Sgt. Melvin Jones October 19, 1919 ~ July 28, 1942 (age 22)

Graveside services with full military honors for Sergeant Melvin E. Jones will be conducted at 10:00 AM, Tuesday, September 15, 2026 in the Portales Cemetery.  Sgt. Jones was born October 17, 1919 to the home of Justina and C. C. Jones.  He entered the US Army on March 9, 1940, and was assigned to the 200th Coast Artillery Regiment and was serving in the Philippines when the United States entered World War II.  When the U. S. forces in the Philippines surrendered to the Japanese Army in the spring of 1942, Sgt. Jones became a prisoner of war and was held at Cabanatuan Prisoner of War Camp where he succumbed to Malaria on July 28th or 29th 1942.  The government has recently identified his remains and made arrangements for him to be returned to Portales for interment beside his parents.