PVT Samuel Ovida Jones

courtesy of DBC

PVT Samuel Ovida Jones was born in 31 Oct 1896 in Richmond, Virginia. He was the first-born and only son of George Henry and Bertie Lee (Hines) Jones. His father was laborer working on others' farms and by 1910 Samuel was doing the same to help support the family.
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After entering the Army, Samuel was assigned to C Company 116th Infantry. He sailed with the unit to France aboard the USS Finland. The ship departed Hoboken, New Jersey on 15 Jun 1918 and arrived in the port of Saint Nazaire, France on 28 Jun 1918. The entire division including the 116th went through training in trench warfare training and a period of acclimatization in a "quiet" sector on the front. The unit was then part of a major offensive in the vicinity of Verdun. Sometime in that effort, PVT Jones was wounded.  He died of his wound(s) on 16 Oct 1918.

PVT Jones was repatriated and re-interred in Oakwood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia.