Joseph Matthew Jones

Captain Jones was born in Rye, New York on August 6th, 1918. He attended public schools in Harrison, New York where he was active in sports and other school activities. He attended Missouri Valley College where he was a member of the varsity football and golf teams as a freshman. He transferred to Pasadena Junior College and then on to UCLA. He entered the Navy from UCLA leaving school just before completing his studies. In later years he completed his education receiving a bachelor’s degree and a Master of Science degree from The George Washington University.

He entered active duty with the Navy from UCLA in June of 1940. His first assignment was to the Hawaiian Detachment of the U.S. Pacific Fleet aboard the USS Maryland and was assigned shortly thereafter to the USS Pensacola a heavy cruiser. Those assignments began a tour in the Pacific theater, which would encompass all of World War II from the attack on Pearl Harbor, to the final battle at Okinawa and the Japanese surrender. On that fateful December 7th morning, his ship was halfway across the Pacific, protecting the last reinforcements on their way to the Philippines.

As a young officer in the Pensacola Ordnance and Gunnery Department, he was put on a fast track of education, training, and duty assignments to take over responsibility for the operation of the intricate gunnery fire control equipment and electronics aboard ship. By the time of the Pearl Harbor attack, he had been promoted to the top job of directing the ships batteries in enemy action. His Pacific war experience included action in most every major sea battle and every amphibious landing on enemy territory, as well as numerous other strikes on Japanese held territory from Guadalcanal, to the Marshall and Gilbert islands, the Philippines, the Japanese northern islands, Iwo Jima and Okinawa, right up to the enemy surrender in 1945.

Following the war, Captain Jones’ career included two separate tours of command of two Atlantic Fleet destroyers, a tour as an Operations Officer on the staff of the Commander, Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean and command of the USS Compass Island, a key element of the Navy Polaris/Poseidon ballistic Missile program. In between sea assignments, he held positions in Navy weapons and detection equipment engineering development programs, including one as Senior Engineer and Project Coordinator in the Key West Development Group. While in that position, he either directed or participated in the evaluation of the Navy’s first deep diving high speed submarine, USS Albacore, a newly designed prototype Canadian destroyer and numerous other new weapons systems. He was promoted to the rank of Captain in January 1960 while serving as an Operations Officer on the staff of the Commander of the Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean.

Prior to his retirement in 1967, he completed two tours of duty in the Office of the Director of Defense Research and Engineering over seeing Engineering Development programs for new weapon systems of all of the armed services.

Along with awards of the Legion of Merit, Navy and Defense Commendations, Purple Heart and other decorations, he qualified to wear thirteen major battle stars on his Pacific Theater Campaign ribbons.

Leaving active duty behind in 1967, Captain Jones joined Honeywell’s Missile and Space Sciences Division as a Senior Staff Engineer. He was subsequently promoted to Director of Product Planning in the Communication and Data Products Division of Honeywell’s Computer Company. He later became a Program Manager in their Marine Systems Division in West Covina. He retired from all business activity after three years of association with local San Diego defense oriented companies.

Since returning to California in 1969, he made his home in the Pacific Beach area, having learned to like the beach and ocean environment as a young lifeguard. His attention and activity in recent years, has been directed to the game of golf. He was active as a member of the areas military golf clubs and their competitive golf teams and had been a member of the San Diego County Seniors Golf Association. He was a life member of The Military Officers and Disabled American Veterans Associations, as well as a member of The Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Knights of Columbus and member of St Brigid’s Parish in Pacific Beach.

His wife of 71 years, the former Josephine Margret Buffington of Hollywood, California, who he met while a student at Pasadena Junior College, passed away in November 2012. Family survivors include sons Joseph of Arlington, Virginia and Lawrence of Danville, California, and a daughter, Theresa of Fort Walton Beach, Florida and 38 grand and great grand children.

A Celebration of Life and Memorial services are being planned for St. Brigid’s Catholic Church located in San Diego, CA with burial at the Miramar National Military Cemetery following immediately.

The family requests that any contributions be made to St Vincent de Paul Village in San Diego, CA.