Clifford Jones (1879-1974) served for 40 years in the United States Army, and was a Norcross community leader for many years afterwards.
Jones grew up in Norcross, the first of three sons born to Homer and Mollie Jones. When he was 18 his mother decided to take her three sons on a trip to Washington DC as a Christmas present. The boys’ cousin Miriam came along on the trip, and while the group was in Washington they met Miriam’s uncle, Carter Tate, who was serving at the time as the representative from the 9th District in Georgia in the US House of Representatives. Rep. Tate was sufficiently impressed with young Clifford Jones that he asked if he would accept an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point. This led to two generations of service to the country by members of the Jones family – Cliff and his brothers became career military officers, and had sons who also pursued military careers as well.
Jones graduated from West Point in 1903 and over his career was assigned to artillery commands in the continental United States and in the then-territory of Hawaii, to the War Department General Staff, and to a term as a mathematics instructor at West Point, among others. In the 1930s he was sent to the Philippine Islands (a territory of the United States at that time) to join the staff of the commander of the U.S. Army forces there. One of his responsibilities during that assignment was to inspect United States troops stationed in Tientsen China, and while in China he met dignitaries of the day and visited cultural highlights such as the Great Wall and the Forbidden City in Beijing.
Jones retired from the army on January 31, 1944 and returned with his family to Norcross. He built a home near the intersection of West Peachtree and Autry Streets and served as the President of the Bank of Norcross for many years.
