A TRIBUTE TO A FALLEN COAST GUARDSMAN

COAST GUARD PETTY OFFICER LONNIE JONES MEMORIAL IS ON ITS WAY

The time has come and the Petty Officer Jones Memorial is becoming a reality. This journey has been long and hard, but a journey I would make over and over again, for a fellow Coast Guard Shipmate, who gave the ultimate sacrifice in the performance of his duties. The monument is being planned to placed on the grounds of Coast Guard Station Destin. A place he left one morning, but did not return. Gulf Coast Monuments of Fort Walton Beach has ordered the monument and the expected arrival is September 20, 2010. As we get closer to the completion of this monument, final arrangements will be made to unveil this monument to the public and pay respect and tribute to Petty Officer Lonnie Jones and his family.

As I have mentioned in the past, a couple of years ago, a group of Coast Guard supporters came together to have a memorial constructed for the late Petty Officer Jones, who gave his life in a Search and Rescue Mission in the early 1980’s in the Destin Pass. The initial desire was to have this memorial constructed on the West Jetties of the Destin Pass. However, because of the logistics of placing this memorial at this location and the sensitive environmental area surrounding it, a decision was made to place the Petty Officer Lonnie Jones Memorial at Coast Guard Station Destin.

When we formed this committee, we had three goals in mind, (1) Recognize the ultimate sacrifice that Petty Officer Lonnie Jones gave at the Destin Pass during a Search and Rescue Mission, (2) Recognize the Coast Guard for their service locally and around the world, (3) Recognizing how dangerous the Destin Pass is and hope the awareness of all of this might save future lives. With the movement of this memorial to this location, I believe we will be able to honor Petty Officer Jones and his family appropriately; and the thousands, who visit Coast Guard Station Destin, will understand the Coast Guard more and the sacrifices they make every day.

The memorial will be constructed of Black Granite and will sit on a 20” X 20” base and stand approximately 6’ high, with 34” of it being a Coast Guard Lighthouse. The cost of this endeavor will be approximately $4,500.00, which will pay for the monument, maintenance, and travel funds for his family to attend the unveiling of the monument. A capital campaign has been started and over a 1/3 amount has been collected as of this date. It is anticipated the monument will be unveiled to the public in late August/early September 2010. The local community has been very supportive of this initiative and I feel we will be able to reach our goal very quickly. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, please don’t hesitate to give me a call. Also, please don’t hesitate to forward this information to supporters wishing to donate to the worthwhile cause.

Monetary support for this cause can be done by mailing a check payable to H&S Title and Escrow, Attn: Petty Officer Lonnie Jones Memorial, at 151 Regions Way, Suite 1-A
Destin, FL 32541. They also can be contacted 850-650-6621 with any questions.


Ken Wright, USCG, Retired
Vice President of Northwest Florida
Military Officer's Association
850-582-6442