In 1944, while only 16 years old, John Patric Jones enlisted in the Navy. Eventually his age was learned, and he received a discharge under honorable conditions for "immaturity."

Towards the end of WW 2 he was drafted into the army. Received basic training at Camp Wheeler, GA.; from there to Camp Pickett, VA. Served in the Army of Occupation, reaching rank of Tech 5 Corporal. He spent some time in Vienna, and was in Bavaria where he visited Hitler's "Eagle's Nest." Like most young men, he brought back souvenirs and pictures, including a small oil painting of an Alpine scene and a wooden music box that plays a waltz from "The Gypsy Baron" and which he used for many years to hold his cuff links and tie tacks.

When he returned home from the army, he planned to go to visit an army buddy, but learned that the bonds he had been sending home in the care of his grandmother had been spent by her. He sued for reparation, but lost the case and instead had to pay damages to his grandmother for "defamation of character." Another friend got him a job as a brakeman for the New York Central RR, and he remained with that company--through its many different name changes and mergers--until retiring from ConRail in 1988.

His favorite hobbies included fishing and puttering around with his boat.