Latest news with #JacobJones
The Advertiser
19-05-2025
- Health
- The Advertiser
'It was either get sober or end up dying': Jacob's walk through darkness
Last Christmas was a distressing time for Wallsend's Jacob Jones. Mr Jones, 24, self-harmed on Christmas Eve and was taken to the Mater. He then spent six days in John Hunter Hospital. "We used to have big family Christmases before my nan passed away when I was young around Christmas time," he said. "It's a rough time of year. Something triggered me that night." Mr Jones had been struggling with drug and alcohol abuse. "Since that night, I haven't had a drink or touched drugs," he said. In March, he climbed Mount Kosciuszko to mark three months' sober. "I wanted to be the highest person in Australia without drugs," he said. On June 13, Jacob will walk 100 kilometres in 24 hours to raise funds for the Black Dog Institute. His odyssey, listed on GoFundMe, is titled "Walking Through the Darkness with Jonesy". The route will cover Dungog, Paterson, Maitland, Newcastle, Merewether and Wallsend. He said the walk marked a new chapter of "speaking up instead of shutting down". He was doing the walk for "myself and every man who's ever felt like there's no way out". "Men don't talk enough. We're taught to be strong, to keep it in and deal with things quietly. "But the cost of silence is too high. I've seen it and lived it. I'm walking to change it." Mr Jones had lived in a culture of drug and alcohol abuse. "I recently went to a wedding and stayed sober. When I got home, I reflected on that. "I felt angry at myself for abusing drugs and alcohol and going too far as a younger person." He had to rule them out for life. "I can't do it socially or mildly. It's either zero or 100. It was either get sober or end up dying." He was now feeling "much better and stronger". "This year has been a big change," he said. "Exercise is a massive part of it. If I don't train every day, I get lazy, my diet goes out the window, and I start thinking about going to the pub." His partner of seven years, Samantha, has been a big help. "She's been through the thick of it," he said. "If I didn't have her with me, I probably would have been dead or in jail by now." This year, he began to see a psychologist to talk through his mental challenges. "It really helped," he said. He said the walk was for "mates who smile on the outside while struggling on the inside". "It's for the brothers, fathers, sons and friends who think they have to go it alone. "Asking for help is a sign of strength, not weakness." He'll be walking through "pain and fatigue". "With every step, I'll carry hope. You need hope and inspiration in your life. "Hope is the opposite of all the negativity. It keeps people going. "It doesn't matter if you're black or white, rich or poor, live in the country or city, everyone needs hope." The idea for the walk came to him while "laying in bed the other night". "It just came to my mind - 100 kilometres in 24 hours". Last Christmas was a distressing time for Wallsend's Jacob Jones. Mr Jones, 24, self-harmed on Christmas Eve and was taken to the Mater. He then spent six days in John Hunter Hospital. "We used to have big family Christmases before my nan passed away when I was young around Christmas time," he said. "It's a rough time of year. Something triggered me that night." Mr Jones had been struggling with drug and alcohol abuse. "Since that night, I haven't had a drink or touched drugs," he said. In March, he climbed Mount Kosciuszko to mark three months' sober. "I wanted to be the highest person in Australia without drugs," he said. On June 13, Jacob will walk 100 kilometres in 24 hours to raise funds for the Black Dog Institute. His odyssey, listed on GoFundMe, is titled "Walking Through the Darkness with Jonesy". The route will cover Dungog, Paterson, Maitland, Newcastle, Merewether and Wallsend. He said the walk marked a new chapter of "speaking up instead of shutting down". He was doing the walk for "myself and every man who's ever felt like there's no way out". "Men don't talk enough. We're taught to be strong, to keep it in and deal with things quietly. "But the cost of silence is too high. I've seen it and lived it. I'm walking to change it." Mr Jones had lived in a culture of drug and alcohol abuse. "I recently went to a wedding and stayed sober. When I got home, I reflected on that. "I felt angry at myself for abusing drugs and alcohol and going too far as a younger person." He had to rule them out for life. "I can't do it socially or mildly. It's either zero or 100. It was either get sober or end up dying." He was now feeling "much better and stronger". "This year has been a big change," he said. "Exercise is a massive part of it. If I don't train every day, I get lazy, my diet goes out the window, and I start thinking about going to the pub." His partner of seven years, Samantha, has been a big help. "She's been through the thick of it," he said. "If I didn't have her with me, I probably would have been dead or in jail by now." This year, he began to see a psychologist to talk through his mental challenges. "It really helped," he said. He said the walk was for "mates who smile on the outside while struggling on the inside". "It's for the brothers, fathers, sons and friends who think they have to go it alone. "Asking for help is a sign of strength, not weakness." He'll be walking through "pain and fatigue". "With every step, I'll carry hope. You need hope and inspiration in your life. "Hope is the opposite of all the negativity. It keeps people going. "It doesn't matter if you're black or white, rich or poor, live in the country or city, everyone needs hope." The idea for the walk came to him while "laying in bed the other night". "It just came to my mind - 100 kilometres in 24 hours". Last Christmas was a distressing time for Wallsend's Jacob Jones. Mr Jones, 24, self-harmed on Christmas Eve and was taken to the Mater. He then spent six days in John Hunter Hospital. "We used to have big family Christmases before my nan passed away when I was young around Christmas time," he said. "It's a rough time of year. Something triggered me that night." Mr Jones had been struggling with drug and alcohol abuse. "Since that night, I haven't had a drink or touched drugs," he said. In March, he climbed Mount Kosciuszko to mark three months' sober. "I wanted to be the highest person in Australia without drugs," he said. On June 13, Jacob will walk 100 kilometres in 24 hours to raise funds for the Black Dog Institute. His odyssey, listed on GoFundMe, is titled "Walking Through the Darkness with Jonesy". The route will cover Dungog, Paterson, Maitland, Newcastle, Merewether and Wallsend. He said the walk marked a new chapter of "speaking up instead of shutting down". He was doing the walk for "myself and every man who's ever felt like there's no way out". "Men don't talk enough. We're taught to be strong, to keep it in and deal with things quietly. "But the cost of silence is too high. I've seen it and lived it. I'm walking to change it." Mr Jones had lived in a culture of drug and alcohol abuse. "I recently went to a wedding and stayed sober. When I got home, I reflected on that. "I felt angry at myself for abusing drugs and alcohol and going too far as a younger person." He had to rule them out for life. "I can't do it socially or mildly. It's either zero or 100. It was either get sober or end up dying." He was now feeling "much better and stronger". "This year has been a big change," he said. "Exercise is a massive part of it. If I don't train every day, I get lazy, my diet goes out the window, and I start thinking about going to the pub." His partner of seven years, Samantha, has been a big help. "She's been through the thick of it," he said. "If I didn't have her with me, I probably would have been dead or in jail by now." This year, he began to see a psychologist to talk through his mental challenges. "It really helped," he said. He said the walk was for "mates who smile on the outside while struggling on the inside". "It's for the brothers, fathers, sons and friends who think they have to go it alone. "Asking for help is a sign of strength, not weakness." He'll be walking through "pain and fatigue". "With every step, I'll carry hope. You need hope and inspiration in your life. "Hope is the opposite of all the negativity. It keeps people going. "It doesn't matter if you're black or white, rich or poor, live in the country or city, everyone needs hope." The idea for the walk came to him while "laying in bed the other night". "It just came to my mind - 100 kilometres in 24 hours". Last Christmas was a distressing time for Wallsend's Jacob Jones. Mr Jones, 24, self-harmed on Christmas Eve and was taken to the Mater. He then spent six days in John Hunter Hospital. "We used to have big family Christmases before my nan passed away when I was young around Christmas time," he said. "It's a rough time of year. Something triggered me that night." Mr Jones had been struggling with drug and alcohol abuse. "Since that night, I haven't had a drink or touched drugs," he said. In March, he climbed Mount Kosciuszko to mark three months' sober. "I wanted to be the highest person in Australia without drugs," he said. On June 13, Jacob will walk 100 kilometres in 24 hours to raise funds for the Black Dog Institute. His odyssey, listed on GoFundMe, is titled "Walking Through the Darkness with Jonesy". The route will cover Dungog, Paterson, Maitland, Newcastle, Merewether and Wallsend. He said the walk marked a new chapter of "speaking up instead of shutting down". He was doing the walk for "myself and every man who's ever felt like there's no way out". "Men don't talk enough. We're taught to be strong, to keep it in and deal with things quietly. "But the cost of silence is too high. I've seen it and lived it. I'm walking to change it." Mr Jones had lived in a culture of drug and alcohol abuse. "I recently went to a wedding and stayed sober. When I got home, I reflected on that. "I felt angry at myself for abusing drugs and alcohol and going too far as a younger person." He had to rule them out for life. "I can't do it socially or mildly. It's either zero or 100. It was either get sober or end up dying." He was now feeling "much better and stronger". "This year has been a big change," he said. "Exercise is a massive part of it. If I don't train every day, I get lazy, my diet goes out the window, and I start thinking about going to the pub." His partner of seven years, Samantha, has been a big help. "She's been through the thick of it," he said. "If I didn't have her with me, I probably would have been dead or in jail by now." This year, he began to see a psychologist to talk through his mental challenges. "It really helped," he said. He said the walk was for "mates who smile on the outside while struggling on the inside". "It's for the brothers, fathers, sons and friends who think they have to go it alone. "Asking for help is a sign of strength, not weakness." He'll be walking through "pain and fatigue". "With every step, I'll carry hope. You need hope and inspiration in your life. "Hope is the opposite of all the negativity. It keeps people going. "It doesn't matter if you're black or white, rich or poor, live in the country or city, everyone needs hope." The idea for the walk came to him while "laying in bed the other night". "It just came to my mind - 100 kilometres in 24 hours".
