Where Are They Now?

When Larry Jones was growing up in Dublin in the 1950s, he dreamed of flying. He’d build model aircraft from templates on cereal boxes, and stand outside on his parents’ farm and watch the planes fly over.

Jones was able to achieve his dream, serving as a helicopter pilot in Vietnam. But when he was injured in the war and unable to fly anymore, Jones had to find a new career. Over the next decades, he has carved a life for himself that he’s happy with.

“My biggest inspiration has been being able to turn to the Lord and know that He will take care of you, even though you don’t always understand things, and if you had your choice, you probably wouldn’t do it that way,” Jones said. “He knows best. And I’m certain that if I had not got shot in Vietnam, I would have been a different person, and not myself.”

Jones graduated from Dublin High School in 1957, and went on to college at Tarleton to study animal husbandry. After two years of school, he joined the military and worked in aviation for three years.

“For my first term [in the military], I was involved in aviation, primarily,” he said. “I was learning all about aircraft mechanical operation and how you worked on them and principles of aerodynamics.”

His first term lasted three years, and when he was discharged, he met his nowwife, Dorothy, at church. They married in 1964. Jones also went back to school, this time at Texas Tech, to study international trade. On the side, he continued to work toward his dream of flying by earning his private pilot’s license.

“I started doing that because it dealt with my whole ambition to be an aviator, to be a pilot,” he said. “That was my ultimate, ultimate goal, so I did whatever I could do.”

When he graduated from Texas Tech, Jones re-enlisted in the military, and this time he got to be a pilot. “After I finished my basic Transportation Corps duties, I went to flight school in Fort Rucker, Alabama,” he said. “I flew fixed-wing there, and then after that I went to another flight school for helicopters.”

The war was horrific, but Jones was able to find joy in the act of flying. “I ended up there for the worst part of it, but flying was fun,” he said.

Jones’ career as an aviator came to an end in Vietnam, though, when he was shot while flying. “I don’t know a whole lot about what happened because I lost an extreme amount of blood,” he said. “Ultimately I lost my left leg. My biggest disappointment in life was not being able to fly anymore, and I talk to the Lord regularly about that. He has not ever given me an answer but He will one of these days.”

When Jones got back home after his injury, it took him a few months to recuperate. Once he was well enough, though, Jones went back to school again, this time at Thunderbird Graduate School — now Thunderbird School of Global Management at Arizona State University to study international trade.

When he finished school he started working as a teacher in El Paso, teaching Texas History. After teaching for eight years, he transitioned to another job in the same school system, working as a media specialist for the deaf.

“Computers were just getting started at that time when I made that transition,” he said. “We worked with the computers and still used things like movie projectors and all kinds of video type stuff.”

Jones stayed in that position for 18 years, and then retired and went back to school yet again. He had always enjoyed target shooting and had an appreciation for firearms, so he attended a gunsmithing school in Colorado.

He and his wife lived in their RV in Colorado for two years while Jones finished school. “It was very interesting, and I’m glad we could do it,” he said. “I enjoyed going to that school and learning from professionals.”

When he finished, the Jones’ moved back to Texas — specifically to San Antonio, to be closer to family there — and set up their own gun shop called Gun Wurkz in 2004.

Initially Jones sold his own guns and offered repairs for other guns, but soon the workload became overwhelming. “You can’t hold a spring and a pin and put it together while you’re answering the phone,” he said. “And so we slowly osmosed on over to selling guns rather than working on them.”

The Jones’ had the shop for 17 years, and finally retired at the beginning of 2021. Since then, Jones has been taking it easy. “I’ve just been trying to keep body and soul together,” he said. “And I’m trying to learn to play the violin.”

Jones’ advice to Dublin graduates is to find a goal that belongs to them — not just what is expected of them by others. “You have to be a little creative,” he said. “You can’t just follow somebody else. You’ve got to have your own ideas and know how to get there.”

Editor’s Note: This column chronicles what Dublin graduates have done since high school. If you have any suggestions for other grads, email publisher@ dublincitizen.com.