Coast Guard WWII veteran to receive Purple Heart | HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com The Coast Guard will award a Purple Heart to a World War II veteran who was wounded in 1945 when a torpedo hit a Navy ship he was stationed aboard. Samuel R. Jones will receive the medal Thursday during a ceremony aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Diligence in Wilmington, N.C. Jones lives in Selma. The ceremony begins at 10 a.m. The Navy attack transport Cavalier, which had Coast Guard personnel on board, was headed from Luzon to Leyte at 1:33 a.m. on Jan. 30, 1945, Leyte when a Japanese torpedo struck, according to Petty Officer Chris Evanson, a Coast Guard spokesman. The Cavalier was manned by Coast Guard and Navy personnel during the war, Evanson said. Jones was sleeping and awoke in sick bay, Evanson said. Jones was updating some of his records recently when veterans affairs officials realized he never received the Purple Heart, Evanson said. Jones served as a fireman 2nd class aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Hickory and Navy attack transports Cambria and Cavalier.
