Rear Admiral Edward Darlington Jones, United States Coast guard, was born in Williamsburg, Va., on May 8, 1885. He was graduated from William and Mary College, Williamsburg, where he attended membership in Phi Beta Kappa. Appointed a cadet in the U.S. Coast Guard in May, 1904, he received a commission as an ensign on November 1, 1906.
During more than 20 years of sea duty, he served on the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and on the Artic and Bering Seas. Among the ships on which he has served are the Itasca, Apache, Bear, Tallapoosa, Eagle, USS San Francisco, Unalga, Algonquin, Snohomish, Tamaroa, Cahokia, Conyngham, Northland, Mendota, and the Seminole. During the first World War, he was in command of vessels engaged in convoy duties, and for this service he received the Victory Medal with Escort Clasp.
Rear Admiral Jones numbers among his shore assignments those of commanding officer of Base Two, Staten Island, N.Y., Chief Communications Officer at Coast Guard Headquarters, Washington, D.C., and Chief of Staff of the New York District. He served as Superintendent of the Coast Guard Academy from July, 1935, to June, 1940, and then was assigned to duty as commander of the Honolulu District, Territory of Hawaii. While in Hawaii he was designated District Coordinator of the Treasury Department law enforcement activities for the territory.
From June, 1941, to March, 1942, he served as Liaison Officer at the Navy Department, Washington, D.C., where he also took over the additional duties as Liaison Officer for personnel in the Bureau of Navigation. His next assignment took him to San Francisco, Calif., to become Pacific Coast Coordinator of Captain of the Port activities. In January, 1943, he was given the additional duties of Western Inspector, and in November of that year was designated Pacific Coast Coordinator of all Coast Guard activities in the 11th, 12th, and 13th Naval Districts. He was relieved of his duties as Western Inspector in April, 1944.
After receiving a commission as an ensign on November 1, 1906, he was promoted in rank as follows: lieutenant (jg), January 31, 1908; lieutenant, June 26, 1916; lieutenant commander, January 12, 1923; commander, July 1, 1926; captain, October 1, 1935; and rear admiral, March 10, 1942. Rear Admiral jones holds the Chevalier of the Ordr of Leopold II, conferred by King Leopold of Belgium in recognition of his assistance as commanding officer of the cutter Mendota to the Belgium ship SS Jean Jadot, disabled off the coast of Nova Scotia in March, 1935.
Rear Admiral Jones married Ona Rogers of Santa Barbara, Calif., in March, 1912. He retired from the U.S. Coast Guard on October 1, 1946. He passed away May 2, 1954.
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