Mike Jones No Known History-An Adoption Story And A Memoir of Discovery, Identity, and Unconditional Love
Mike Jones
"Every person wants to know where they came from, including adoptees. What did my biological parents look like? Were they nice people? Are they still alive? Do I have a half brother or sister out there somewhere?"
🇺🇸 Brothers in Arms: Afghanistan Service
Beyond Mike's remarkable journey of personal discovery lies another profound chapter - his service alongside Ed Reif as aviation instructors in Afghanistan. Together, they formed an unbreakable bond forged in the challenging environment of Kabul, where they dedicated themselves to training the next generation of Afghan aviators.
A Band of Brothers
The photo above captures more than just a moment in time - it represents the culmination of their shared commitment to building something lasting through education and mentorship. Teaching aviators in Afghanistan required not just technical expertise, but courage, patience, and an unwavering belief in the power of knowledge transfer across cultural and linguistic barriers.
Their friendship, tested and strengthened in the dusty airfields and challenging conditions of Afghanistan, exemplifies the "band of brothers" bond that comes from serving together in pursuit of a greater mission. This connection, built on mutual respect and shared purpose, represents the kind of friendship that lasts a lifetime.
📚 Related Reading: "We Speak English or People Die"
For more insight into the realities of training and education in Afghanistan, including the critical importance of clear communication in life-or-death situations, explore Ed Reif's audiobook about their shared experiences as teachers, students, and translators in Afghanistan.
🎧 Listen to "We Speak English or People Die: Teachers, Students, and Translators in Afghanistan"🎧 Listen to the Podcast
Listen to Mike's powerful story in his own words
Mike Jones: A Story of Love, Discovery, and Faith
"Every person wants to know where they came from, including adoptees. What did my biological parents look like? Were they nice people? Are they still alive? Do I have a half brother or sister out there somewhere?"
Meet Joe Mac Jones Journey Highlights
A Personal Superman
Joe Mac Jones (1923-2024) was Mike's adoptive father and true hero. A WWII gunnery instructor and pilot who lived to the remarkable age of 101, Joe Mac exemplified unconditional love, Christian values, and the profound impact of chosen family.
🎖️ Discover His Legacy
- WWII Hero: Served as a nose gunner and gunnery instructor in B-24 bombers
- Devoted Father: Chose to adopt Mike and Tim, giving them a loving home
- Christian Example: Lived by faith and taught by example, including quitting tobacco with young Mike
- Sunday Drive Teacher: Used driving lessons as metaphors for life guidance
- Lasting Influence: At 5'2", he was "the tallest man" Mike ever knew
Timeline of Discovery
Mike is born at Volunteers of America unwed mother's home in Fort Worth, Texas
Adopted at 4 weeks old by Jeanne and Joe Mac Jones
Navy flight physical incident - "No Known History... Adopted"
Age 62: Spits in DNA tube (day before 62nd birthday)
DNA results arrive - shattering the 62-year "fairy tale"
Y-DNA confirms Owen as biological father
Susan identifies biological mother Mary Ann
Meets biological father Owen in Mexico
Meets biological mother Mary Ann in Florida
Joe Mac Jones, Mike's beloved adoptive father and "personal superman," passes away at age 101 in Buda, Texas
Key Relationships
Joe Mac Jones (1923-2024)
Mike's "personal superman" and hero. A WWII gunnery instructor and pilot who lived to age 101. Joe Mac provided unwavering love, guidance, and Christian values. Mike considered him his true father, not through biology but through love and commitment.
Jeanne Jones (1930-2021)
A devoted Christian teacher who raised Mike with unconditional love. She was completely honest about his adoption from day one and told him everything she knew. Despite developing dementia later in life, she cherished the memory of adopting Mike until her last day.
Owen Lee (1930-2019)
A former diver for Jacques Cousteau and author of "The Skin Diver's Bible." He lived a "carefree and playboy-type lifestyle" and believed "family life was not my calling." Mike met him in Mexico when Owen was 88, largely non-verbal from a stroke.
