The Otter Lake native was aboard the U. S. Oklahoma on the morning of Dec. 7,1941 when Japanese fighter planes began dropping bombs and firing bullets on the U. S. Naval Base in Hawaii. U. S. Navy sailor Fred M…
PORT HURON, MI — U. S. Navy sailor Fred Madison Jones is being laid to rest more than 70 years after he went missing during the Pearl Harbor attack that thrust the United States into World War II.
The Otter Lake resident was aboard the USS Oklahoma on the morning of Dec. 7,1941, when Japanese fighter planes started bombing the ship at the U. S. Naval Base in Hawaii.
He was a Machinist’s Mate First Class aboard the Oklahoma when it sunk, leading to the death of 429 crew members, according to the Oklahoma Historical Society .
He was declared missing after the attack, according to a news release from the Karrer-Simpson Funeral Home in Port Huron. His remains were recently identified by the U. S. Navy.
Jones was transferred to the Oklahoma in May 1939 from the USS Case after having been aboard the USS Chaumont, USS Mindanao, USS Cincinnati, USS Colorado, USS Simpson and USS Noa, per a transcript of his Naval service.
Jones, a North Lake native, was posthumously awarded a Purple Heart, American Defense Service medal, and Asiatic Pacific Area Campaign medal.
He was followed in death by his father, Felix Jones; son, Jon Jones; brother, Norman Jones; and sister, Neta Jones Thompson Amis.
He is survived by his daughter, Leilani Ronninger; granddaughter, Helen Kelly Cosner; two great-grandchildren, Daniel Lee Cosner and Chrystal Leanne Cosner, all of Seattle, Washington; and grandniece, Sue Nichols of Burton.
A funeral service with graveside military honors is planned for 1 p.m. Saturday, May 20 at Lakeside Cemetery in Port Huron after his casket is escorted from Detroit Metropolitan Airport the same morning.
