State Rep. Ken Borton was proud to recognize Earl Jones of Prudenville last weekend. Jones was honored as the hometown hero for the Tip Up Town celebration in Houghton Lake. Borton supplied a flag flown above the state Capitol for the hometown hero ceremony. The flag was presented to Jones by the Forgotten Eagles of Michigan, a nonprofit organization supporting veterans.

“Earl Jones had a long, storied career serving our country and state,” said Borton, R-Gaylord. “He spent his entire life giving back to others, whether in military service or his work as a first responder. While we can never adequately thank him for his decades of service, I hope our festivities last weekend showed a small glimpse of how truly grateful our community is for his sacrifice.”

Jones was first drafted into the U.S. Army in 1966. He spent 16 months in Korea, serving as a combat medic, where he was awarded the Combat Medic Badge. After his time in Korea, Jones left military service until 1983, when he enlisted in the Michigan National Guard.

In the national guard, he graduated from the Army Flight Medic program in 1986 and nursing school as a practical nurse in 1990. Also, in 1990, Jones’ unit was activated for Desert Storm and sent to Saudi Arabi, where he worked in the ICU with the 207th Evacuation Hospital. In 1993, Jones enlisted in the Navy Reserve as a Corpsman, where he provided medical care for the 4th Marines. In 1998, he reenlisted with the National Guard until his retirement from service in 2006 as a Sergeant First Class.

Jones’ civil service career included 19 years with the Denton Township Ambulance, 11 years as an EMY with the Houghton Lake Ambulance, 29 years with the Denton Township Fire Department and other service with the Houghton Lake Area Ambulance, M&M Ambulance, and Roscommon Township Fire Department as an ambulance attendant.