Victor Jones was born on July 4, 1914 in Arkansas to Elmer G. Jones and Irene Lenora “Nora” Jones, nee Heath. Victor’s siblings were Maggie, Allen, Viola, Elsie, and Clinton Jones. In 1910, the family lived in Lincoln, Crawford County, Kansas, where Elmer was a coal miner. In the 1920 census, the family is listed in Page, LeFlore County, Oklahoma. Elmer is noted as being “blind”; Nora supported the family by running a boarding house. The family had moved to Seattle, where Elmer died in 1929. In 1930, the eldest son, Allen Jones, supported his mother and his younger siblings, Victor and Elsie, by working as a construction carpenter. Victor’s mother died in Seattle in 1934. In 1940, Victor lived with Tom Clark and one other young man in Seattle. Victor was a soda fountain clerk.

Victor Jones registered for the draft on October 16, 1940. He was 26 years old, 5’8” tall, and weighed 136 pounds. He had brown hair, blue eyes, and a light brown complexion. He was employed by café owner Ivan Prather in Seattle. Jones was inducted into the United States Army on March 18, 1941 in Tacoma, Washington. He was single, without dependents, and had a high school education.

Sergeant Victor Jones served as a radio operator in the 751st Tank Battalion. The unit trained at Fort Knox, Kentucky, Camp Gordon, Georgia, and Fort Jackson, South Carolina. On August 6, 1942, the battalion boarded a ship bound for England, where they underwent additional training. On January 8, 1943, the 751st landed in Oran, Algeria in support of Operation Torch, the invasion of North Africa. In April 1943, the unit was attached to the 34th Infantry Division for the attack at Fondouk el Okbi in Tunisia. The battalion lost several of their M-3 Grant tanks during this battle, and the 34th Division suffered heavy casualties. In May, the 751st entered the port city of Bizerte, Tunisia, only to find that the Germans had retreated across the Mediterranean to Sicily and Italy.

The unit returned to Oran for a brief rest and training on the new M-4 Sherman tanks. When Operation Avalanche, the invasion of Italy began, the 751st landed at the small town of Paestum, south of Salerno, Italy on September 9, 1943. The Germans had established artillery and machine-gun posts and scattered tanks through the landing zones, all of which made progress difficult for the Americans. The 751st moved north toward Avellino, suffering many casualties.

Sergeant Victor Jones was killed in action on September 17, 1943. He is buried in the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery and Memorial, Nettuno, Lazio, Italy (Plot G, Row 15, Grave 16). He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart.

This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project

(see www.storiesbehindthestars.org). This is a national effort of volunteers to

write the stories of all 421,000+ of the US WWII fallen saved on Together We Served

and Fold3. Can you help write these stories? These stories will be accessible

via smartphone app at any war memorial or cemetery.

If you noticed anything erroneous in this profile or have additional information to contribute to it, please contact me at clock902@aol.com.

SBTSProject/Washington/King County

Sources:

WWII Army and Army Air Force Casualty List, https://www.fold3.com/image/310763532?rec=299423638

WWII Hospital Admission Card Files, 1942-1954, https://www.fold3.com/record/702110328/jones-victor-us-wwii-hospital-admission-card-files-1942-1954

WWII Army Enlistment Records, https://www.fold3.com/record/90960427/victor-jones-wwii-army-enlistment-records

American Battle Monuments Commission, https://www.fold3.com/record/529931817/victor-jones-american-battle-monuments-commission

Findagrave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56310629/victor-jones

1920 United States Federal Census, https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/99018698:6061?_gl=1*1khzaql*_ga*MTc4MzU0Njg5OS4xNjQ5ODg0OTQw*_ga_4QT8FMEX30*MTY5MTI1ODc0OS40MjEuMS4xNjkxMjYwNzYzLjQ0LjAuMA..

1930 United States Federal Census, https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/111938618:6224?_gl=1*1khzaql*_ga*MTc4MzU0Njg5OS4xNjQ5ODg0OTQw*_ga_4QT8FMEX30*MTY5MTI1ODc0OS40MjEuMS4xNjkxMjYwNzYzLjQ0LjAuMA..

1940 United States Federal Census, https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/64119118:2442?_gl=1*18s4pqi*_ga*MTc4MzU0Njg5OS4xNjQ5ODg0OTQw*_ga_4QT8FMEX30*MTY5MTI1ODc0OS40MjEuMS4xNjkxMjYwNzYzLjQ0LjAuMA..

A Brief History of the 751st Tank Battalion, https://www.751sttankbattalion.com/history.html

Headstone and Interment Records for U.S., Military Cemeteries on Foreign Soil, 1942-1949, https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/16186:9170?_gl=1*xajc15*_ga*MTc4MzU0Njg5OS4xNjQ5ODg0OTQw*_ga_4QT8FMEX30*MTY5MTI1ODc0OS40MjEuMS4xNjkxMjYwOTE4LjYwLjAuMA..

World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947, https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/36873996:2238?_gl=1*83vshq*_ga*MTc4MzU0Njg5OS4xNjQ5ODg0OTQw*_ga_4QT8FMEX30*MTY5MTI1ODc0OS40MjEuMS4xNjkxMjYwOTE4LjYwLjAuMA..

The Seattle Daily TImes, Tuesday, Oct 19, 1943,

Seattle, WA, Page: 4, https://www.genealogybank.com/doc/newspapers/image/v2%3A127D718D1E33F961%40GB3NEWS-12A56F732C071560%402431017-12A360D5B6545654%403-12A360D5B6545654%40?h=9&fname=victor&lname=jones&fullname=&rgfromDate=1942&rgtoDate=1944&formDate=&formDateFlex=exact&dateType=range&kwinc=&kwexc=&sid=vxfhcvnomfmggwyojmlozczhjzyiwuzg_wma-gateway010_1691200448027