Today’s #VeteranOfTheDay is Army Veteran Thomas Pierson Jones, who served in the military from 1958 to 1996, rising to the rank of major general.
In the 1950s, Thomas Jones attended college at Michigan State University. At the time, everyone had to participate in the Reserve Officer Training Corps program for their first two years of college. After that, they could choose to continue in the program for the last two years. Jones continued and when he graduated in 1958, he was a second lieutenant.
He reported to Fort Knox, Kentucky, for armor training and afterward returned home and worked at a lumber company. In 1959, he joined an Army Reserve unit near his hometown. Jones served as platoon leader and a commanding officer. He later became the to assistant battalion operations officer.
Jones promoted to major and transferred to the 123rd Army Reserve Command. He was first deputy chief of staff and then assistant chief of staff for logistics.
Jones eventually returned to his original unit, which mobilized at the beginning of the Persian Gulf War. During this time, he worked as the deputy commanding general for material and services. He had a large staff and was responsible for supplies and field services such as clothing, laundry and mortuary services. After the war ended, his unit cleaned up supplies and took inventory.
He returned home and became the commanding officer of the 86th Army Reserve Command. In this position, Jones commanded all Army Reserve units in Illinois and Wisconsin. He retired at the age of 60. More of his story can be found at http://memory.loc.gov/diglib/vhp/story/loc.natlib.afc2001001.03019/.
Thank you for your service!
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Veterans History Project
This #VeteranOfTheDay profile was created with interviews submitted to the Veterans History Project. The project collects, preserves, and makes accessible the personal accounts of American war Veterans so that future generations may hear directly from Veterans and better understand the realities of war. Find out more at http://www.loc.gov/vets/.
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Thank you for your service Thomas Jones.
Thanks for your service