From https://www.westpointaog.org/memorial-article?id=0c1665ba-b6e2-4dfa-8522-0097ba2f9a42 

Only rarely are the traits of gifted athlete, academic star man, and devoted servant of Christ found in a single individual, but in Michael Stratton Jones those traits found a home. Mike Jones was born and raised in Kansas City, MO, where he lived with his mother. The strong male influ­ence in his life was provided by his paternal grandfather, a rural mail carrier with whom he would spend the summer months. It was through this influence that Mike became in­terested in scouting at an early age.

The discipline that Mike learned in scouting, and his desire from a young age to become a pilot, would propel him toward the goal of attending West Point, a dream that would be realized in 1954 when, for the first time, he walked through the east sally port of Central Area on a warm July day. Once adorned in cadet gray, Mike quickly became the “go-to” guy in his company when a class­mate would teeter on the brink of academic deficiency. One company mate observed that it would be an understatement to say that his barely missing turnout exams all four years was attributable to Mike’s selfless nature in helping others less enamored of academics. Not by any means, however, was Mike’s ca­det legacy limited to excellence in academics. He also demonstrated the same athletic abil­ity at West Point that he had in high school and became a standout on the Army basket­ball team. Mike’s golden tenor voice enabled him to be numbered among those gifted few who sang in the Cadet Glee Club, that select group of balladeers whose many trips away from the rock-bound Highland home were the envy of all the musically challenged among his peers.

Upon graduation, Mike entered the Air Force and was assigned to Bartow Air Base, FL, where he was to meet the young lady who would become his life’s partner. Bonnie and Mike were married upon his graduation from pilot training and made their way to Laredo AFB, TX, where Mike was a flying instructor for three years. By this time in his flying career, Mike realized that he wanted to be among the nation’s first astronauts. Graduate study at MIT only whetted this appetite, and Mike’s master’s thesis subse­quently would be used in assisting NASA with the technological challenges of navigat­ing to the moon. Mike then was assigned to West Point for three years, where he taught fluid mechanics. Some of Mike’s fondest memories of this period were assisting Bobby Knight with coaching and recruiting for Army’s basketball team.

Mike still aspired to being an astronaut, but first he went to war. On his 68th mis­sion flying an RF-4C, Mike was hit by a sur­face-to-air missile and forced to eject. After spending a night in the jungles of Southeast Asia, Mike was rescued the next morn­ing by helicopter. The burns on Mike’s face and hands healed, but he also had incurred a back injury upon ejection that rendered him medically disqualified for further flying duty. Mike always said that while he wanted to become an astronaut, God had different plans for his remaining days. Those days first saw Mike, Bonnie and their three children assigned to Edwards Air Force, CA, where Mike was project engineer for the testing of the F-111B and F-16. Of the geographical remoteness of Edwards, Mike opined “God put us in the desert to teach us to how depen­dent we are on Him.”

Subsequent assignments saw Mike attending Air Command and Staff College and serving as staff officer at the Air Force Research and Development Command at Andrews AFB, MD. From there, Mike was assigned to the Air War College in Montgomery, AL, first as a student and later as an instructor. In 1980, after much prayer, counseling, and soul searching, Mike re­tired from active duty—“never having had a job I did not like”—with a strong conviction that he was called to serve God in a new capacity.

The first step of this new journey was taken when Mike established a school for Laotian refugees, helping them find work, setting up English language education schools and child care facilities and find­ing avenues for their obtaining food, and medical assistance. Nearly three years later, and with the refugee mission accomplished, Mike responded to a call to serve as minister of education and administration at a Baptist church. For the next 14 years, Mike would serve two different churches in this capacity.

In 1997, Mike confided to his pastor, his family, and a close friend and West Point classmate, that he had been diagnosed with early Alzheimer’s disease. Shortly after this, Mike resigned from his pastoral duties but continued to volunteer his time and energy at a hospital until he no longer was able to drive. Providentially, it was Mike’s good for­tune that his wife Bonnie was both a saint (though she would surely deny it), and a reg­istered nurse. As the ravages of Mike’s disease progressed, Bonnie heroically cared for Mike at home until he drew his last breath on 16 Jan 2010.

In addition to his wife of 50 years, Mike left behind three children and nine grand­children. On 17 Mar 2010, a day that dawned spectacularly beautiful in Washington, DC, Mike was interred at Arlington National Cemetery. The memorial service preceding interment was attended by numerous class­mates, friends, and his extended family, with Mike’s daughter, Laura Bice, singing “It is Well with My Soul.” The words Isaac Watt’s great hymn, “O God, Our Help in Ages Past,” a hymn dearly beloved and sung so many times by Mike himself, come to mind: “Time, like an ever-rolling stream bears all its sons away.” With Mike’s pass­ing, the King’s good servant was borne away—but only for a time. We shall all meet again, Mike. Rest in peace.

—A classmate