from Luke Field together in Class 42-G as well.  I was curious what came of Buster, so looked him up.  His name, but not photo, appears in the Class 42-G Class Book.

It turns out he assumed a different nickname - Buzz - and passed away at the age of 103, less than one year ago (at the time this website was first published).  Here's a Veterans Affairs article honoring him:

https://www.va.gov/northern-california-health-care/stories/a-flight-of-valor-the-story-of-mervyn-a-davenport-buzz/

News coverage:  https://krcrtv.com/news/local/redding-va-clinic-honors-103-year-old-wwii-veteran-with-ceremony

Obituary:  https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/redding-ca/mervyn-davenport-12419204

1942-12-04 - One Year of War - Roll of Honor

Marking one year from the attack on Pearl Habor, the newspaper honored all those serving.   Robert's name is in the very center column, about 11 names down (not counting the "In Memoriam" names.  The names are separated by hometown, with most from Los Gatos.  It's interesting to note several names from Alma, before the town was covered by the Lexington reservoir.

1943-04-16 - Bob Jones is Overseas Pilot

Robert, a "Flight Officer" (not Second Lieutenant yet) is now overseas, as is Buster.  Neal is at the University of Montana - more info on his page.

1943-06-18 - Flight Officer Bob Jones Awarded Air Medal

Robert was awarded the Air Medal - see the award card below this article.

Robert's Air Medal

Note that the awarding of Robert's AIr Medal was in General Orders dated April 28, 1943, while the above article was published June 18, 1943.

1943-08-16 - A Mother's Thought - Poem by Mrs. Geraldine Jones dedicated to her son Robert William Jones

I found this poem quite moving.  A poem written by Mrs. Jones in April 1942, dedicated to Robert.

1943-09-10 - Phone Call from Robert

At a time when long distance phone calls were rare, Robert was able to call home from Seattle when there for an overnight stay.  I suspect it was the last time he spoke with his parents, because the fatal crash was two months later.

Robert's Accident

1943-11-04 - The Crash

Excerpts from History of the 54th Troop Carrier Squadron

The following description of the crash comes from an official history of the 54th Troop Carrier Squadron published in 1945.  I'm surprised that it only names two of the casualties, and not all of them.  I've reached out to the Air Force Historical Research Agency for more information about the unit's history, and when I hear back I expect to learn more details, which I'll add here.

Below the description of the crash is the In Memoriam page, which lists everyone in the 54th TSC who was lost in the war, including Robert.

The Crew

Based on dates of death and mention of 54th Troop Carrier Squadron, I believe these are other crew members killed in the crash.  

2LT Leonard "Bud" Henry Walton

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/47530889/leonard_henry-walton

SGT Donald Leibowitz Lane

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/66003344/donald-leibowitz-lane

SGT Donald L Earnst

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/117419593/donald-l-earnst

S/SGT Julien L. Wenzel

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/140978953/julien-l-wenzel

S/SGT Julien L. Wenzel Photo Album

On the SSG Wenzel Find A Grave memorial there are some interesting photos posted by the Alaska Military History Association (https://www.akmilitaryhistory.com/).  I reached out to them, and Levi Ballard of the AMHA kindly shared the full album with this description:

"The Julien Wenzel photos are from an album/scrapbook that appears to have been put together by a niece of his. This is a guess based on a letter in the album. The grave in the photo with the man squatting next to it is definitely his. Although the photo is not the best quality, you can make out the headstone. I don't have any way to tell for sure on the funeral photos, but I suspect they were sent to the family member, so I can only assume they are from his funeral. I'm really not sure on the interior shot of the church, as that is an official military photograph."

It's very possible the following five images are of a funeral service held at Fort Richardson, Alaska, after the crash.

Other Links

Other links documenting the accident, neither of which seem to have complete details.  I plan to submit corrections once I hear back from the Air Force Historical Research Agency and have a clearer picture.

https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-douglas-c-47a-35-dl-elmendorf-afb-2-killed

https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/340604

Robert's Flight Records

Flight records for Word War II pilots are available at the National Archives for in person research.  Not being able to travel there, I hired a researcher to locate and digitize Robert and Neal's flight records.  I hope to provide more analysis here later, but in short, it shows Robert's total pilot hours were about 1,322 hours.

1943-11-12 - Los Gatos Coverage of Robert's Death

Robert's death was announced the Los Gatos Times just a week after his death.

1943-11-19 - Lt. Robert Jones Met Death In Plane Crash, Letter Says

Mr. and Mrs. Jones received a letter following the telegram.  The article indicates he may have initially survived the crash but succumbed to his injuries in the Fort Richardson hospital.

1944-06 - Los Gatos High School 1944 Wildcat Yearbook

The following June, the Los Gatos High School yearbook honored Robert, along with other alumni killed in the war.

1948-12 - Place Funeral Home Records

After temporary burial in Alaska and the Phillipines, Robert's and Neal's remains were repatriated to California after the war.  See the December 3, 1948 newspaper article on the Family page.

The Los Gatos Library holds the Place Funeral Home Records, and this volume from 1911 to 1960 includes Robert's entry.  In the middle of the page, it lists Robert.  My best inerpretation of the handwriting:

Name: "Jones, LT. Robert W" (with the "2nd" inserted later).  Date of death, "November 4, 1943".  Place of Death, "Fort Richardson, Alaska". Occupation, "Pilot U.S. Army".   On the opposing page it lists cause of death, "Killed in action".   Disposition of remains, "Returned on Transport Dalton Victory to G.G. (Golden Gate), Dec. 1948.  Interment Golden Gate Nat'l Cemetery, San Bruno".

1949-01-12 - Robert and Neal laid to rest in Golden Gate National Cemetery

Robert and Neal's remains were repatriated in December, 1948.  (See the Dec 3, 1948 article on the Family page for more information.)  Robert and Neal were laid to rest, side by side, in Golden Gate National Cemetery on the same day, January 12, 1949.  Robert is in Section C, Grave 3, and Neal is in Section C, Grave 2.  I wasn't able to find any information about the funeral service, but I imagine family was in attendence.

Photo above courtesy of the Veterans Legacy Memorial for Robert:

https://www.vlm.cem.va.gov/ROBERTWJONES/061B23E

Find A Grave memorial for Robert:

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/73981416/robert_w-jones

I have "suggested edits" to the Find A Grave site to properly associate the Jones siblings with their parents on that website.