By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support great journalism.
Savannah female veteran receives Congressional Gold Medal
Placeholder Image

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — A former support member of the Tuskegee Airmen has received one of the nation's highest civilian honors.

The Savannah Morning News (http://bit.ly/1yJdrcd ) reports Amelia Robinson Jones received the Congressional Gold Medal Sunday at Hospice Savannah. Jones, who was born in South Carolina in 1919, enlisted in 1943. She was a sergeant before her discharge in 1945. As a member of the Women's Auxiliary Corps, she supported the Tuskegee Airmen, an African-American regimen during World War II credited for their contributions to the integration of U.S. Armed Forces.

Republican Sen. Johnny Isakson, who presented the medal to Jones, says she broke glass ceilings as a black woman entering a segregated military.

Jones says she was inspired to enlist after her two older brothers served in World War I.

___

Information from: Savannah Morning News, http://www.savannahnow.com