Mary Ann (1930-2020)
A devout Catholic woman who kept Mike's existence secret for 62 years. She believed Mike's father was a Lithuanian Jewish man from her past. After connecting with Mike, she expressed deep gratitude and became a passionate pro-life advocate.
Life Lessons from Mike's Journey
🏠 The True Meaning of Family
Mike's journey reinforced that family is defined not by biology, but by love, commitment, and sacrifice. His adoptive father, Joe Mac Jones, remained his hero and "personal superman" throughout his life.
🙏 The Value of Life
As an adoptee, Mike became a passionate advocate for the value of life, regardless of circumstances. His existence is living proof that unplanned pregnancies can lead to beautiful, meaningful lives.
✝️ Faith and Providence
Throughout his journey, Mike saw evidence of divine orchestration. From Carol's unexplained obsession with building her family tree to Susan's guided research, he believed God had prepared the way for his discovery.
🔍 The Power of Truth
Mike's 62-year "fairy tale" was shattered by DNA science, teaching us that the stories we tell ourselves about our origins can become so embedded in our identity that challenging them feels like challenging our very existence.
👨👦 Parallel Adoptions
Mike draws a beautiful parallel between earthly and spiritual adoption, showing how both are acts of love and choice rather than obligation.
Complete Story: "No Known History... Adopted"
In 1986 I was deployed for the fourth time to the Philippines, this time as a pilot having just put on the rank of Lieutenant (LT). The first three times I was an enlisted Navy Sonar Tech and Diver on fast attack submarines.
In the military, every pilot must have a yearly flight physical during his/her birth month. If they fail to get the required physical, they are considered as medically down and unfit to fly. So in July, I dutifully complied and went to the squadron flight surgeon for my annual flight physical, then went back to work as a maintenance junior officer and crew pilot.
The commanding officer had summoned me because the flight surgeon reported that I was "having trouble with my parents" simply because I wrote "No Known History... Adopted" on my medical forms. This incident would become symbolic of the void that adoption creates in one's medical and personal history.
Having been wrongly accused of having family problems caused me to reflect on just how lucky and blessed I really am.
I was adopted when I was 4-weeks-old from Volunteers of America (VoA), a home for unwed mothers in Ft. Worth, TX. My parents picked me up in August 1954, in a Chevrolet with no air conditioning. To keep me cool, they put my bassinet on a block of ice as they headed back to South Texas about ten hours away.
My adoptive mother's wisdom shines through in her response to childhood teasing: "The next time someone teases you about being adopted remind him or her that you were chosen, but their parents had to take them home."
Regardless of what anyone says, every person wants to know where they came from, including adoptees. What did my biological parents look like? Were they nice people? Are they still alive? Do I have a half brother or sister out there somewhere?
For 62 years, Mike believed he was the product of a tragic love story - a Lithuanian Jewish man and a devout Catholic woman whose families' religious intolerance prevented their union.
At age 62, a casual suggestion from his wife to try a DNA test would completely upend Mike's understanding of his biological origins. The results showed less than 1% Lithuanian ethnicity - impossible if his father was truly a "Lithuanian Jew."
While many people were crucial in fitting all the pieces together, without Carol, her gentle heart, her compassion, knowledge of DNA and personal ancestry tree, my DNA results would have been completely useless.
Carol had been working on researching her family's DNA heritage for over two years. She had even identified a unique Y-DNA marker for the male side of her family's DNA. Her knowledge and this marker proved essential in helping me to accept and internalize my own DNA results.
Carol's obsession with building her family tree for two years was, Mike believes, orchestrated by God just to allow him the opportunity to learn his biological history.
Eight days after my "Y" results came confirming Owen as my biological father, Carol ran across Susan, a super sleuth. I do not know why Susan developed an interest in my case but I am very thankful and blessed she did.
For an adoptee searching, it's imperative you have a Susan to guide you through the turmoil. You must have a third party who is NOT emotionally tied to you or your search, so she can be objective and see things with an unbiased eye.
