★★★ Memorial Monday ★★★
ENS Cary Jones, USN '81 was lost on July 8, 1982 when the T-44 training aircraft she was aboard collided with another near Corpus Christi, Texas. All five other officers aboard the two aircraft were also killed.
From the September 1982 issue of Shipmate:
Ens. Jones is believed to be the first Naval Academy female graduate and the first female Navy aviator killed in a plane crash. Memorial services were held at the Naval Academy Chapel on 13 July with Chaplains Charles L. Greenwood '50, Roger W. Pierce and Barry C Black officiating, and interment was in Arlington National Cemetery.
Reporting to the Naval Academy with a presidential appointment, Ens. Jones came from a Navy background. Both her maternal grandfather, William L. Maxson of the Class of 1921 and her paternal grandfather, George Lorraine Jones Jr., of the Class of 1927, were Academy graduates, and her father, LCol. David B. Jones USAF (Ret.) was a member of the Class of 1953.
Upon graduation with the Class of 1981, Ens. Jones chose naval aviation as her specialty and had successfully completed primary training at Pensacola. Within two months of receiving her naval wings, she was posthumously designated naval aviator on 10 July, and she aspired to eventually go to test pilot school and then to become an astronaut.
As a midshipman Ens. Jones was known as an active, exuberant and energetic member of the Class of 1981. She was a battalion subcommander in her first class year, was a cheerleader for three years, took an overload in mathematics in order to pursue her master's degree after graduation, and had leading roles in the musicals Damn Yankee and Fiddler on the Roof as a Masquerader. Among the hundreds of midshipmen, friends and acquaintances attending her services at the Academy Chapel were her Classmates, Ens. Wendy B. Lawrence USN, Ens. Mary A. Brigden USN, both of whom participated in the funeral service, and Ens. Dennis Sawyer USN, her class president. She was a life member of the Naval Academy Alumni Association.
She is survived by her parents, LCol. (USAF Ret.) and Mrs. David B. Jones ... a sister, Lorrie, a naval lieutenant stationed in San Diego; and a brother, David.
To Honor! ⚓
https://usnamemorialhall.org/index.php/CARY_P._JONES,_ENS,_USN