AIR FORCE DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON –
Air Force Medal of Honor recipient Col. William A. Jones III will be honored by the Air Force District of Washington when a building being constructed on Andrews Air Force Base, Md., is named in his honor.
The building will be known as "The William A. Jones III Building" and is prominently located at the corner of Alabama Avenue and North Perimeter Road.
According to the Air Force Biography Web site, Colonel Jones distinguished himself on Sept. 1, 1968, as the pilot of an A-1H "Skyraider" aircraft near Dong Hoi, North Vietnam, when he was critically injured while risking his life in an attempted rescue mission of a downed F-4 "Phantom" pilot. At the time of the mission, he was an Air Commando assigned to the 602nd Special Operations Squadron.
"Arriving over the area, he made several low passes across a valley to find the pilot and pinpoint enemy gun positions," the Web site said. "On one pass, he felt an explosion beneath his aircraft and his cockpit was filled with smoke. After the smoke cleared, he continued his search and finally spotted the downed pilot near a towering rock formation. Enemy gunners occupying a position near the top of the formation opened fire on the propeller-driven Skyraider.
"Jones realized that the gun position had to be destroyed before a rescue could be made and that strikes against it would endanger the survivor unless his location was known. He attacked with cannon and rocket fire while relaying the pilot's location by radio. While making his second pass, his aircraft was hit and cockpit was set ablaze. He sought to eject but the damaged extraction system only jettisoned the canopy without pulling him from the cockpit....Before the fire died out, Jones was badly burned and his radio transmitters were disabled. He chose to return to base to report the downed pilot's exact location. Despite his severe burns, he landed his damaged aircraft safely, and insisted on passing on the vital information before receiving medical treatment. The downed pilot was rescued later that day."
The Medal of Honor was awarded to Colonel Jones for his selfless heroism, but he died in an aircraft accident Nov. 15, 1969, in the United States before the Medal could be presented to him.
Construction of the five-story structure bearing the colonel's name began in June 2009. It has two wings, more than 380,000 square feet of space and 1,202 parking spaces. The building will meet anti-terrorism/force protection, security, SCIF (sensitive, compartmented information facility) and court room requirements, and be 30 percent energy efficient to meet guidelines set forth in the 2005 Energy Policy Act. Total estimated construction costs for the new facility is $114.3 million.
Planned tenants include the AFDW and 316th Wing staffs, as well as more than 2,000 Air Force personnel displaced as a result of BRAC 2005 and anti-terrorism/force protection standards.
The building project is expected to be completed in March 2011. A formal dedication ceremony will take place at that time.