Relatives ready to welcome Pearl Harbor sailor home

Bernard "Bud" Jones says his grandmother would have welcomed the chance to say goodbye to her brother, Fred M. Jones.

"I think it's amazing what they can do now," said Bud Jones, who lives in Fort Gratiot. "It is going to give the families closure.

"It always bothered my grandmother that she couldn't go and see her brother."

Jones said his grandmother, Neta Jones Thompson Amis, died in the late 1980s and will miss her brother's homecoming. He died on Dec. 7, 1941, during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. 

Jones said he knew he had a great-uncle who was killed at Pearl Harbor and that his remains were in Hawaii.

He said he found out more when he read a story in the Times Herald.

"This came along, and I couldn't believe it," he said. "'Fred Jones,' and then I read a little bit further and I saw Grandma's name in there."

Fred Jones was aboard the USS Oklahoma the day of the attack on Pearl Harbor. He was a machinist's mate first class in the U.S. Navy and was among the 429 crew members who died when the battleship was sunk.

His remains will be interred with military honors at 1 p.m. Saturday at Lakeside Cemetery.

"I'll be there," Bud Jones said. "I'm family. I'll be there."

Jones had been listed as missing in action. His remains recently were identified.

According to information from the Michigan State Police, Jones' body will be convoyed on Friday from Detroit Metropolitan Airport to Karrer-Simpson Funeral Home in Port Huron.

The funeral procession is expected to start at about 12:40 p.m. Saturday. The graveside service will begin at 1 p.m.

Members of the public can attend, but are encouraged to go directly to the cemetery and not participate in the procession.

Karrer-Simpson Funeral Home is supplying American flags for people who want to line the procession route to the cemetery. People can pick up flags at the funeral home.

The route will begin at the funeral home, 1720 Elk St., then head east on Thomas Edison Drive, north on Thomas Edison Parkway, west on Elmwood Street, then north on Gratiot Avenue and west on Holland Avenue to enter the cemetery.

Parking is available at Holland Woods Middle School and Lakeside Beach. Parking at the cemetery will be limited and is reserved for family and veterans.

Jones was 30 years old when he died. He was awarded a Purple Heart, American Defense Service medal and Asiatic Pacific Area Campaign medal.

Bud Jones also served in the U.S. Navy and attained the rank of machinist's mate third class.

He said he's anxious to find out more about the great-uncle he never met.

"I have a lot of questions I want to ask," he said.

Contact Bob Gross at (810) 989-6263 or rgross@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @RobertGross477.