14 September 2023
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – A World War II veteran is coming home to Wichita on Thursday.
Staff Sergeant Wesley “Bub” Leon Jones, 22, was killed in action on Aug. 1, 1943. His body was finally identified using modern forensic techniques. His remains are being repatriated in order to be laid to rest next to his parents, Aral and Sherman Jones.
Wesley is scheduled to arrive Thursday evening at Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport.
His funeral services are scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 23, 2023, at 2 p.m. at Wichita Park Cemetary. A viewing will be held beforehand from 9-11 a.m. at Hillside Funeral Home West.
Wesley was born in 1921 in Lockwood, Missouri. Before the age of 2, he moved to Wichita, Kansas. He graduated from Wichita North High School before entering the military to serve in WWII.
He would go on to train in the Air Corps and became a tail gunner on a B-24D Liberator Bomber.
Wesley was based in the desert of Libya, where he and members of the 9th Air Force flew missions over Italy. During his service, he received the moniker “Suck ‘Em in Jonesy.”
On Aug. 18, 1943, Aral received a telegram reporting that he was missing in action.
Aral and Sherman were presented with Wesley’s awards after his passing. On July 4, 1944, Aral and Sherman were presented with a distinguished flying cross with one oak leaf cluster and the air medal with four oak leaf clusters. On Oct. 8, 1944, Aral received a letter informing her that Welsy was awarded the Purple Heart posthumously.
According to Dignity Memorial, Wesley had a story that would be printed in local newspapers and national magazines in the 1940s. Click here to find out more.