NOLAN I. JONES, born September 23, 1922 at Waldron, Arkansas where he lived when graduated from high school in 1940. In August, 1940 he enlisted in the Army Air Corps and served with the 1st Fighter Group at Selfridge Field. After Pearl Harbor he entered flight training as an aviation student, attending primary at Decatur, Alabama, basic at Augusta, Georgia, and advanced at Spence Field, Georgia.

He graduated as a Staff Sergeant Pilot, class 42-J, November 10, 1942, and along with the rest of his staff sergeant classmates, was about a week later, retroactively appointed flight officer, one of the first of a long dead breed.

He transitioned to P-39's, (world's fastest tricycle) at Cross City AAB, Florida, then joined the 23rd Squadron, 36th Fighter Group at Vega Baja Airdrome, Puerto Rico, in January, 1943. In mid.1943, the 36th returned to the States and Jones checked out in the new P-47 at Charleston AAB, South Carolina. Jones flew Jugs with the 23rd Squadron at Galveston Dalhart and Bruning AAB's preparing for combat in the ETO.

Because of a temporary physical disqualification, Jones left the 36th, going to Abilene AAB as a P-47 instructor. In the fall of 1944, he volunteered for assignment to the 507th Fighter Group, joining same at Dalhart AAB, Texas. The 507th, equipped with long range P-47N's, went to the Pacific Theatre in early spring, 1945, ariving at Ie Shima (near Okinawa) in mid-1945.

Jones flew 9 combat missions against the home islands of Japan during the closing days of the war and witnessed the fireball and mushroom cloud of the second atomic bomb, exploded at Nagasaki.

Having "never had it so good," Nolan elected to stay in the service, and in 1946 was sent to Europe where he served with the 79th Fighter Group at Horsching AB, Linz, Austria, and the 86th Fighter Group, Neubiberg AB, near Munich, Germany, both P-47D equipped groups. He was drafted to fly several trips to Berlin in the C-47 Gooney Bird during the Berlin Airlift.

While at Neubiberg, Nolan's old outfit, the 36th Fighter Group, now equipped with F-80 jets, arrived at Furstenfeldbruck AB from the States and Nolan checked out in jets with the 23rd squadron. In July, 1949, Nolan returned to the States, ending his six-year association with P-47'safter logging 927 hours in the old Jug.

The tour in Europe was followed by a 5-year stint in the Training Command at Randolph, Williams and Webb AFB's flying T-6's, T-28's, F-80's and T-33's. In 1954, Jones volunteered for Korea where he served as Commander, 36th Fighter Bomber Squadron, 8th Fighter Bomber Wing, flying F -86's (Sabres). In 1955, Nolan completed Air Command and Staff School and was detailed to Martinsburg, West Virginia with the 167th Fighter Squadron, West Virginia ANG, where he assisted Guard pilots in transitioning from P-51 Mustangs to F-86 Sabres.

In 1959, he was transferred to Headquarters 7 th AF, Tripoli, Libya, then to Ankara, Turkey with Fighter Group TUS-LOG. In 1962, he was assigned to Fighter Group, TAC, Langley AFB, Virginia. While at TAC, he completed a 12-year effort to attain a college degree - night school, correspondence courses, etc. - graduating from the University of Nebraska (Omaha) in January, 1964.

Upon completing 25 years active duty, Nolan retired from the Air Force as a Lt. Col. on Sept. 1 and joined the Flight Safety Foundation in New York City. After two years as Executive Vice-President with the Flight Safety Foundation, Nolan returned to Williamsburg, Virginia where he now resides. He has been employed as a procurement manager with the NASA Langley Research Center since 1967.

Nolan married Mae Ruth (Ginger) Mitchell of Ewing, Kentucky in 1943. They have two sons, Michael and Larry, and one granddaughter.