Winfred I. Jones

Their Story

Winfred Earl Jones was born on April 25, 1915, the son of George and Amelia Jones, in Cedar Rapids, Linn County, Iowa. Before the war, Winifred was employed by the Chicago, Rock Island, and Pacific Railroad as a station porter.

Winfred Jones enlisted in the U.S. Army on December 11, 1943, at Camp Dodge, Iowa. His serial number, which begins with the letters RA, tells us that he enlisted and was not drafted.

Men who were drafted had a serial number that started with the letters US.  National Guardsmen’s serial numbers started with NG, and Army Reservists started with AR.

Pvt. Winfred Jones came home on a 15-day furlough in May 1944. This was after his basic training in California. At the end of the furlough, Pvt. Jones returned to Oakland, California, and prepared for overseas duty.

Private Jones left the United States for the Pacific Theater on June 28, 1944. He was a member of the 484th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Auto-Weapons Battalion, which was part of the 10^th Army Air Force in Burma and India. The Anti-Aircraft Artillery protected the airfield from aerial attacks.

Pvt. Jones came back to the United States on February 23, 1946. He was stationed at Ft. Belvoir, Virginia. On July 15, 1949, Winfred Jones applied for the State of Iowa World War II Service Compensation. This was referred to as the “Iowa Bonus” and was based on how long a person was overseas during the war. Winfred was overseas one year, seven months, and seven days. He was paid $350 as a bonus for his service.

Winfred decided to make the Army his career, staying in for 29 years, and retiring on June 30, 1972. During that 29 years he saw action in Korea and Vietnam. At the time of his retirement, he was a staff sergeant.

One of the many things that Staff Sergeant Jones witnessed during his military career was the end of segregation in the United States Military. As a black man in the military, this was a significant event in Staff Sergeant Jones’ life. When the U.S. entered World War II, the United States Army was racially segregated. Despite the service of African American soldiers in every previous American conflict, exclusion and discrimination from the American War Department made it difficult for black soldiers to serve. In 1939, only 3,640 black soldiers were enlisted under white leadership. Led by Rayford W. Logan, head of the Committee for the Participation of Negroes in National Defense, the push for greater black participation and nondiscrimination in the military was reflected in the Selective Service Act of 1940. Members of the NAACP also met with President Roosevelt to outline demands for the betterment of black soldiers’ conditions in the military.

Because of this resistance to the Army’s treatment of its black soldiers, military leadership began to address the issue beginning in 1943, but segregation in the armed forces remained official policy until 1948. On July 26, 1948, President Harry S. Truman signed Executive Order 9981: Desegregation of the Armed Forces banning segregation in the Armed Forces.

Staff Sergeant Winfred E. Jones was awarded the Army Commendation Medal for outstanding performance of duty from 1970 to 1972 as a non-commissioned officer in charge of the Army War College mail room. His last assignment was at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. He was also stationed in Ethiopia during his career.

Staff Sergeant Winfred Jones died on July 24, 2000, at the age of 85.

Winfred Earl Jones (1915-2000) – Find a Grave Memorial

Army Commendation Medal

Wikipedia contributors, “Commendation Medal,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, Commendation Medal – Wikipedia (accessed July 6, 2022).