Yahoo
05-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
How the Coast Guard sank a German U-boat off the North Carolina coast
After the Japanese aircraft carrier raid on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, followed by Germany's and Italy's declarations of war on the United States on the 11th, the three Axis navies adopted different strategies: Italy, seldom venturing out of the Mediterranean Sea, was primarily the British Royal Navy's problem; Japan's formidable fleet sought a buffer zone of islands and a decisive showdown with the U.S. Navy; and Germany's Kriegsmarine was a match for neither the Royal Navy, nor the rapidly growing U.S. Navy, with the exception of its submarine service. Based on its experience in World War I, German Adm. Karl Doenitz's new generation of submarines, operating in well-coordinated 'wolf packs,' challenged Britain's maritime power once more. With America's cargo ships added to their target menu, combat-experienced U-boat captains were dispatched to the Atlantic coast in Operation Paukenschlag, picking off U.S. ships with such ease that for the first half of 1942 that the Americans dubbed the waters between northeastern Virginia and Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, as 'Torpedo Junction.' During that time, U-boat captains became so confident that on Feb. 28, 1942, U-578 torpedoed the destroyer Jacob Jones off Cape May, New Jersey; only 11 of its 114-man crew survived. Not until almost two months later, on the night of April 13, did another destroyer, Roper, exact revenge in a long fight off Cape Hatteras. The German U-85 went down with all 46 hands aboard — the first German U-boat sunk by a U.S. Navy ship since America entered the conflict. Despite that success, the expanding Battle of the Atlantic was still not going well for the U.S. Navy. As of May 8, 1942, the Germans had sunk 87 Allied merchantmen along the East Coast and the destroyer Jacob Jones, with just three U-boats lost. The next encounter would involve a branch of American service that was, and often still is, the butt of Navy jokes: the U.S. Coast Guard. On this occasion, that image was about to change. With most of the U.S. Navy's latest warships committed to fighting the Japanese, the Coast Guard supplemented the Atlantic fleet's arsenal with a 'Bucket Brigade' comprised of all the resources it had, including the Icarus, a 1932-vintage 165-foot-long, diesel-powered 'B' class cutter. Its captain, Lt. Cmdr. Maurice David Jester, was born in Chincoteague, Virginia, on May 13, 1889. He enlisted in the Coast Guard in 1917 as a surfman stationed at Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. During the 1920s and early 1930s, he enforced Prohibition, hunting rum-runners along the eastern coast, and rose to chief boatswain's mate in 1935. From then through to 1939, he served off California and Oregon. After the Pearl Harbor attack, he was recalled east, where he was commissioned a lieutenant and, in January 1942, received his first command, Icarus. On May 8, Icarus left Staten Island, New York, for Key West, Florida. The following day, the vessel was zig-zagging its way off Cape Lookout, North Carolina, when the officer-on-deck called Jester to the bridge and reported their sonar man had picked up a 'mushy' contact 2,000 yards off the bow in 120 feet of water. Calling all hands to battle stations, 10 minutes later Jester was positioning Icarus to attack in the general direction of the unidentified blip when an explosion erupted 200 yards off the left side — the bogie was enemy, all right, and it had beaten him to the draw. Using his long-acquired knowledge of the region to deduce the enemy's underwater movements, Jester fired five depth charges from his Y-guns in a diamond pattern and noted large bubbles coming up. He followed that up six minutes later with another depth charge attack, followed by two more in a 'V' pattern, which produced more, bigger bubbles. In Cape Lookout's waters, submarine U-352 and its crew were indeed in trouble. Although 31 years old, its captain, Hellmut Rathke had only been commanding a U-boat since Aug. 27, 1941, and as a colleague, submarine ace Erich Topp, commented in a postwar interview, 'Rathke was less than the best option to command a U-boat.' In the course of two patrols in American waters he had thus far sunk precisely nothing. No doubt Icarus offered the prospect of sinking something, but as U-85′s fate showed, the Americans were learning and were not to be underestimated. Rathke struck first, launching two torpedoes at the approaching the cutter, but one missed and the other exploded. Thinking it had struck the target, Rathke surfaced to survey his victim, only to see Icarus still coming on with single 3-inch cannon and 20mm guns blazing — his torpedos had detonated against the sandy bottom of Cape Lookout. Rathke ordered his boat to submerge but found himself with limited room to maneuver or dive amid a deluge of depth charges. With U-352 too badly damaged to escape, Rathke saw no remaining alternative but to order abandon ship. As it surfaced, the sub broached, allowing the crew no exit except via the coming tower. Icarus' crew initially thought them swarming to their 88mm gun and fired their own guns at them until Jester, observing they were not making a surface fight of it, ordered 'cease fire' while U-352 went down for the last time. As