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A CEREMONIAL RESOLUTION
21-227
IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
June 7, 2016
To recognize Herbert H. Jones, Jr. for his life of service and significant accomplishments.
WHEREAS, Herbert H. Jones, Jr. was born in 1923 and raised in the Deanwood neighborhood of the District of Columbia;
WHEREAS, Herbert H. Jones, Jr. served as an Army Air Corps aviation cadet at the Tuskegee Army Airfield during World War II and became an Original Tuskegee Airman - Class 44J;
WHEREAS, Herbert H. Jones, Jr. received his pilot training from C. Alfred “Chief” Anderson, the famed Tuskegee instructor who took Eleanor Roosevelt for that famous ride that lead to the Airmen seeing action in Europe;
WHEREAS, Herbert H. Jones, Jr., after returning from the war, used the G.I. Bill to earn his commercial pilot’s license with flight instructors rating at Columbia Air Center, the first licensed black-owned and black-operated airport in America, near Upper Marlboro, Maryland, and founded by the original Cloud Club, a group of local black pilots who found themselves unwelcome at all white airports;
WHEREAS, Herbert H. Jones, Jr. became an instructor and later manager and co-owner of Columbia Air Center, now a historical site, before pursuing his professional career as a pilot;
WHEREAS, Herbert H. Jones, Jr. retired as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Civil Air Patrol;
WHEREAS, Herbert H. Jones, Jr. founded, owned, and operated International Air Association, the first black-owned airline, noted for charter flights to the Caribbean;
WHEREAS, Herbert H. Jones, Jr. later formed the Cloud Club II under Metropolitan Aviation, Inc., which operated out of both Washington Executive Airpark (Hyde Field) and Potomac Airfield (Rose Valley Airport) for many decades;
WHEREAS, Herbert H. Jones, Jr. retired from aviation in 2010 and passed the torch to a group of former Cloud Club II members and aviation enthusiasts who formed H.J. Aviation, Inc., the organization eponymously named with Mr. Jones’ initials in his honor, to carry on the rich traditions of African American participation in aviation rooted in the Columbia Air Center;
WHEREAS, Herbert H. Jones, Jr. will turn 93 years old this fall and still drives out to the airport every day to check on H.J. Aviation, Inc. where the staff provides flight training, aircraft rental, ground school instruction, and youth STEM programs;
WHEREAS, Herbert H. Jones, Jr. can be credited for the success of hundreds of pilots, many of whom are professional commercial and military pilots today; and
WHEREAS, Herbert H. Jones, Jr. is now known as the “Godfather of Black Aviation in Washington, D.C.” because of his accomplishments and contributions to aviation.
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this resolution may be cited as the “Herbert H. Jones, Jr. Recognition Resolution of 2016”.
Sec. 2. The Council of the District of Columbia honors and recognizes Herbert H. Jones, Jr. for his service to his country and valuable contributions as a pioneer in aviation.
Sec. 3. This resolution shall take effect immediately upon the first date of publication in the District of Columbia Register.
