Robert Francis Jones was born in 1921 in Philadelphia [Annotator’s Note: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]. His neighbors were like family growing up. It was always a very pleasant and supportive community. His parents owned a candy store on the street that he resided on. He lived in a predominately Polish neighborhood. The candy shop had double doors and when the door opened, a buzzer sounded off. The store was on a street on the route to school, so children would visit all the time with their pennies and nickels. The candy store was stocked with various kinds of candy, especially the "penny candies." The adults enjoyed the soda fountain and ice cream desserts. Jones grew up with three brothers, but his youngest brother died when he was child. Jones attended public school that was only two blocks away. He suffered from poor health as a child, but he still played sports with the boys in the neighborhood. When adults came into the store, they often stayed to start a conversation, but kids ran in and out. Jones was an industrious man and liked to do things himself. Before they owned the candy store, his father was a huckster, selling produce. Around 12 years old, Jones was often given responsibilities in the store like waiting on the kids or making milkshakes and cream sodas. He enjoyed his childhood, honored his parents’ wishes, and always knew the neighborhood gossip. He attended a Catholic private school for high school. He joined the school band and became the drum major. During the Thanksgiving Day parade, he threw his baton too hard, and it hit a football goal post and then knocked out a band member. After graduating high school, he continued to work at the candy store, until he wanted to join the military. One of his high school teachers suggested he should join the Merchant Marines because he excelled in math. Jones wanted to join the Navy because he liked boats, and the commercials the Navy branch put out the public. On his 18th birthday, Jones went to enlist in the Navy. He stood in line for two hours and eventually the enlistment office closed for lunch. He decided to walk down a street and saw a man wearing a Navy uniform, but it was a Coast Guard man. The recruiter asked Jones to come in the office, and three hours later, Jones was sworn into the Coast Guard. Jones was not aware that the Coast Guard existed until that day. His parents supported his decision.

Robert Francis Jones joined the Coast Guard on his 18th birthday. He was very disappointed at first [Annotator’s Note: he initially wanted to join the Navy]. He was issued military clothing except shoes because they did not have his size. Jones did not have any special field he wanted to join, so when the recruiter found out he had a pet German Shepherd, he was sent to a dog training center. He was told to go home and report back tomorrow to begin his service. When he reported the next day, he boarded a truck with all of his clothing and equipment and drove to the Peter B. Widener Estate in Chelten Hill [Annotator’s Note: Chelten Hill, Pennsylvania]. The estate had 800 acres filled with woodlands and fountains. After bringing his equipment to where he was sleeping, he was taken to a restaurant in town. There was a very small number of enlisted men at the estate, but several officers. Jones was there to follow instructions from the officers on how to work with dogs that are trained to attack at command for shore duty. He felt that his job was easy and worked out nicely for him. The Coast Guard unit took any kind of dog to train. He was taught to walk with the dog on the left side of the animal. He used a choke chain that had to be put on properly so it would not injure the dog. Jones’ assignment was also to make the dogs comfortable and keep them pleasant. There was one instance when a dog bit him on the knuckle. He thought that most of the dogs were very intelligent, and they tended to work with German Shepherds because of their size. They trained from eight in the morning until four in the afternoon, breaking only for lunch. Then when night fell, they would continue training the dogs by surprise attacking them. Jones was impressed by how well the dogs listened to commands. Once the dogs completed training, they were shipped out with two men. He tried not to get too attached to the dogs because they were always shipped out after training. There were dogs that were kicked out of the training program, most of these dogs were family dogs. They were too nice and not aggressive enough. They were often returned to the owner.

