Jim L. Jones was born in 1922 in Illinois. He resided in Whiteside County, Illinois prior to the war. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps on August 27, 1940, prior to the war, in Chicago, Illinois. He was noted, at the time of his enlistment, as being employed in the production of bakery products and also as Single, without dependents. He was married sometime after his enlistment. Jim served as a First Lieutenant and Pilot on C-87 #43-30573, 1330th Army Air Force Base Unit, U.S. Army Air Force during World War II.

C-87 #43-30573 took off, with a crew of 4, from Jorhat, India on a cargo mission to Chengtu, China. After one radio transmission the C-87 was not seen nor heard from again. It was later discovered that they crashed in a remote jungle area and the crash site was found. Personal effects were taken from each airmen and they were then all interred by where they crashed. Their remains have never been recovered from the crash site.

Jim was declared "Missing In Action" on this mission during the war. His name is commemorated on the Walls of the Missing, Manila American Cemetery, Taguig City, Philippines. He was one of over 2000 Americans who lost their lives defending China from their Japanese invaders from 1941-1945. He is commemorated on the The Monument to the Aviation Martyrs in the War of Resistance Against Japan in Nanjing, China.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, www.abmc.gov