Captain Henry Sweet Jones, Jr

“Being the son of Henry S. Jones, who was one of the original members of the Lafayette Escadrille, Hank had the spirit and desire for adventure born within him. During his childhood in Erie, PA and Dunkirk, NY, these characteristics were first manifested by an attempt to join the French Foreign Legion. Prevented from this by his family, he chose a less spectacular approach to the military career and entered West Point. After graduation, he went to the Infantry School at Ft. Benning. There he joined the heated discussions about the parachute troops, and feeling that this type of duty might satisfy his desires, he transferred to the Parachute School. There, with 31 of his classmates, he received an intensified and shortened course in the belief that he would be sent overseas immediately upon completion of the training. However, when he received his jump wings, he was sent, with the rest of his classmates, to the 13th Airborne Division at Camp McCall, NC. There he was assigned to a Glider Infantry Regiment and soon was sporting Glider Wings in addition to his jump wings. Finally in December ‘44, the 13th Airborne Division had too many company grade officers, and so Hank and 15 of his classmate-parachutists were sent overseas as replacements to the XVIIIth Airborne Corps in Germany. Hank was assigned to the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division as a platoon leader. He acquitted himself well in combat, earning 3 bronze service stars. He was wounded while leading a patrol but completed his mission successfully and was subsequently awarded the Purple Heart…. The termination of hostilities found Hank with the 506th on the outskirts of Bertchesgaden racing for the Eagle’s Nest. During the subsequent months of shakeup and demobilization…Hank received a transfer to the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment (Sep) in Frankfurt am Main in Germany. After a year in the 508th he was transferred to the 970th C.I.C. Detachment in August of '46. He was assigned to the Berlin Region, where he was subsequently made a field office commander…. When Hank was injured in a jeep wreck in Heidelberg. Hank recovered from the jeep wreck, except for a minor difficulty which necessitated an operation. So, when he regained his health, he entered the 279th General Hospital in Berlin to undergo the operation before his expected return to the States. The operation was unsuccessful and Hank died in the hospital in the evening of July 21, 1947.”

• Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Apr 8 2020, 22:51:54 UTC
• Residence: 1930 - Erie, Erie, Pennsylvania, USA
• Race: White
  • Reference: 1930 United States Federal Census - SmartCopy: Apr 10 2020, 1:06:43 UTC
• Residence: 1940 - Central Avenue, Chautauqua, New York, USA
• Race: White
  • Reference: 1940 United States Federal Census - SmartCopy: Apr 10 2020, 1:09:55 UTC