No, it’s not Randy Couture. The real Captain America is Alan Jones. I pulled
out a book I have and remembered a while ago about some impressive dude
they called Captain America, so I checked it out again and can’t believe there
is not more on this guy.
A captain in the U.S. Marines and served in Vietnam ,
5’9, 140 lbs in 1977 did 27,003 situps in a row,
and 51,000 in 76 hours. He also swam 100 miles non-stop
in 56 hours and ran 310 miles in 35 hours.
He did a special pentathlon:
1. 60 mile bike ride while the elevation was rising one mile.
2. 30 mile cross-country run through a blizzard.
3. 20 mile run down river.
4. 17 mile run (back to Portland, Oregon)
5. Clean & Jerk 80 lbs for 73 reps.
The second pentathlon:
1. 1000 situps.
2. Ran and Walked 199 miles in 91 hours.
3. Bench Press 100 lbs for 100 reps in about 10 minutes.
4. Jerked bodyweight once a minute for 24 hours!
5. Snatched 75 lbs 1602 reps in 20 hours.
He also carried a 320 lb barbell 4 miles up hill at a bodyweight of
157 lbs.
More crazy things, Amazing
He was actively involved in a number of charitable causes and was a public
relations consultant for Family Fitness Centers.
At Issaquah in 1984, he broke the Guinness world record for the most
consecutive parachute jumps in a 24-hour period. Two hundred thirty-six,
to be exact.
One of his most memorable accomplishments was swimming with hands and feet
bound across the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the 11-mile wide body of water that
separates Washington state from Vancouver Island. That 1981 feat took 10 hours
and 22 minutes.
In 10 days, he swam from Idaho down the Snake and Columbia rivers to the Pacific
Ocean. He has dived into a pool of piranhas and rattlesnakes, a task that required
courage and some 40 stitches.
He has run 200 miles in 48 hours, and 120 in 24. And once he swam handcuffed
at night 112 miles down the Missouri River.
An amazing man.
http://captainamericajones.com/
Toughness Builds Winners
Johnny Grube
I remember meeting a “Captain America” in Folkestone Kent on the south east coast of England where i live in ,about,1979/80 in a pub and he was telling us about all these amazing feats of endurance.He also said i am sure that he wanted to try to swim the Englosh Channel with hands and feet tied, Again i am sure the local news mentioned it but i think the weather conditions wre pretty poor and he either had to give up after a short swim or it was cancelled ,cant remember for sure .But what i do remember is that he was a really nice bloke amd we sat and chatted (and had a couple of beers) for a real interesting evening.I knew i didnt dream that but i’ve mentioned it to my friends before and nobody seemed to have heard of him ,real shame . He gave me a card with his name on ,i know its indoors somewhere ,i’ll try and find it.
Captain Alan Jones has also been a vegetarian for most of his life.
CPT Jones was my platoon leader while in USMC boot camp (OCS). Remarkable guy then and I often wondered what happened to him after I left. He gave me a book and I ran across it a while back. I should look for it and scan a copy for his daughter.
I knew Alan “Captain America” Jones when we both worked for Family Fitness Centers. Alan was a REAL hero and an absolutely amazing guy and besides his feats of endurance, as a publicity stunt for Family Fitness Centers, several times he high-dived into a small pool of water filled with rattlesnakes. Unfortunately Alan was killed in a single-person car wreck, somewhere in Kansas in the 1990’s – somewhere I still have the newspaper clipping.
Let me correct my last comment – Alan was killed in early June, 1990 in a one-car accident near Omaha, Nebraska.
I read about Capt. Allan Jones in a Strength and Health magazine in the 1970’s. I still have his book, Quit is a Four Letter Word. Despite a chest full of medals, he did not say much about Vietnam other than it was his duty as an leader to be fit and ready. Trained every day. Did chin ups every time he passed his office doorway. Always promoting good will and trying to feed the world. All round stand up guy.
Thanks for the info about his passing. I often wondered what happened to him.
Alan Jones was my cousin. He was very special to me growing up in Iowa. Alan inspired me to do things that I believed unimaginable. You may all know him as an embodiment of a super hero but he was just an unbelievable ordinary friend to me. I will always remember him as a crazy kid from Iowa doing just ordinary crazy assed things. It makes me proud that he made such an impact on so many lives, especially mine. I would love to hear from anyone else about how this Iowa boy touched your lives. Semper Fi.
