Veterans Day in Mansfield: ‘Every single person who served, your job was important’

MANSFIELD — There are no unimportant jobs in the U.S. military, retired CMSgt. Thomas Jones Jr. said Thursday.

Speaking at the annual Veterans Day ceremony at the Gazebo in Central Park, Jones reminded those in attendance that anyone who takes the military enlistment oath agreed to sacrifice themselves in the defense of the country.

“No matter when you joined, you didn’t know what was going to happen to you … what the circumstances were going to be. All of us saw something unique and different in our military careers, all of us who served.

“We really didn’t know what we were headed into. Some direct combat, some in support missions,. I promise you this — every single person who served, your job was important,” Jones said.

During his tenure in the Marine Corps, Jones went on two six-month deployments in the western Pacific, serving in Japan, the Philippines, Korea and Okinawa.

While with the 179th, Jones participated in Operations Southern Watch, Joint Forge, Provide Promise, Coronet Oak, Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.

There are almost 9,000 military veterans living in Richland County, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

A Lucas native who now lives in Mansfield, Jones joined the Marine Corps in 1978 and later enlisted in the 179th Airlift Wing in Mansfield, rising to become the 10th State Command Chief Master Sergeant of Ohio Air National Guard at the Joint Force Headquarters in Columbus.

As the senior enlisted advisor to the Adjutant General, Jones was responsible for matters influencing the health, morale, and welfare of assigned enlisted personnel and their families across the state.

Jones pointed across Central Park to offices on the south side, saying he signed up for the Marines when the recruiting office was in the park.

“I joined right here,” he said. “(This) is where I decided to sign up to serve because I grew up in Lucas and I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do in my life. Little did I realize, after serving almost 40 years … it was such an honor.”

Jones said his son recently joined the 179th Airlift Wing, which is in the process of converting from a C-130 flying wing into a cyber warfare unit.

‘When I heard him (take the enlistment oath), it was a really big deal,” he said. “It means he is willing to lay his life down, just like all of you who took that oath.

“(The 179th) is the biggest military organization in this area. There is a thousand men and women who serve just north of here at (the Mansfield Lahm Regional Airport).

“They’re going through a pretty rough time right now (with the planned exit of the flying mission). They’re going into an exciting new mission, the only cyber wing in the National Guard. It’s going to bring some fantastic new jobs.

“But in the meantime, we have folks who support the flying mission, who support and defend our constitution …  that have some things to thing about. They are under a lot of stress. So I ask you to keep them in your prayers and in your thoughts.

“If you’re an employer and your have a candidate who wants to work for your organization and they have a military background on their resume, I would tell you to hire them,” Jones said.

“They have already proven they know how to be a team player. They know how to follow orders. They know how to get it done. They absolutely do,” he said.

The half-hour ceremony followed the annual parade down Park Avenue in downtown Mansfield. The program was led by Bruce Phipps, commander of the local Joint Veterans Council.

It included a wreath presentation to honor veterans by Pat James-Hasser, from the Jared Mansfield Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

It also included a 21-gun salute from the Richland County Joint Veterans Burial Squad, as well as the playing of “Taps” and a bagpipe rendition of “Amazing Grace.”