ENS Thomas Raymond Jones,
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ENS Thomas Raymond Jones
Thomas Raymond “Ray” Jones was born March 31, 1918 at Martin, Mississippi but grew up in Tallulah, Louisiana, in the northeast part of the state. His father, Harvey, was a jeweler and his mother, Susie Burney Jones, a homemaker.
He graduated from Tallulah High School and attended Louisiana State University for two years. He enlisted in the Naval Reserve on July 12, 1940, trained for about two months and then in November was appointed a midshipman and sent to New York City for training. He was commissioned an ensign on Feb. 28, 1941.
Mr. Jones was killed Dec. 7, 1941 on the U.S.S. Arizona during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. He was probably at his battle station in the forward battle lookout. That would have been high up on the foremast above the ship’s superstructure and slightly behind where its forward magazines ignited from a Japanese bomb, destroying the forward half of the ship.
His brothers both served in the war — Burney in the Army and Jack in the Marines.
Sources: Census; Monroe (Louisiana) News Star; The Times of Shreveport, Louisiana; the Fort Worth (Texas) Star-Telegram; Navy enlistment records and muster rolls; 1937 Louisiana State University yearbook, the Gumbo; grave markers. This profile was researched and written on behalf of the U.S.S. Arizona Mall Memorial at the University of Arizona.