Heroism Of ‘44 Honored At Last Black Crew Member Of Uss Intrepid ‘Filled Up To The Top’ By Navy Cross

His black heritage placed Petty Officer Robert Jones in a cooking job aboard the carrier USS Intrepid in 1944. The emergency of battle put Jones behind a gun trained on a kamikaze fighter flying straight for him.

More than 50 years later, Jones finally can wear the medal promised him after he stayed at his post even as the fighter slammed into his gun emplacement, burning him severely.

The Navy made it official Wednesday in a simple ceremony in the Capitol Building, awarding Jones, now 71, the Navy Cross, the service’s highest award short of the Medal of Honor. A one-paragraph citation described the action aboard the Intrepid on Oct. 29, 1944, during the Battle of Leyte Gulf off the Philippine Islands:

“When a Japanese bomber attacked his vessel from the starboard side, Petty Officer Jones continued to fire his portside gun across the flight deck at the oncoming plane and, although it was apparent that the bomber was headed directly for his gun tub, remained at his post, firing his weapon until the plane crashed into his tub, severely burning him.”

Navy Secretary John Dalton pinned the medal on Jones’ chest as senators and congressmen from the sailor’s home state of Virginia looked on. Jones wore the service dress blues and white cap of a Navy sailor - and a proud smile as his wife and two dozen relatives looked on.

“Right now I’m filled up to the top. I’m filled with joy,” Jones said.

“This is a day long overdue,” Dalton said. “This awards ceremony should have taken place over 50 years ago, in the Pacific theater of World War II.”

Jones had earlier been awarded other medals, including the Purple Heart, Bronze Star and the Philippine Liberation Ribbon. He is authorized to wear the “V” device denoting service in combat.

Records indicate that a Navy officer assured Jones he would receive the Navy Cross. It was never followed up with anything in writing. Jones, who was discharged from the Navy in 1947 after recovering from severe burns, began making inquiries about awards being given to Intrepid’s gunners. Only when Jones, a resident of Newport News, Va., contacted his congressman, Rep. Robert Scott, did the wheels begin turning.

Another black crew member of the Intrepid, Alonzo Swann, received the Navy Cross from President Reagan at a ceremony aboard the Intrepid, which is a floating museum along New York’s waterfront.

A film of the kamikaze attack that turned Jones into a hero is one of the exhibits aboard the ship.

In four years as Navy secretary, Dalton said he could recall only a handful of cases in which the documentation for a high award from World War II was so clear.

If Jones had any resentment about the long wait for the medal, he didn’t show it Wednesday.

“I thank God I’m here to get this,” he said.