R.I.P. Capt. Eric A. Jones

Name: Marine Capt. Eric A. Jones

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Age: 29

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From: Westchester, N.Y.

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Assigned to Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 169, Marine Aircraft Group 39, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

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Incident: Marine Capt. Eric A. Jones died Oct. 26 in a collision between a UH-1 and an AH-1 helicopter in Helmand province, Afghanistan. Also killed were Cpl. Gregory M.W. Fleury, Capt. David S. Mitchell and Capt. Kyle R. Van De Giesen.

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Died: October 26, 2009

(Taken from www.boston.com) Captain Eric A. Jones, a US Marine attack helicopter pilot, spared his parents the details of combat in Afghanistan and Iraq. “Just another day in the sandbox,’’ he told them on the phone.

Yesterday, Captain Jones’s parents, Cindy and Ken of Mashpee, stood on the tarmac at the Coast Guard air station in Bourne as six Marines brought their only child’s body home.

“He died a hero,’’ said his father. “I know he was my hero.’’

Captain Jones and three other Marines were killed just before sunrise Oct. 26 when two helicopters collided over Afghanistan in Helmand Province. He was 29.

Another Massachusetts Marine, Captain Kyle R. Van De Giesen, 29, of North Attleborough, also died in the crash when his Huey and the AH-1 Cobra attack copter piloted by Captain Jones collided.

Van De Giesen’s funeral will be held tomorrow at 9 a.m. in St. Mary Church in North Attleborough. A private burial service will follow in the National Veterans Cemetery in Bourne.

Captain Jones - who grew up in Westchester, N.Y., and was stationed at Camp Pendleton in California - had deployed to Afghanistan in July after serving two tours in Iraq. He was scheduled to return home later this month, according to his family.

At 6-foot-3 with a dimpled chin and chiseled features, his good looks turned heads. “It was fun to walk with him through restaurants and watch everyone,’’ said his mother, a retired elementary school teacher.

“He was good inside, too,’’ she said. “He always took the high road in everything. Life was grand for him. He always had so many friends.’’

Captain Jones dreamed of flying planes as a boy and began taking lessons as a student at Northeastern University, where he earned a business degree in 2004.

He came home from college one day and told his mother he was joining the Marines. “I said: ‘Eric, don’t you realize you could die? You could get killed that way.’ And he said, ‘Mom, I can’t think of a more honorable way to die.’ ’’

Born in Pound Ridge, N.Y., Captain Jones was a 1999 graduate of Fox Lane High School in Bedford, N.Y., where he swam competitively and played football.

He played lacrosse during his freshman year at Northeastern and considered a career in finance before joining the Marines in 2004. He earned his wings in flight school in April 2007.

Captain Jones was assigned to Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 169, Marine Aircraft Group 39, the Third Marine Aircraft Wing, and the First Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Pendleton.

His parents moved to Mashpee in 2005.

Since his death, friends and neighbors have been sharing stories with his parents of their son’s kindness. One neighbor was struggling to move a bureau into her home when Captain Jones “just ran out of the house to help, Cindy Jones said. “She said all of sudden this bureau just lifted up from our shoulders, and he said, ‘Where do you want it?’ ’’

Captain Jones also was known for his quick wit. “He was the king of the one-liners,’’ his father said.

His uncle Anthony DeStefano of Hollis, N.H., said his godson had a gift for making people laugh.

“If he could make people laugh, he would do it,’’ DeStefano said. “He was just a beautiful man. He was the best.’’

Captain Jones’s mother said her son told her he intended to start a life with his girlfriend, Jackie Guidry of Calgary. The couple met while Captain Jones was in flight school in Florida. “I know they had planned on a future together,’’ Cindy Jones said.

The day after his death, the Joneses traveled to Dover Air Force Base to claim his body.

“Not many of us are brave enough to put our lives on the line every day and then get up and do it again,’’ his mother said. “Our Armed Forces do that every day, and we need to honor that.’’

A funeral service is planned for 10 a.m. Saturday in John Wesley United Methodist Church in Falmouth. Burial will follow in the National Veterans Cemetery in Bourne.