John Paul Jones :: Public Affairs Office :: USNA

I had long toyed with the idea of writing a novel about JPJ, but decided that no fictional account could do him justice. His life is far more exciting than anything I could dream up. However, I am sad that so few know the real man and, thus, I still toy with the idea to write a novel about a fictional character who served under him, while preserving the historical details, to provide a popular perspective. I will leave you with one very controversial assessment to ponder on. I am impressed by the parallels between JPJ and Che Guevarra. Both were self-proclaimed "citizens of the world" who never concerned themselves with allegiance to the revolutions for which they fought. They fought because they hated the adversaries. Americans and their Cuban agents in Che's case, and the British in JPJ's. Both became troublesome to their respective revolutionary leaders once their wars ended, and were sent away for one ruse or another. JPJ was sent off to Russia to gain experience as a fleet admiral and Che was sent off to Africa, then South America to foment revolution there. Whenever they attempted to return, the revolutionary leaders found another excuse to send them on a mission elsewhere. George Washington famously said that America needed peace, breathing space, to build a new nation, and if JPJ had been given command of the warship Congress had built for him, he would have sailed the seas stirring up trouble with the British. So Washington gave his warship to the French in compensation for their losses while helping the American Revolution. When Che was finally trapped in Bolivia and asked to be extricated, Fidel told the Bolivians to not help him. "Don't give him so much as an aspirin."

It was pretty cool to sit through a history lesson on JPJ, and then go to his crypt. I think it is the only place still guarded by Marines. The regular gates were switched over to DOD civilians.