In January 1942 he enlisted in the Army Air Corps, earning his Pilot Wings at Luke Field, AZ, and was later assigned to the 316th Fighter Squadron ("Hell's Belles") of the 324th Fighter Group. Before going overseas to North Africa, Sicily, and Italy, he married his sweetheart, Agnes "Marie" Fitzgerald of Princeton, NC. He remained overseas as a Combat Fighter Pilot flying mostly P-40s until January 1944. Captain Ben Jones was honorably discharged in January 1946 as an engineering officer and test pilot.