Title: Owner, Author, and Military Historian
Company: Wilbur Jones Compositions, LLC
Location: Wilmington, North Carolina, United States
Wilbur D. Jones Jr., Owner, Author, and Military Historian at Wilbur Jones Compositions, LLC, has been recognized by Marquis Who’s Who Top Artists for dedication, achievements, and leadership in literature and military history.
A renowned author and military historian with hundreds of periodical articles to his credit, Mr. Jones has excelled as the owner of Wilbur Jones Compositions LLC since 1988. He was previously active as a professor and associate dean of information at the Defense Acquisition University for more than a decade. In addition to this position, he was appointed as the assistant to the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition in the U.S. Department of Defense for more than 40 years. Moreover, he worked as the assistant and advance representative to President Gerald Ford. For nearly 30 years, Mr. Jones served in the U.S. Navy, advancing to the rank of captain during this time.
Mr. Jones has found success with his published works, having initially penned multiple editions of “Glossary: Defense Acquisition Acronyms and Terms” and “Congressional Involvement and Relations: A Guide for U.S. Department of Defense Acquisition Managers” for the U.S. Department of Defense between 1986 and 1996. He subsequently authored or co-authored a number of esteemed books for White Mane, including “Giants in the Cornfield: The 27th Indiana Infantry” in 1997, “Gyrene: The World War II United States Marine” in 1998, “Condemned to Live: A Panzer Artilleryman’s Five-Front War” in 2000, “Hawaii Goes to War: The Aftermath of Pearl Harbor” in 2001, “Forget That You Have Been Hitler Soldiers: A Youth’s Service to the Reich” in 2002, “A Sentimental Journey: Memoirs of a Wartime Boomtown” in 2003 and “The Journey Continues: The World War II Home Front.” Notably, “Gyrene: The World War II United States Marine” was utilized by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks as a technical reference manual for the acclaimed HBO mini-series “The Pacific” in 2010. Most recently, Mr. Jones wrote “The Day I Lost President Ford: Memoir of a Born-and-Bred Carolina Tar Heel” in 2021 and co-wrote “Terrorfliegers: How WWII American Airmen Survived German Captivity and POW Trauma” in 2023.
In light of his impressive undertakings, Mr. Jones has been honored with several accolades throughout his career. Inducted to the North Carolina Governor’s Order of the Long Leaf Pine in 2023, he was further recognized as the North Carolina Historian of the Year by the North Carolina Society of Historians in 2005, a Paul Harris Fellow by Rotary International in 2011, Outstanding Alumni by Hanover High School in 2021 and the Distinguished Citizen of the Year by the University of North Carolina Wilmington in 2021. Moreover, Mr. Jones was presented with such exceptional honors as the 2020 Coastal Inspiration Award for Veterans Exemplary Service by the American Association of Retired Persons of North Carolina in 2021 the RISE Award for Rotarian in Service Excellence by the Wilmington Chapter of Rotary International in 2020, the Society Cup for Outstanding Preservation of Local History by The Latimer House and The Lower Cape Fear Historical Society, LLC in 2017, a Lifetime Achievement Award from Wilmington StarNews Media in 2012 and a Congressional Record from U.S. House of Representatives, titled “A Tribute to Captain Wilbur D. Jones” by Representative Mike McIntyre for the Seventh District of North Carolina in 2012, among many others.
Before embarking on his professional path, Mr. Jones pursued an education at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, from which he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in history. Having fostered an interest in World War II in his childhood, he has considered history to have been at the core of his life, and his passion for writing happened to coincide with his intense desire to preserve history. Although he is incredibly proud of his published works, he cites the highlight of his life as raising his granddaughter alongside his late wife of more than 50 years, Carroll Robbins Jones. Mr. Jones is also grateful to have successfully advocated for Wilmington’s national recognition as the first American World War II Heritage City.
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