Ol'Harry

COMBAT MISSIONS LISTED IN NEW TESTAMENT

The vest-sized New Testament that Army draftee Elmer Jones was given in 1943 remains in pristine condition.  Perhaps tender loving care and proper storage has extended its life.  Storage was not the case during the New Testament’s earlier years – its owner took it to war with him.  

 

Via the Aviation Cadet program Jones was commissioned as a second lieutenant and navigator in the U.S. Army Air Forces.  Later in World War II he became a radar operator and joined the crew of “Double Trouble,” a B-29 Superfortress bomber operating from Guam.  The B-29 had a second name, “City of Maywood.”  Maywood, Illinois was the aircraft commander’s hometown.

1 LT ELMER JONES, GREENSBORO, NC, AND HIS WW II B-29, "DOUBLE TROUBLE"

On the front flyleaf of Jones’ military issued New Testament he dutifully recorded the names of his mother and father, “Mr. and Mrs. Arthur C. Jones, 1115 Gregory Street, Greensboro, NC.”  This entry was dated 1943. 

In retrospect, Jones could have written, “Another Glenwood boy has gone to war!”  (Glenwood is a small community within Greensboro, NC which sent an inordinate number of their finest young men into the military service -- "Glenwood Boys" were proud of their roots and the community was proud of its "Glenwood Boys.")

On April 24, 1945 Jones made another entry in his New Testament – inscribing on the blank back flyleaf, “Hacithi [Hitachi] Aircraft Factory. Visual. 15 hours 45 minutes.”  Thus was described his first combat mission against Japan.

Subsequent entries described additional bombing raids as well as several radar reconnaissance missions.  Such were the horrific days of forcing Japan’s surrender – and/or identifying potential targets for the atomic bomb if it did not.

Jones made 30 entries in his New Testament, each a descriptive line-listing of one of his B-29 missions.  World War II aviators were forbidden to keep diaries, but Jones may have argued theologically that his were entries of thanksgiving for the crew’s safety and hopefulness that the war was being shortened and lives saved with each mission.

   

The entry of June 25-26, 1945 was particularly striking, “Radar photo Hokkaido, Murotan, Otaru, Sapporo longest flight -- 23 hours.”  Hokkaido is Japan’s northernmost and second largest island.  The other locations are cities on Hokkaido. 

B-29 "DOUBLE TROUBLE" CREW THAT FLEW LONGEST MISSION OF WW II

Interestingly, the Japanese never expected a solo American bomber so far north.  The landing lights were even turned on at Sapporo, supposing the “Double Trouble” was a friendly incoming aircraft.

Just one line in Jones’ Bible, but the June 25-26 mission is recognized as the longest non-stop combat mission of World War II – 4,650 miles in 23 hours.  For this mission, he was awarded one of his two Distinguished Flying Crosses and became part of North Carolina’s contribution to aviation history.

Literary license may have been taken after a September, 1945 mission when Jones recorded his 30^th and final mission, “Tokyo buzz job.  Power show, 16 hours, 21 minutes.”  This entry was arguably an understatement.  It represented participation in the massive spectacle of air power over USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay after the surrender ceremonies were signed ending World War II.

The last page of Jones’ New Testament contained words of advice from The Gideons International organization, “Look up your chaplain at the first opportunity.  Your welfare is his first concern…”   

LT ELMER JONES' WW II NEW TESTAMENT

Sometimes referred to as Service Testaments, the first page of Jones’ New Testament is intriguing.  It is a January 25, 1941 note from President Franklin D. Roosevelt, “As Commander-in-Chief I take pleasure in commending the reading of the Bible to all who serve in the armed forces of the United States.

Throughout the centuries men of many faiths and diverse origins have found in the Sacred Book words of wisdom, counsel and inspiration.  It is a fountain of strength and now, as always, an aid in attaining the highest aspirations of the human soul.”

Soon after World War II, Jones partnered with his uncle, who owned John Robbins Motor Company, which would later become the local GMC truck dealership.  He bought the business after his uncle died and operated it into the mid-eighties .

Recalled to active duty during the Korean War, Jones remained in the U.S. Air Force Reserve, retiring as a lieutenant colonel.  A member of Centenary Methodist Church, Elmer C. Jones passed away April 5, 2014 at the age of 89.  He was the last surviving crew-member of “Double Trouble.”

His son, Colonel Charles A. Jones United States Marine Corps Reserves (Retired) now has his father’s New Testament and obviously considers it a treasured possession.  His reflection, “My father was unable to record his final flight in the New Testament – the flight that is and always will be his longest.”