Photo courtesy of CNN
Civil rights lawyer and decorated World War II veteran Johnnie Jones Sr. has died at age 102.
The Louisiana Department of Veteran Affairs (LDVA) announced Jones’ death on its Twitter account Monday.
“We are saddened by the news of the passing,” the LDVA tweeted. “It was our distinct honor to care for Mr. Jones at our Louisiana Veterans Home where he lived since this past December.”
“We will always be grateful to have played a part in awarding him the Purple Heart he deserved for his injury in combat.”
Last year, the pioneer was recognized for his service and awarded the Purple Heart by state officials at the Old State Capitol in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, a June 2021 Veteran Affairs blog post stated.
“I want to express our deepest respect for your distinguished service, and long overdue recognition of your wounds received during the invasion of Omaha Beach on D-Day,” wrote Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville in a letter to Jones for the award.
“We owe you a debt of gratitude, both for your sacrifices during World War II and for being a role model for African Americans aspiring to serve,” McConville added.
The veteran was also honored on March 9, 2020, “by the French government when they presented him their country’s Legion of Honor for his World War II service,” the VA wrote.
While Jones said it was an honor to serve his country, his primary focus was being around to tell those war stories to his loved ones.
“This is for my children, and my grandchildren, and any young people who want to listen to me,” he said. “I love talking to young people, because you cannot hide the past. You have to deal with the past, and you have to deal with history. You have to read and understand so we don’t repeat the past.”
He graduated from Southern University, the largest historically Black college or university in Louisiana, and was drafted into the army in 1942. A year later, he rose to the rank of Warrant Officer Junior Grade.
Jones recalled his near-death experience on Omaha Beach for D-Day when a German sniper tried to kill him as he came ashore.
“I remember it all,” he said. “Sometimes reminiscing is a terrible thing. I close my eyes at night and still see him. I lay down at night and as soon as I close my eyes, I relive the whole D-Day invasion.”
He continued, “His ship hit a mine and he was blown from the second deck to the first. The explosion, “blew me sky high into the air,” he said. “I was flying like a bullet.”
Later in the war, Jones suffered multiple injuries after being hit with shrapnel during a bomb attack. In addition, he faced extensive racism when he returned to the U.S. In 1942, Jones was pulled over by a white police officer while driving to New Orleans to remove shrapnel from his neck.
“He knocked me down and started kicking me,” he said. “Things weren’t right. ‘Separate but equal’ was unconstitutional and I wanted to fight it and make it better.”
Jones wanted to pave the way for African Americans to maintain their civil rights, prompting him to get his law degree. Shortly after graduating, he was recruited by Rev. T.J. Jemison in 1953 to help organize the United Defense League’s eight-day bus boycott in Baton Rouge and defend the protesters.
In 1955, the late Martin Luther King Jr. used the event to plan his larger bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama.
According to the VA, “Jones defended students in drugstore sit-ins and others as civil rights protests spread throughout the south.”
“I was in the car and got out as it got blown in the air,” he explained. “We had to take a firm stand. You only live once, but when you die, you die forever, so I wasn’t going to rest until we could fix things.”
Decades later, Jones continued to practice law while advocating for civil rights.
Jones’ two sons, a daughter, and a granddaughter, also became attorneys.