George Ellsworth Jones was born on July 4, 1921, in Lewistown, Mifflin County, Pennsylvania. He was the son of Esther J. Myers Jones. He served in the 349th Bomb Squadron, 100th Bomb Group, as a Staff Sergeant and Gunner in B-17G #42-31215 during World War II.

On November 26, 1943, the aircraft was shot down near La Neuville-Garnier, roughly 14 kilometers south of Beauvais in France’s Oise department. It had departed from Station 139 at Thorpe Abbotts, Norfolk, UK, on a bombing mission aimed at Ivry-sur-Seine. At approximately 11:00, the B-17 came under attack from a German Me 109 fighter, which ignited the left wing while the bomb load was still on board. The crew successfully bailed out before the aircraft crashed and exploded on impact. Later that night, around midnight, one of the remaining bombs in the wreckage detonated, killing three German personnel at the site.

SSgt Jones died from his wounds received in battle on November 27, 1943, at Beauvais hospital. He is now buried in the Maitland Brethren Cemetery, Maitland, Mifflin County, Pennsylvania, USA.

Source of information: http://francecrashes39-45.net/