James Dunlap Jones was born on October 2, 1917, in Dallas County, Texas. He was the son of John Leddy Jones and Virginia L. Richey Jones. He served in the 585th Bomb Squadron, 394th Bomber Group, Medium, as a First Lieutenant and Bombardier in B-26 Marauder #42-96117 during World War II.

On June 12, 1944, the aircraft was shot down during a bombing mission aimed at destroying bridges in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, located in the Yvelines department of France. The aircraft had departed earlier that morning from Station 161 in Boreham, Essex, UK. At 08:55, while flying over the Oise department, it was hit by anti-aircraft fire, which tore off the aircraft’s forward fuselage and wings. The plane crashed into a gravel pit near a recreational area between Villers-sous-Saint-Leu and Saint-Leu-d'Esserent, roughly 6 kilometers northeast of Beaumont-sur-Oise. Several crew members managed to parachute to safety before the crash.

1Lt Jones was Killed in Action and is now buried in the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial, Colleville-sur-Mer, Departement du Calvados, Basse-Normandie, France.

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