2nd Lt Edgar Leon Jones
May 23, 1923 – April 24, 1944
Class: 43-I-SE
Graduation Date: October 1, 1943
Graduation Rank: Second Lieutenant
Unit: 332nd Fighter Group, 100th Fighter Squadron
Service # O-814196
Edgar was born in 1923 in New York City. There is little information pertaining to his mother, except that she had been born in Mass. His father was born in Rotterdam, as his grandfather, Henry Jones, was a musician traveling in Europe at the time of his father’s birth. Henry Jones died tragically in Russia, while performing away from his family who had been living in Germany. In 1914, his grandmother, Amelia, returned to New York with Leon and his sisters. In 1920, his father, Leon was not yet married. In 1930, Edgar was living in a boarding house with his grandmother, Amelia. There is no indication of where his mother or father are living. By 1940, he was living in a household, as a boarder With Florence L Knight, whom he used as his contact person on the WWII draft card. It’s unclear if there is a relationship between the two.
Little is known of his education, but we do know that he entered the Tuskegee Air Pilot Institute and that he passed his pre-flight training in April of 1943. He was assigned to the 100th Fighter Squadron with the 332nd Fighter Group, based in Italy. On April 24, 1944, 2nd Lt Jones crashed while taking off in his P-39Q Airacobra #44-3196 on a strafing mission over Italy after thirty to forty German JU-88 airplanes raided the 332d Fighter Group area.
Edgar was buried in a temporary American Cemetery in Naples, Italy. His remains were returned to the United States for burial in the Long Island National Cemetery, East Farmingdale, Suffolk County, New York on Nov 19, 1948. This is a National American Cemetery administered through the Department of Veteran’s Affairs.
Sources:
HonorStates.org
WikiTree.com
