Freddie was born in Dubach, Louisiana. Although his parents had separated when his father entered service in World War II, Freddie says he grew up in "a loving home" with his mother and maternal grandparents. "We could live out of the garden," he says of the food they raised. Each summer the Joneses attended a family reunion in Arkansas, held on June 19 to coincide with Juneteenth. Freddie graduated from Pine View High School in 1960, then studied at Grambling State University. He needed only one more hour to finish college when he was drafted in 1964. He took basic training at Fort Polk near Many, Louisiana. After Advanced Individual Training he was sent to Germany on the USS Geiger (AP-197), assigned as a clerk-typist to what he calls the "45^th Preventive Med." Freddie remained in Germany for 18 months, where he was also a motor pool dispatcher. He was released from service to finish school, and transferred to the reserves for four years. Freddie taught school for three years, and finished his military obligation in 1971. A year later he joined the National Guard, serving in an engineer unit in which he learned to operate heavy equipment. Freddie was working at a glass plant in Simsboro when he was called up for Desert Shield/Desert Storm in 1990. His unit was ordered to Fort Polk where the men underwent training similar to what he had received in 1964. Freddie served as a mess sergeant in the conflict from December of 1990 to February of 1991. He returned home in June 1991. Meanwhile, Freddie had married Alpha Jones on July 5, 1967. They have no children. He retired from the National Guard at age 60, and is also retired from the glass plant.