Icarus disengaged, Jester radioed the 6th Naval District in Charleston, South Carolina, with the opening precis, 'Contacted submarine, destroyed same.' Fifteen of U-352′s crew were dead, leaving 33, including Rathke, in the water. Unsure of what to do, Jester signaled Navy headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia, which advised him to just let the Germans drown. Jester, however, sought a second opinion from the 6th Naval District, which told him to go back and rescue them. Consequently, 40 to 45 minutes after the fight began, Icarus rescued 33 of U-352′s crew, whose arrival in the Charleston Navy Yard marked the first time foreign prisoners of war set foot on mainland American soil since 1815. Awarded the Navy Cross — the first of six earned by members of the U.S. Coast Guard — Jester reserved some serious remarks for his men: 'All stations were manned properly, and without confusion. Their conduct throughout was manifested with enthusiasm, alertness and devotion to duty.' Before they parted company, U-352′s submariners made a point of thanking Jester and his men for the treatment they'd received and even after the war Rathke sent a personal letter of thanks to his former adversary. Icarus and its sister ships of the Coast Guard would contribute much more to the Allied victory in the years to come. Jester retired in 1944 and died of heart disease on Aug. 31, 1957. He, his wife and his son, Clarence Baynard Jester — who served in the U.S. Navy during World War II — are buried at Arlington National Cemetery. U-352 lies where it sank in 110 feet as an artificial reef and historic site, popularly visited by scuba divers.
Morocco World
18-02-2025
- Science
- Morocco World
Expert: Phosphorus Puts Morocco at Heart of Global Quest for Sustainability
Ben Guerir – UM6P's Science Week is increasingly turning into the ultimate platform shedding light on Morocco's rise as a leading African voice in a range of strategic sectors. The North African country processes the largest raw phosphate reserve, thus putting it at the heart of Africa's and the world's quest for sustainability, a prominent expert emphatically argued on Tuesday in his keynote speech on the opening day of UM6P's Science Week. Jacob Jones speaking at the inauguration of the fifth edition of UM6P's Science Week Jacob Jones, Director of Science and Technologies for Phosphorus Sustainability (STEPS), delivered his keynote presentation on phosphorus sustainability, focusing on Morocco's pivotal role in this critical resource. 'Morocco is the ideal location to have such conversations because of its key position in world phosphorus sustainability,' Jones noted, referring to Morocco's control of approximately 70% of global phosphate rock reserves. Phosphorus drives key plant processes like energy and nutrient transport, photosynthesis, and cell division. Thus, when applied correctly, phosphorus-rich fertilizers boost the availability of this vital nutrient for crops, enhancing their growth and productivity. On the sidelines of a presentation on Phosphorus and Sustainability, Jones spoke of the contribution of phosphorus to sustainability. In an interview with Morocco World News (MWN) Jones said: as holder of 70% of the world's phosphate rock reserves,' Morocco is well positioned as 'an ideal leadership to help convene the world on understanding sustainability of phosphate use.' Jacob Jones, Director of Science and Technologies for Phosphorus Sustainability (STEPS) Jones further explained to MWN that 'as the holder of 70% of the world's phosphate rock reserves,' Morocco is well positioned as 'an ideal leadership to help convene the world on understanding sustainability of phosphate use.' Read also: Morocco Takes Lead in Shaping Global Scientific Future at UM6P Science Week STEPS' director outlined dramatic future challenges, particularly in Africa, noting that 'over the next 75 years, the United Nations projects that the greatest population growth will be in sub-Saharan Africa.' In particular, he explained , 'countries like Nigeria are projected to need over a 900% increase in phosphorus between now and 2050.' As the Science Week gathers scientists from different fields, Jones's presentation focused on the weight of interdisciplinary approaches to tackle these challenges. 'What we must not do is work in silos as scientists,' Jones warned, advocating for what he calls a 'convergence approach' that integrates diverse fields from microbiology to computer science and engineering. The STEPS Center's work includes innovative research methods, such as using Bayesian hierarchical modeling to track phosphorus flows across continents. Jones explained that understanding the relationships between climate, agriculture, and soil chemistry in driving phosphorus concentrations demonstrates why nutrient management must be tailored to different ecological regions, including Africa. The convergence of Science Week's vision for African scientific leadership and Jones's expertise in phosphorus sustainability highlights UM6P's unique position at the intersection of global challenges and local solutions. The Science Week program will continue through February 23. Featuring sessions on artificial intelligence, sustainable agriculture, future careers, and the intersection of science, ethics, and philosophy, it reflects UM6P's commitment to interdisciplinary approaches to global challenges.
