William Arthur Jones
Bio
William Arthur Jones was born in 1934 on Fort Hall Indian Reservation in Wyoming where his grandfather was the Indian Farm Agent. At the age of sixteen, he earned a pilot license and conducted search and rescue missions for the Civil Air Patrol. In 1952, he left the University of Wyoming, where he played on the basketball team, to enlist in the United States Air Force. During the Korean War, he served as a weapons specialist in the 67th Fighter Bomber Wing of the 12th Fighter Bomber Squadron in Osan. He aided in locating enemy troops by dropping flares from aircraft. During one of these missions, he endured an injury from ground fire that had entered through the plane. After returning to the States, he was sent to Wendover Air Force Base, where he led efforts to clean up an atomic testing site. Soon after, he completed nuclear weapons training and served as a recovery specialist for undetonated atomic bombs. In 1960, he was discharged from the Air Force to pursue a college education at Boise State where he later became a professor of outdoor recreation and the school’s first athletics trainer.
Video Clips
Life Before Entering the Service
William Arthur Jones shares he was seven years old when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. He discusses his childhood memories of traveling with his father, a government trapper during WWII, and earning a pilot license at the age of sixteen to conduct search and rescue missions for the Civil Air Patrol. He mentions his basketball scholarship at the University of Wyoming. He reflects on the time his mother called him at college about a letter from the Department of the Army. He remembers how he enlisted in the United State Air Force the very next day.
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A Weapons Specialist in Korea
William Arthur Jones shares he joined the United States Air Force in 1952 and specialized in armament and weapons. He recounts being sent to Korea ten days after basic training where he served as a weapons specialist in the 67th Fighter Bomber Wing of the 12th Fighter Bomber Squadron. He describes how he aided in locating enemy troops--by dropping flares from aircraft during missions.
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South Korean Villages
William Arthur Jones provides photographs taken during the war of Korean villages located forty miles south of Seoul. He describes how the South Koreans grew crops and prepared food and contrasts the area to its current urban development. He shares last photograph is of him using his military-issued hunting license to hunt pheasants in Korea.
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Flying in Korea
William Arthur Jones recounts experiences on various aircraft during his time in the Korean War. He describes an instance where ground fire traveled through the plane he was in and struck his glute. He offers information about the F-86 Sabre jet replacing the B-51 Mustang to compete with North Korean and Chinese fighter jets. He remembers flying small observation aircraft around the base during R and R. He recalls times when South Korean pilots crashed many B-26 planes that were donated by the United States.
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Last Year in Korea and Returning Home
William Arthur Jones recalls identifying a "house boy" on the military base as a North Korean spy. He reflects on his final year in Korea after the Armistice and shares his experience of playing football on the base, where his team emerged as the Korean Touch Football Champions in 1953. He recounts how, after returning to the States, he was sent to Wendover Air Force Base where he led efforts to clean up an atomic testing site.
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