John Paul Jones’ crypt and Miss Baker…

June 27, 2020 PT

Its once again time to revisit my uplifting series on grave sites and cemeteries by visiting John Paul Jones’ crypt and Miss Baker. Today’s features are a stark contrast in my never ending search to find interesting little slices of Americana. For my first selection, I offer up the most bad ass crypt that I have ever seen. Certainly, there are more burial sites than I will ever see. But so far, this one is my favorite. Respectfully, I give you the late and great John Paul Jones…

The crypt of John Paul Jones lies beneath the Chapel at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. I would like to make the whole…”crypt beneath the chapel”…thing sound more scary and Indiana Jones like. But, truth be told, its not scary. The crypt is part of the standard guided tour of the Naval Academy. There are no undead. You just walk down some well lit stairs and there you go….the burial site of John Paul Jones. This is actually JPJ’s second burial site. He died in France in 1792 and remained there until 1906. At that point, the US government recovered his remains and re-interred them beneath the chapel at the Naval Academy in a ceremony presided over by President Theodore Roosevelt.

In case you did not know, JPJ is arguably considered one of the Fathers of the Navy. He was a legendary Naval Commander (and some would say “pirate”) that made his fame fighting against the British in British waters during the the Revolutionary War. He was obviously known for many things, but I am going to say the best thing was the quote…”I have not yet begun to fight” arguably uttered in a naval battle fought in British waters. The Reader’s Digest version of the battle is that a British ship had so seriously damaged Jones’ ship that the British commander asked Jones if he was ready to surrender. To which Jones famously replied…”I have not yet begun to fight.” Well of course, Jones fought on and eventually won the British surrender. He sailed away in victory while commanding a newly acquired British vessel since his original vessel ultimately sunk after the battle. The full details of battle are available during the Naval Academy tour. John Paul Jones and his crypt….bad ass!

Dolphins, moray eels, all sorts of things…

Now, I promised you a stark contrast in my grave site selections for this post…so, I now give you Miss Baker.

Grave marker at US Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, AL

Miss Baker (squirrel monkey) along with Miss Able (rhesus monkey) were the first two animals launched into space by the USA in 1959. Both monkey space pioneers were featured on the cover of Life Magazine upon their return to Earth. Regrettably, Miss Able died shortly after returning to Earth in a surgery related to some infection where her electrodes were attached. On a brighter note, Miss Baker lived on and had a very full life. In 1962, Miss Baker married Big George. They lived in marital bliss at the Naval Aerospace Medical Center in Pensacola, Florida. In 1971, the couple moved to Huntsville, Alabama, and lived out the remaining years of their lives at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center.

Miss Baker’s final resting place was actually an accidental find in my travels. My son and I were traveling in the region in order to cross Alabama and Mississippi off my list of visiting all 50 states. We were trying to find something noteworthy to do in northern Alabama when I suddenly saw a Saturn rocket and Space Shuttle parked just off the highway on I-565. We spent the next hour wandering the grounds of the NASA’s Space Center. There is plenty to see while wandering the grounds of NASA’s Space Center…and the outside part is FREE. It was during this wandering that we found the grave site of Miss Baker which led to me to enrich your life with this retelling of her story. Thank you for your service and rest in peace Miss Baker. PT

Space Shuttle Orbiter Pathfinder – Its just a simulator. It never went into space. But then again, we did not pay anything to see it.

Full scale mock up of Saturn V rocket…again, admission is FREE to the grounds

p.s. Our next stop was Iuka, Mississippi, where we had lunch at some BBQ place that I can no longer recall. We spent 60 minutes in Mississippi and I think that’s plenty. Check it off the list.

Thank you for reading John Paul Jones’ crypt and Miss Baker on Traveling with PugsleyTonks

Thank you to Atlas Obscura