Robert Francis Jones trained dogs with the United States Coast Guard. Sometimes young recruits came in and it was obvious that they feared dogs. The Coast Guard transferred them out as quickly as possible. All the dog trainers had a great respect for the dogs because they would be risking their lives to save humans. Many of the men became attached to the dogs. As the war ended, many of the dog trainers requested to keep the dogs, but Jones did not believe it was the right thing the do for fear of the dog biting someone. When a new dog came into the training program, there were steps they took to progress into the program. They used switches to initiate an attack. This was part of the training. During his time in the program, they lost one man who was killed on the beach. No one knows how or who shot him in the head. The dog training program took place at Widener Estate [Annotator’s Note: Located in Chelten Hill, Pennsylvania]. He did not live in barracks, but slept in the jockey quarters of an indoor horse arena. The dog handlers often argued with the veterinarian officers on how best to care for the dogs. Jones recalled that one dog was put down because he was so aggressive and untrainable. His living quarters had no mess hall or dining room. A truck picked up the men and took them to a diner in town. After the war, the dogs were returned to their owners, but if the owners did not want the dog, the handler was allowed to take them. When the school closed, Jones was promoted to Chief Petty Officer and sent to Martha’s Vineyard Naval Air Station [Annotator’s Note: Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts] after being sent to Atlantic City [Annotator’s Note: Atlantic City, New Jersey]. [Annotator’s Note: There is a break in the video at 0:57:55.000.] He was transferred from Atlantic City to Martha’s Vineyard after he got married. Three Navy men were arrested while stationed at Martha’s Vineyard because they were selling government gas. Jones was questioned by the authorities because it was on his unit’s watch that the Navy men did this. There was a great Atlantic hurricane that hit Martha’s Vineyard in 1944. Jones removed the dogs from the kennels and put them into the buildings during the storm. Men still stood guard in fishermen gear. The storm was scary because the waves were very bad. The Martha’s Vineyard Naval Station was an aircraft stop before the crews headed off to the Atlantic Theater. Jones temporarily became the supervisor of the fire depot when the chief was transferred out.

Robert Francis Jones was a Chief Petty Officer stationed at Martha’s Vineyard Naval Air Station [Annotator’s Note: Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts] with the United States Coast Guard. Jones took a torpedo bomber to the New York. During the trip, the engine caught fire and they had to return to the airfield. He boarded another plane and was able to go home and visit his wife. Most of his duties were supervising men and guarding the shore. A friend of his asked Jones to help him with his pet dog who would only eat steak. Jones took the dog and gave it a strict diet of one piece of bread and water for five days. When Jones returned the dog to his friend, the dog ate whatever his owner put in front of him. Prior to Martha’s Vineyard, Jones was stationed at Widener Estate [Annotator’s Note: Located in Chelten Hill, Pennsylvania]. He trained guard dogs in an indoor horse arena. Jones enjoyed the dog training program and thought shore guards having a dog by them would protect them during their duty. When men walked the beach on guard, they had no way of communicating when they needed help, so having a trained dog would only benefit the guardsmen. Jones, as Chief Petty Officer, often had to remind his men of performing their duties. Jones was more concerned about the war in Europe than in Japan. He felt that the war in Europe was going to reach America before Japan. Jones had to settle disputes between his men often, but the morale was good.

Robert Francis Jones was a Chief Petty Officer stationed at Martha’s Vineyard Naval Air Station [Annotator’s Note: Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts] with the United States Coast Guard. He was thrilled when he heard about VE-Day [Annotator's Note: Victory in Europe Day, 8 May 1945] because he had two brothers that were serving in the Navy. When the war ended, he was ready to be discharged so that he could be with his wife. He was discharged in Philadelphia [Annotator’s Note: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]. Jones was able to find work with a Pennsylvania gas company. Jones felt he did his duty the best way he could. Jones thought that his service helped his family and the country. After his service, he kept in touch with a few men for a while. He had one man that had a circus business and was having trouble, so he gave the man a five-day leave [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time] so he could settle things. Jones feels he did his part for the war efforts and did his job to the best of his ability. He believes there should be institutions like The National WWII Museum [Annotator's Note: The National WWII Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana], and we should continue to teach World War 2 to future generations.