671st BS Patch

416th Bombardment Group (L)

Raymond Joseph Jones

S/Sgt, Airplane Mechanic - Gunner

February 13, 1922 - May 16, 2007

671st Bombardment Squadron (L)

 WWII-Medal

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Ray Jones was born Feb. 13, 1922 in Camden, NJ.  Raised in South Philadelphia, PA.  Attended St. Anthony's Grade School and Bok High School.   Worked for General Electric before enlisting in the AAF Aug. 26, 1942.  Completed basic training at Atlantic City, NJ.  Completed Airplane Mechanics School, Goldsboro, NC.  Also A-20 School, Douglas Air Craft, Santa Monica, CA.  Completed gunnery training at Fort Meyers, FL.  Crew assignment, Florence, SC. Sailed on Queen Mary April 9, 1944 and assigned to 416th Bomb Gp., 671st Bomb Sqdn., A-20 & A-26.  Missions before D-Day were bridges and buzz bomb sites.  Flew the early mission on D-Day, dropping bombs at 1,500 feet.  Had a fuel pump shot up last of June and emergency landed on a beach near Normandy.  Promoted to Staff Sergeant at Wethersfield and flew 51 combat missions.  Earned: Aerial Gunner's Badge, Air Medal with nine oak leaf clusters, AAF Technician Badge, Good Conduct Medal, European African Middle Eastern Service Medal with five bronze stars.  Battle and campaigns: Air Offensive Europe; Normandy; Northern France; Rhineland; Ardennes.  Left Europe in February 1945 and arrived in the U.S. in March 1945.  Stationed at Champagne, IL and Randolph Field, Madison, WI.  Discharged at Indiantown Gap, PA, Sept. 29, 1945.  Married, moved to Tulsa, OK in 1947 and worked for 28 years at the Rooney Company as a painting foreman and building superintendant.  Retired in 1984 and enjoyed his hobby of woodworking, making toys and projects for the Salvation Army.




JONES, Raymond J., 85, of Tulsa, went to be with the Lord on Wednesday, May 16, 2007. Born in Camden, NJ on February 13, 1922 to Eustice and Katherine Jones. He grew up in South Philadelphia and at the age of 20, enlisted in the Army and fought in WWII. He was an engineer gunner and assigned to A20 Light Bombers with the 416th Bomb Group and the 671st Bomb Squad. He flew 51 combat missions from England to France. He was honorably discharged in 1945. In 1947, he left to visit his service buddies and made it as far as Tulsa and decided to stay. He loved Tulsa and all its people and hopes and prays we will all meet again in the great here-after. "Love to all & God Bless, Yar". He is preceded in death by his first wife, Iva Davis. He is survived by his wife, Shurlee; his brother, Francis Jones; his children, Katherine Coleman and husband, John, Jack Jones and wife, Nora, and Rick Jones and wife, Cynthia; his stepchildren, Kathi McDaris, Karen Manning and Kevin Kiliman and their spouses and children; his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Rosary will be 6:00 P.M., Sunday, May 20, 2007 at Church of the Resurrection, 4804 S. Fulton, Tulsa, OK 74135 and funeral mass will be held 10:00 A.M., Monday, May 21, 2007 with interment at Calvary Cemetery. Moore's Southlawn Chapel 663-2233 share memories at www.moorefuneral.com

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