|
Tec5 LaVerne Elmer Jones From the Monroe County Local History Room, LaVerne Elmer Jones was born in Monroe County on May 9, 1919.2 From the 1920 US Census for Greenfield Township in Monroe County, Wisconsin, the record is for William L, Laura L, and Lavern C. “Furderant.” That is the name of the person above them on the census record and their name “Jones” is obscured. But a researcher has “written on the record” that this is the Jones family. William was 23, Laura (21), and Lavern was an infant. From the 1930 US Census Laverne E. Jones was 10 and the grandson in the house of John M. Taylor (60), Rosa C. Taylor (56), and their son Leslie A. Taylor (20). The Taylor family owned their own house at 420 Wisconsin Street in Sparta, Monroe county, Wisconsin. Grandfather John was a laborer at odd jobs and Grandmother Rosa was a tobacco sorter. Son Leslie was a laborer at odd jobs. From the 1930 US Census, it appears that Laverne’s family of origin was living at 209 Groves Street in Sparta, Monroe, Wisconsin. Father William (35) worked as an interior decorator, mother Laura (31), and daughter Evelyn (12), son Roy (9), daughter Roselle (8), daughter Elizabeth Jean (3), and infant son William. Father William remarried in 1938. Mother Laura also remarried. It is unknown to this researcher when they divorced and why LaVerne was not living with them in 1930. From the 1940 US Census, it appears that Laverne E. Jones was 20 and living as an inmate at the Wisconsin State Reformatory in Allouez, Brown County, Wisconsin. He had completed 8th grade. In 1935 he was living in rural Monroe county in Wisconsin. From the May 16, 1941 WWII Draft record, LaVerne Elmer Jones was living at 420 Wisconsin Street in Sparta, Monroe county, Wisconsin. He was 22 years old and gave his place of birth as Greenfield, Wis. on May 9, 1919. His next of kin was Mrs. Rose Taylor, his grandmother at the same address. His employer was Emery R. Jones in Sparta. From the October 19, 1942 Enlistment record Laverne E. Jones. He enlisted in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was born in 1919 and had a grammar school education. His civilian occupation was “semiskilled chauffeurs and drivers, bus, taxi, truck, and tractor.” He was married. The Monroe County marriage records index show that LaVerne E. Jones and Charlotte I. Brey were married on April 14, 1942. The July 27, 1942 Sparta Herald had a notice of the birth of LaVerne Jones’s son. The November 8, 1943 Sparta Herald had a notice that Pvt. LaVerne E. Jones was in armored school. LaVerne E. Jones became a part of the 63rd Armored Infantry Battalion of the 11th Armored Division of the 3rd Army. From the 11th Armored Division website history, the 63rd Armored Infantry Battalion began at Camp Polk, Louisiana in August of 1942. The battalion moved to Camp Barkeley, Texas and trained with the 3rd Army from September to October of 1943. The battalion then trained at Camp Ibis near Needles, California and Camp Cooke. The battalion moved to Camp Kilmer, New Jersey in September 1944, awaiting mobilization to England where they trained for two months. They left Southampton, England from December 16th to 17th to Cherbourg, France. The battalion joined the fight in the Ardennes Forest of Belgium against the Germans, in what is now known as the Battle of the Bulge. The 11th Armored Division’s mission was to hold the Meuse River line between Sedan and Givet. The 63rd Armored Infantry Battalion was stationed in Bricquebec, France when they joined in the battlefront and pushed 500 miles across France, arriving at Sissonne, France by December 24, 1944. From the January 22, 1945 La Crosse Tribune article titled, “Two Casualties Are Reported: Both Soldiers Are Residents of Tomah,” the article stated that “Word has been received by Mrs. La Verne Jones, formerly Charlotte Brey of Tomah, that her husband was killed in action at Danville, France on Dec. 22, 1944. Jones was with the 11th armored division and has been overseas since October, 1944. He entered the service Nov. 2, 1942 and trained at Fort Knox, Ky., Camp Ibis and Camp Cooke, Calif. Survivors are his wife and two-year-old son. Memorial services will be arranged later. Pvt. Paul Betthauser has been missing in action in Germany since Dec. 16, according to word received by his wife of Tomah. It is believed he was with the 106th division.” The March 5, 1945 Sparta Herald had a notice that La Verne E. Jones, the husband of the former Charlotte Brey, was killed in France. From the National WWII Memorial and Honor States websites, Tec5 Laverne E. Jones (ID # 36276266) served with the US Army during WWII. His hometown was Monroe County, Wisconsin. His death status was DNB: Died Non-Battle. The March 28, 1949 Sparta Herald had a notice that LaVerne E. Jones was killed in action on December 22, 1944 and was being brought back for reburial. From FindAGrave, Tec5 LaVerne Elmer Jones was born May 9, 1919 and died December 22, 1944 in France. He was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in Milwaukee, Milwaukee county, Wisconsin. From the US Veterans’ headstone application, Charlotte I. Jones (Laverne’s widow) applied for the headstone in April of 1949. She was living at 471 Morgan Avenue in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Lavern E. Jones enlisted on November 2, 1942. He was from Wisconsin and served with the 63rd Armored Infantry Battalion with the 11th Armored Division of the 3rd Army. He was a Christian and the gravestone was a flat granite marker. Thank you, Technician Fifth Grade LaVerne Elmer Jones, for your service to and sacrifice for this country. We honor you and remember you. ** Krista Finstad Hanson is a volunteer writer and historian working with the Stories Behind the Stars project.
Sources: 1920 US Census https://www.ancestryinstitution.com/discoveryui-content/view/71485256:6061 1930 US Census 1940 US Census May 16, 1941 WWII Draft record October 19, 1942 Enlistment record https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KMKZ-75P 11th Armored division http://www.11tharmoreddivision.com/history/63rd_AIB.html http://www.11tharmoreddivision.com/history/63rd_history_long.html 22 January 1945 La Crosse Tribune https://basic.newspapers.com/image/511241437/?terms=%22Charlotte%20Brey%22&match=1 FindAGrave https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/119208353/laverne-elmer-jones Honor States https://www.honorstates.org/index.php?id=548434 Monroe County Local History Room National WWII Memorial http://wwiimemorial.com/Registry/plaque_wardept.aspx?honoreeID=1287707 Headstone applications |