Dear together,
it is really fine to read all the commemorations of Alan Jones. I am living in Germany and my communion refers to a technical asset and not on a personal. In May 2012 I bought a Pagoda (MBZ Roadster from 1971) and the lineage reflects that the Pagoda´s first owner was Alan Jones. It took me a long time to find this result and I contacted Alan´s daughter Jennifer as well as the Event Manager (1975-1976) Dr. Dan George Tripps.
Unfortunately Jennifer took perhaps my news that I am the owner of her father´s Pagoda as a joke. But she did not answer my question to confirm that Alan had a Pagoda in light blue. His Manager Dan George Tripps was really unfriendly. He told me that he didn´t know any details about Alan. It is ashamed to get such an answer about Alan.
Perhaps some of the authors or the cousin can help me and get in contact with me to get more informations about Alan and his light blue Pagoda (apple84@gmx.net).
My son was preparing a speech for his junior high ASB elections tonight – He referenced the avengers – and was thinking about including Captain American’s shield. This made me think about Captain American – Alan Jones – so I googled…and found myself here. I spent a lot of time with Jennifer – Alan’s daughter, growing up. She is a remarkable person – with many talents of her own. I remember hearing the stories of her Dad’s accomplishments – thinking they were amazing, but not truly realizing how incredible they really were…until now – as I read over this website. Thanks for paying tribute to him. It was nice to see it – and be re-inspired by his courage and strength.
I just saw this website. Jennifer is planning to make a documentary about her dad. If you knew Alan or remember anything about him – go to this site:
http://captainamericajones.com/caj.html
I knew Capt. jones for several years in the ’70’s. He worked with my brother-in-law as a recruiter for the USMC in Portland at the time. I was with my sister and brother-in-law on their sailboat when he swam the Columbia River (we were his support crew and boat). I was also with him at Jantzen Beach mall when he set the sit ups record. His physical feats were pretty amazing. Always upbeat (and a smart-ass) and a good sense of humor. I’m glad I knew him back in the day.
I met Cpt Jones when he worked in the recruiting office in Portland Or in the early 70’s. He was part of the team that I interacted with in my joining OTS.
I was part of the crew in the support boat that accompanied Jones in his swim from Moscow Id. on the Snake River to the mouth of the Columbia. A truly amazing man! I met a pilot assigned to that same office about three weeks ago at my office on business. We both remembered him well. He treated dummy recruits like myself with the same respect as he would a ranking officer. A truly unforgettable character.
I am sorry to hear of his death so long ago, I admired the man and often wondered where he wound up in life.
Semper Fi
I remember Alan Jones from High School in LeMars, Iowa. I was one year behind Al. His Dad (Fran Jones) was the basketball coach and also taught classes. At the time, most of us that knew Alan’s Dad’s history thought he was a pretty special guy, too. He was also a Marine, enlisted I think, and went ashore on Iwo Jima on the first day of the fight. People in LeMars miss both the Dad and the son. Very special, very remarkable, people.
Alan Jones was my platoon commander at OCS during the summer of 1976 (Charlie Co, 3rd PLT). What a fine gentleman and Marine officer he was. I believe he suffered significantly from post traumatic stress owing to his service in Vietnam. Semper Fi, Captain Jones.
Al was 3 or 4 classes ahead of me at The Basic School (TBS), Quantico, and was a stone stud at everything physical. Fast forward about 6 months and I report to 2nd Bn/1st Marines in Vietnam and Al is already a Company Commander – and arguably the best in the Battalion.
Fast forward again to 1972 and we’re both at Camp LeJeune, and Al is taking a group of Marines to the Olympics on a goodwill/PR kind of mission. That was the Olympics when Black September took (and killed) hostages.
I was working at 2nd Division G-3 (Operations) and we had an immediate meeting to discuss the situation.
Colonel John J Peeler (a WWII, Korea, Vietnam Hero) summed things up quite well: “There’s nothing we can do from here, but thank God Jones is with the troops. He’ll take care of them.”
A fitting epitaph.
The things that Al did with his life are not at all surprising. He always pushed himself to the limit, but always – ALWAYS – would take the time to talk with you if you need some help or advice…or just to tell a joke.
One hell of man.