Susan identified my bio-mother in just four days using conventional search methods, not DNA. She took bits of information from my redacted paperwork and used public records and census data to solve the mystery.
Several years ago I earned my masters degree. My final dissertation took months to write, and my all-important grade and completion of my degree was riding on it. Yet the letter I now had to write to my probable biological mother was more daunting.
Writing to Mary Ann required six drafts and careful consideration of every word. Mike's goals were simple but profound:
- Say thank you for not terminating the pregnancy
- Give her closure by letting her know he was okay
- Express gratitude for giving him a chance at life
Mike shares his daughter's powerful argument in a high school civics class about abortion: "If my dad, who is adopted, had been aborted, I WOULD NOT BE HERE!"
Susan had found my biological mother exactly seven days before Thanksgiving, and after multiple revisions, the letter was finally sent to her two days before Thanksgiving. My bio-mother received the letter Saturday after Thanksgiving.
What stunned me most was she had never told a single soul about me. She had kept her pregnancy, my birth and adoption to herself for 62 years, confiding in absolutely no one.
Very early in our conversation, she told me she cherished my letter and wished she could share it with every young woman considering an abortion because of an unplanned pregnancy.
It has been four months since I discovered both my biological father and biological mother.
I found excerpts from one of Owen's books, "A Prisoner in Paradise" to be very telling about his attitude toward life and a major contributing factor to my own existence.
The more I reflected on what he had actually written the more taken back I became. I eventually concluded how extremely lucky and blessed I really was because he didn't know I existed. Had he known she was pregnant, knowing his attitude towards children, odds are I would not be here.
After several more months in the Middle East I finally get my much-deserved vacation. After a few days at home I am now on my way to Mexico. I have my faithful loving wife and two of my adult daughters by my side.
When we arrived, Owen was sitting at an open-air table facing a beautiful inlet to the Pacific. As I rounded the corner Owen got up so quickly to meet me, I worried he might fall. He greeted me with a very awkward hug.
For me, the most unsettling uncomfortable feeling came when Sherwin wanted to stage "Father and Son" photos. Inside, I felt I was cheating on my own loving Dad who had raised me to be the man I am today.
Due to his deteriorating health, I seriously doubt I will ever see Owen again. Quite honestly, meeting him was never high on my list of priorities.
Sixty-two years after being adopted, I finally met my bio-father in Mexico. It's now eight days after leaving Mexico. In a few minutes I will be standing with my wife and two of my daughters at the front door of my bio-mother's house, in Florida.
As she opens the door, I'm surprised at how petite she was as I pictured her much taller. I'm trying to give her the flowers, and she's trying to hug me. Somewhere, in all the commotion I told her, "Hi, I'm Mike, I just want to thank you personally for what you did for me."
She had even made me a birthday cake and then had her kids sing her special happy birthday song she had composed for them when they were just toddlers.
Mike's response captured the entire purpose of his search: "Thanks for having me, for not terminating me... for giving me a chance."
It's amazing to me so many people willingly became involved in the search for my biological history. Without each one playing a pivotal role, my search would have been incomplete.
Sonora (Wife)
Mike's greatest supporter who suggested the DNA test, used Facebook expertise to find connections, and provided unwavering emotional support throughout the journey.
Carol Lee Vickery
His second cousin and "DNA Queen" who had been obsessively building her family tree for two years. Her expertise in DNA analysis and family genealogy was essential to identifying Owen as Mike's biological father.
Susan Thorn
The "super sleuth" who identified Mike's biological mother using conventional search methods and public records, then confirmed with DNA. An objective third party crucial to adoptee searches.
Charo Periut
Owen's friend and caregiver in Mexico who served as the crucial communication link, enabling the DNA test that confirmed paternity.
It's been four years now since I spit in the tube, and three years since I documented my journey to find my biological parents, but the story didn't end three years ago.
