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Contact Info
Home Town Charlottesville, Virginia
Last Address Andrews AFB, Maryland
Date of Passing Nov 15, 1969
Location of Interment Saint John's Episcopal Church Cemetery - Warsaw, Virginia
Just over a year after the mission for which he would be posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, he was killed in the crash of his private plane in Virginia.
His Medal of Honor citation: Awarded for actions during the Vietnam War
The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pride in presenting the Medal of Honor (Posthumously) to Colonel William Atkinson Jones, III, United States Air Force, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving with the 602d Special Operations Squadron, 56th Special Operations Wing, on 1 September 1968. Colonel Jones distinguished himself as the Pilot of an A-1H Skyraider aircraft near Dong Hoi, North Vietnam. On that day, as the on-scene commander in the attempted rescue of a downed U.S. pilot, Colonel Jones' aircraft was repeatedly hit by heavy and accurate anti-aircraft fire. On one of his low passes, Colonel Jones felt an explosion beneath his aircraft and his cockpit rapidly filled with smoke. With complete disregard of the possibility that his aircraft might still be burning, he unhesitatingly continued his search for the downed pilot. On this pass, he sighted the survivor and a multiple-barrel gun position firing at him from near the top of a karst formation. He could not attack the gun position on that pass for fear he would endanger the downed pilot. Leaving himself exposed to the gun position, Colonel Jones attacked the position with cannon and rocket fire on two successive passes. On his second pass, the aircraft was hit with multiple rounds of automatic weapons fire. One round impacted the Yankee Extraction System rocket mounted directly behind the headrest, igniting the rocket. His aircraft was observed to burst into flames in the center fuselage section, with flames engulfing the cockpit area. He pulled the extraction handle, jettisoning the canopy. The influx of fresh air made the fire burn with greater intensity for a few moments, but since the rocket motor had already burned, the extraction system did not pull Colonel Jones from the aircraft. Despite searing pains from severe burns sustained on his arms, hands, neck, shoulders, and face, Colonel Jones pulled his aircraft into a climb and attempted to transmit the location of the downed pilot and the enemy gun position to the other aircraft in the area. His calls were blocked by other aircraft transmissions repeatedly directing him to bail out and within seconds his transmitters were disabled and he could receive only on one channel. Completely disregarding his injuries, he elected to fly his crippled aircraft back to his base and pass on essential information for the rescue rather than bail out. Colonel Jones successfully landed his heavily damaged aircraft and passed the information to a debriefing officer while on the operating table. As a result of his heroic actions and complete disregard for his personal safety, the downed pilot was rescued later in the day. Colonel Jones' profound concern for his fellow man at the risk of his life, above and beyond the call of duty, are in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Air Force and reflect great credit upon himself and the Armed Forces of his country.
General Orders: Department of the Air Force, Special Order GB-826 (June 23, 1970)
Model Consolidated B-24J Liberator Length 67.16 ft | 20.47 m Width 110.01 ft | 33.53 m Height 18.01 ft | 5.49 m Engine(s) 4 x Pratt & Whitney R-1830-65 radial piston engines generating 1,200hp. Empty Weight 36,500 lbs | 16,556 kg MTOW 65,001 lbs | 29,484 kg Max Speed 290 mph | 467 km/h | 252 kts Max Range 2,001 miles | 3,220 km Ceiling 28,002 ft | 8,535 m | 5.3 miles Climb Rate 800 ft/min (243.84 m/min) Hardpoints 0 Armament 2 x 12.7mm machine guns in nose assembly. 2 x 12.7mm machine guns in tail assembly. 2 x 12.7mm machine guns in upper-fuselage turret. 2 x 12.7mm machine guns in under-fuselage assembly. 1 x 12.7mm machine gun in left-waist fuselage position. 1 x 12.7mm machine gun in right-waist fuselage position.
Up to 8,800lbs of internal bombs. Accommodations 10 Operators the United States of America and the United Kingdom.
* Model 31 - Flying Boat Model whose wing assembly would become the basis for the B-24 design. * Model 32 - Base B-24 Model Series Designation. * XB-24 - Initial Prototype Model Designation fitted with R-1830-33 radial piston engines generating 1,200hp. * YB-24 - Preproduction Model Designation * B-24A - Fitted with 2 x 7.62mm tail guns, 6 x 12.7mm machine guns in nose assembly, dorsal and waist gun positions. * B-24C - Fitted with turbocharged R-1830-41 engines; 8 x 12.7mm machine guns - nose (single gun), ventral, waist (left and right), dorsal turret (two guns) and tail turret (two guns). * B-24D - Based on the B-24C model but fitted with R-1830-43 engines; later models of this series would feature the twin 12.7mm ball turret gun assembly in the ventral fuselage position; self-sealing fuel tanks; 2,381 produced. * B-24E - Modified propeller systems; 801 produced. * B-24G - Fitted with R-1830-43 engines; powered nose turret with 2 x 12.7mm machine guns. * B-24H - Improved Model with extended nose section; 3,100 produced. * B-24J - Fitted with R-1830-65 engines; improved bombsight; autopilot functionality; 6,678 produced. * B-24L - Based on B-24J model but fitted with hand-operated tail guns; 1,667 produced. * B-24M - Based on B-24J model with lighter mounting for hand-operated tail gun; 2,593 produced. * XB-24Q - General Electric Conversion Model of B-24L model fitted with radio-controlled tail turret. * B-24Q - Final Production Model Designation * B-24Q * LB-30 - Transport Variant * C-87 - Air Force Transport Variant * RY - Navy Transport Variant * C-109 - Fuel Tanking Model * F-7 - Photographic Reconnaissance Model * PB4Y-1 - Patrol Bombing Model * PB4Y-2 - Specialized Model with single vertical tail surface assembly. * GR - British Maritime Reconnaissance Model.
