WW2 Fallen - Triple Purple Heart hero Russell Jones, 45th Infantry Division

Staff Sergeant Russell Jones served in the 1st Battalion, 157th Infantry Regiment as did the men in this photo.
https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=22710063&ref=acom
http://warfarehistorynetwork.com/daily/wwii/nordwind-the-other-battle-of-the-bulge/ 

Russell W. Jones never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.

He was born on October 28, 1917 in Indiana. His parents Asa and Cora were also both born in Indiana. His father worked as a farmer until he died of pneumonia in 1939. Russell had three older sisters and five older brothers. By 1940 he had completed four years of high school. He was living at home with his mother and just older brother who would serve for four years during WW2.

Russell enlisted in the army on March 18, 1941, leaving a job as a filling station attendant. He became a staff sergeant in Company C, 1st Battalion, 157th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division. Sgt. Jones survived fighting in North Africa, Sicily and Italy up until September 11, 1943 when he received a head wound that kept him out of action for six month before he returned to Company C. In September 1944, Sgt. Jones was wounded a second time when the 45th ID was advancing up from Southern France. This time he was back with his men within a few weeks when it was fighting the Germans in the challenging Vosges Mountains.

The heavily wooded forest was unlike anything Sgt. Russell had seen in Indiana. The Germans had excellent positions to slow the American advance. The fields were heavily mined and the Germans engaged in house-to-house fighting that resulted in frequent casualties. Sgt. Jones died on October 20, 1944 near Rambervillers, a triple purple-heart hero.

His grave is at Goodwill Cemetery in Loogootee, Indiana.

Thank you Russell for your sacrifice. Let's Earn It for Russell.


On behalf of the fallen, if you would like to see more people become aware of this project to honor the WW2 fallen, be sure to share with others on Twitter, Facebook, etc. Thanks for your interest!

I created this video to explain why I started this project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXt8QA481lY.

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