Hiram "Doc" Jones

Hiram Lee "Doc" Jones (born 7 November 1937) is an American United Methodist leader and retired US Air Force chaplain.

Hiram L. Jones
US Air Force photo of Jones
Born
Hiram Lee Jones

(1937-11-07) 7 November 1937
Madisonville, Texas, US
Other names"Doc"
Education
OccupationChaplain
Military career
Allegiance United States
BranchUnited States Air Force
Years1969–1999
RankBrigadier general
Awards Distinguished Svc.
 Legion of Merit
 Meritorious Svc.
 Commendation
Ecclesiastical career
ReligionChristianity
ChurchUnited Methodist
TitleElder

Personal life

In Madisonville, Texas,[1] on 7 November 1937, Hiram Lee Jones was born to Ada (née Standley;[2] born 1897 or 1898) and Dan L. Jones (born 1891 or 1892). By the 1940 United States Census, Jones had two siblings: brother Jim Dand (born 1926 or 1927) and sister Doris Marie (born 1929 or 1930), and the family lived on a farm in rural Madison County, Texas.[3]

Jones graduated from Madisonville High School.[4] He later earned a Bachelor of Science from Sam Houston State University in 1959, and was ordained in the United Methodist Church in 1963.[5] Jones received a Master of Divinity (M.Div.) from Perkins School of Theology, and after spending six years serving civilian parishes, he joined the United States Air Force in 1969. Wiley College awarded Jones an honorary Doctor of Divinity in 1974.[4] By January 1997, Jones was an ordained Elder in the United Methodist Church.[6] After his retirement, Jones and his wife moved to Greater Houston in 1999.[1]

US Air Force
Ranks held[4]
Date Insignia & rank
17 June 1970  Captain
1 May 1979  Major
1 January 1984  Lieutenant colonel
1 May 1989  Colonel
1 August 1997  Brigadier general

After joining in 1969, Jones spent that May through July 1985 as a Protestant chaplain at Kincheloe, Andrews, Kalkar Kaserne, Bergstrom, and Maxwell Air Force Bases. From July 1985 – July 1991, Jones served in the office of the command chaplain for Pacific Air Forces (at Hickam Air Force Base) and Air Training Command (at Randolph Air Force Base). After a two-year stint as the senior chaplain at Bolling Air Force Base, Jones was the command chaplain for United States Air Forces in Europe (at Ramstein Air Base) and Air Combat Command (at Langley Air Force Base) from June 1993 – June 1997.[4]

In June 1997,[4] Jones was made the Deputy Chief of Chaplains of the United States Air Force and assigned to Washington, D.C. In that capacity at the turn of the 21st century, when USA Today made news reporting on Wiccan airmen at a South Carolina Air Force base, Deputy Chief Jones told the investigating US senator—Strom Thurmond—that, "if you can tell us what religion America's religious freedom doesn't cover, we won't let them practice it."[1]

Jones retired from the Air Force on 1 December 1999.[4] Among the awards and decorations earned by General Jones were an Air Force Distinguished Service Medal,[5] a Legion of Merit, eight Meritorious Service Medals, an Air Force Commendation Medal,[4] three Air Force Outstanding Unit Awards, two Air Force Organizational Excellence Awards, and a National Defense Service Medal.[6]

References
  1. Flake, Nancy (7 August 2002). "Retired general giving sermons instead of orders". Houston Chronicle. Jack Sweeney. ISSN 1074-7109. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  2. Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997. Texas: Texas Department of State Health Services. Microfiche.
  3. Sixteenth Census of the United States, United States Census, 1940; Madison County, Texas; page 6A, line 30, enumeration district 157-12.
  4. "CHAPLAIN (BRIG. GEN.) HIRAM L. "DOC" JONES". United States Air Force. September 1998. Archived from the original on 10 September 2017. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  5. "Hiram L. Jones". Sam Houston State University. Archived from the original on 7 March 2020. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
  6. Peek, Susan (6 January 1997). "United Methodist chaplain promoted to Air Force Brigadier General" (Press release). Nashville, Tennessee: Worldwide Faith News. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 7 March 2020.

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