[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 104 (Thursday, July 12, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1240-E1241]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  A TRIBUTE TO CAPTAIN WILBUR D. JONES

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MIKE McINTYRE

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 12, 2012

  Mr. McINTYRE. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I rise and 
ask you to join me in recognizing Captain Wilbur D. Jones, of 
Wilmington, North Carolina, who has earned the StarNews Lifetime 
Achievement Award. The StarNews Lifetime Achievement Award was 
established in 2003 to honor individuals who have given substantially 
of themselves for the improvement of the communities of Southeastern 
North Carolina. Captain Jones is very worthy of this honor, and I 
salute him for his legacy of service to our state and nation.
  Captain Jones stands out as a distinguished former member of the 
United States Navy, historian, preservationist and award-winning author 
and lecturer. Born in the middle of the Great Depression, Captain Jones 
was only seven years old at the outset of World War II, but this 
history-shaping era sparked an on-going passion for military history 
within him that continues to this day.
  After graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel 
Hill, Captain Jones made the decision to enroll in Officer Candidate 
School. Beginning in 1956, he served as both a Regular Navy and Ready 
Reserve officer, finally retiring in 1984. During this time his tact 
for leadership earned him the rank of Naval Captain. He honorably 
commanded two Reserve units with the same dedication and strong, 
personal leadership that he is known for today. As Captain Jones said 
himself, ``Remembering how I began, I was born to be a military 
historian and career Armed Forces Officer in service to my country.''

[[Page E1241]]

  Concurrently with his service to our nation, Captain Jones spent 41 
years in the U.S. Department of Defense, while maintaining a role as a 
civilian professor and Associate Dean of Information at the Defense 
Acquisition University. His service included more than seven years in 
the Pentagon as a Captain on active duty and as a civilian assistant to 
the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition. His career took him and 
his family around the globe, but Captain Jones returned to his home of 
Wilmington, North Carolina in 1997, where he remains today.
  These unique experiences would later serve him well in his role as a 
historian, author, lecturer and preservationist. He has produced an 
impressive and important collection of works on World War II. To date, 
he has authored 17 books on military history and national defense, 
along with collecting and publishing innumerable research papers, 
encyclopedia entries, interviews and photographic documentaries.
  With his natural energy and intelligence, Captain Jones is not just 
North Carolina's treasure, but also a treasure to our country. The 
StarNews Lifetime Achievement Award Captain Jones receives today is a 
major honor, and is also just one of the many awards that Captain Jones 
has earned in his lifetime, from the National Defense Medal, North 
Carolina Historian of the Year, Senior Service Award, and countless 
others recognizing the quality of his writing, research and dedication 
to leadership.
  Captain Wilbur D. Jones serves as an example across generations by 
acting as a man of courage, a man of duty, and a man who is devoted to 
serving his homeland. Mr. Speaker, I wish to thank you for allowing me 
to honor one of North Carolina's most distinguished Naval Officers and 
historians, and I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing a man 
whom North Carolina and the United States is proud to call their own.

                          ____________________