In May we were talking about the past and my mother was browsing through an Austin paper. On the back of the paper happened to be an article about two men who only found out they were brothers after each had taking a DNA test. She then asked, "Did you ever find your biological parents?"
I was completely rattled, and not in any way prepared to answer her, at that moment and in fact I was speechless.
My mom's immediate reaction was to tear up and ask if she could talk to her too, as she wanted to thank her as well.
In January 2019 I hired on again with the same company and was once again headed back to Afghanistan. This time however, being in Orlando allowed me a chance to once again go visit my bio-mother as she was only a 20-minute drive of the Orlando office.
In anticipating of my visit with Mary Ann, I had prepared a stack of photos of my family and me, but I had placed one of the 1958 headshot pictures of Owen in middle of the stack. I was hoping, having a picture of him in the stack would jar her memory.
When Owen's picture finally popped up on my laptop, Mary Ann quickly sat up taller, tapped me on the leg, looking directly at me and excitedly asked, "OH! IS THAT YOUR FATHER!?!"
This confirmed to Mike that Mary Ann had absolutely no idea who his biological father truly was.
When we left Zihuatanejo, Mexico on June 1st, 2017, Owen was 89, living in an abandoned hotel cared for during the day by a couple of ladies. With his health deteriorating, Owen's years of playboy lifestyle had left him isolated, broke, broken and alone.
Thankfully, one of his old friends (I'll call her Brenda) paid him a visit. What Brenda found was a destitute man, a shadow of the party person she had known for over fifty years. Brenda contacted the Veterans Administration (VA) to get him some help.
Owen was later moved to an assisted living facility where he stayed, isolated and alone until he died 23 June 2019, with the noted exception of an occasional visit by Brenda.
He leaves behind a few books... a few YouTube videos... and me. His ashes were carried by Brenda back to Mexico and cast into the Pacific.
After I met Mary Ann in 2016, I stayed in contact with her by calling periodically just to say hello and to see how she was doing. In 2020 I called her the day after her 90th birthday to sing happy birthday to her.
I called again August 16th, to see how she was doing. She told me, her cancer was definitely back and that it was no longer treatable. She chose to live out her remaining days at home surrounded by her family.
She responded by saying, "I didn't realize how many lives I was going to touch when I was forced [by circumstances] to give you up."
Ten days later, August 26, 2020 Mary Ann went on to be with God.
Watching my mom's memory slowly decay over the last several years from dementia reminded me of watching my brother slowly become more and more ridged and stone like from the effects of Parkinson's disease.
For several years in a row, I would make video face-to-face call to Mom every week no matter where I was in the world. Next, she would always tell me about the day they went and got me from the Unwed Mother's Home in Forth Worth. I literally heard that story on every call, every weekend for the past four years.
While hearing the same story every week could be irritating to some it was music to my ears plus it gave her an anchor point of something to hold onto for dear life as her memory was continuing to fail.
My mom's memory had been progressively failing over a period of years, and at 90 her health was also failing but through it all, she treasured that day 66 years ago when she went to that Unwed Mother's Home and got me so much that she held on and repeated the story until her very last day.
It is with great joy and much sadness that my mother has now gone on to meet the Father, 13 Jan 2021.
The Perfect Metaphor of Fatherhood
Growing up we lived about 8 miles away from the city. On any given Sunday we would be at church, then on the way home my dad would pull over, put my brother or me on his lap and we would drive, actually just steer, the rest of the way home.
When I think about being a father the Sunday Drive Home is the perfect metaphor of what a loving dad does for his children. As I grew in stature, and learned more about driving, my dad continued giving me more of the controls and the responsibility for driving, and his role morphed from just letting me to steer to someone who was there to offer assistance and guidance.
The Tobacco Lesson
Growing up, I wanted to be like my Dad in every way. When I was twelve my father chewed tobacco. I wanted to be just like him, so I started chewing tobacco like him. Dad called me aside and said, "How about this... I'll quit if you will quit." And we did.
