Herbert Jones was born on January 21, 1918, at Los Angeles, California and enlisted in the United States Naval Reserve May 14, 1935. He was commissioned an ensign on November 14, 1940, and reported to the battleship USS California (BB-44) at Pearl Harbor two weeks later.

On December 7, 1941, the 23-year-old ensign was about to relieve the officer-of-the-deck on California when Japanese planes swooped in to attack. In the first wave, a torpedo and a bomb hit the ship. Jones dove into a smoke-filled hatchway and crawled along oil-slicked decks to rescue a stricken sailor before being temporarily overcome by fumes. Reviving, he saw an anti-aircraft battery without a leader and, staggering to his feet, took command. As a second wave of Japanese planes came in, the young officer fired his guns until all their ammunition was expended. Since the torpedo had put California's ammunition hoist out of action, Jones quickly organized a party of volunteers to go below and pass the ammunition up by hand. The vitally needed shells had just begun to reach the battery when a bomb hit the ship and mortally wounded him.

Ensign Herbert Charpiot Jones (World War II) is a Notable burial at https://www.cem.va.gov/cems/nchp/ftrosecrans.asp. Californian Herbert C. Jones enlisted in the Naval Reserve in 1935, and was commissioned as an ensign in the U.S. Navy before joining the USS California in 1940. On board the vessel on December 7, 1941, he urged fellow sailors to safety, "Leave me alone! I am done for. Get out of here before the magazines go off." Ensign Jones was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously for actions during the attack on Pearl Harbor, which brought the country into World War II. In 1943 the U.S. Navy launched a destroyer escort, USS Herbert C. Jones, in his honor.   
https://valor.militarytimes.com/hero/1337   

*The preceding content is not intended as a comprehensive biography, but it highlights their significance as a result of military or civilian distinction, lasting achievements, or association with impactful national events. 


More information:  
https://www.defense.gov/News/Feature-Stories/Story/Article/2858014/medal-of-honor-monday-navy-ensign-herbert-c-jones/.

https://www.history.navy.mil/our-collections/photography/us-people/j/jones-herbert-c.html

USS Navy destroyer, Herbert Jones, christened by his widow, Joanne.

HERBERT CHARPIOT JONES

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