I'm reminded of the verse in the Bible: "Truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does." (John 5:19-20a NIV)
The Tallest Man I've Ever Known
My father at 5ft 2in (158cm) is the tallest man I have ever known, and it is my hope that someday I will be able to measure up to him.
Dual Blessings
I feel that I am one of the most blessed people alive. I am spiritually blessed chosen by God. I have no rights to salvation but have been adopted to be a child of Christ simply because of HIS love for me.
I am earthly blessed chosen by my dad and mom, adopted as a son into their house. I have no right to ever be a part of it but became a part of the Jones family simply because of their love for me.
A Network of Impact
Mike's story demonstrates how one person's journey can touch countless lives. From his biological mother Mary Ann, who became a passionate pro-life advocate, to his daughter's powerful statement in high school civics class, the ripple effects continue to spread.
The Classroom Moment
Mike's daughter's emotional response in a high school civics class debate about abortion became a pivotal moment: "If my dad, who is adopted, had been aborted, I WOULD NOT BE HERE!" The room fell silent as her classmates realized the human cost of their abstract discussions.
Breaking the Silence
After 62 years of silence, Mary Ann's revelation to her 93-year-old sister opened floodgates of healing. The secret she had carried alone for over six decades finally found voice, bringing peace to a burden she had carried in isolation.
When Science Shatters Stories
The advent of consumer DNA testing created a revolution in adoption searches. For Mike, a simple saliva sample destroyed a 62-year-old "fairy tale" and revealed the complex truth about his origins.
The Technology Behind the Discovery
DNA testing measures centimorgans (cM) - the distance between like markers on chromosomes. Carol and Mike shared 320 cM across 12 DNA segments, confirming their second-cousin relationship. Owen's test showed 3,458 cM across 60 segments, proving paternity.
The Y-DNA Confirmation
The Y-chromosome test from Germany provided the final proof - Mike carried the Lee FGC23810 marker, definitively connecting him to Carol's family line and proving Owen as his biological father.
Faith in the Process
Despite the scientific precision, Mike saw divine orchestration throughout his search. From Carol's unexplained two-year obsession with building her family tree to Susan's guided research, he believed God had prepared every step.
Wisdom for Adoptees
Mike's journey offers guidance for others on similar paths. His dedication to all adoptees is clear: "Never give up. It's OK to step away for a while. If you don't, you will drive yourself and everyone around you crazy."
The Importance of Objectivity
One crucial lesson: adoptees need objective help. As Mike learned, "we want to see things so badly we look for any minute detail when the bold ones we need may be staring us in the face. Simply put, we can't see the forest because of all the trees."
For Birth Parents
Mary Ann's story shows the healing power of connection. Her initial words to Mike - "Thank you for finding me" - revealed the deep longing many birth parents carry for reassurance about their child's wellbeing.
For Adoptive Parents
Joe Mac and Jeanne Jones demonstrated that the highest form of love is choosing to love someone unconditionally. Their openness about Mike's adoption and their unwavering support throughout his search showed true parental love.
Universal Truths
Mike's story transcends adoption, teaching us about identity, belonging, and the profound impact of choosing to love. It reminds us that our worth isn't determined by our circumstances, but by the love we give and receive.
A Story That Continues
Mike's journey of discovery didn't end with finding his biological parents. It reinforced the profound truth that family is not defined by DNA, but by love, commitment, and the choice to invest in another person's life.
The Three Pillars of His Story
A Message to All
Mike's story speaks to adoptees, birth parents, adoptive parents, and anyone who has ever questioned their worth or place in the world. It reminds us that our value isn't determined by our origins, but by the love we give and receive, the lives we touch, and the legacy we leave behind.
As Joe Mac Jones demonstrated through his 101 years of life, true greatness isn't measured in inches or achievements, but in the depth of love we show to those entrusted to our care.
Video Memorial
Honoring the legacy of Joe Mac Jones and celebrating the enduring bonds of love and family
Joe Mac Jones Memorial
A tribute to Mike's beloved adoptive father and "personal superman" who lived to age 101