First Lieutenant Grant Leishman Jones was born in Logan, Utah on April 26, 1923, to Walter Maughan Jones and Jennie Jane Adamson Leishman. Grant’s siblings were J. Webster Jones, W. Burke Jones, USN, Captain Paul Jones, Private Dean Jones.

Grant attended East High School in Salt Lake City, Utah. He was a member of the ROTC commission as a First Lieutenant. After high school, he attended the University of Utah before enlisting in June of 1942.

According to the Salt Lake Tribune on December 1, 1944, Lieutenant Jones was a P-51 Mustang fighter pilot with the 8th Air Force. He had completed 250 combat missions. He wore the distinguished flying cross and air medal with three clusters. He was awarded the Air Medal for exceptionally meritorious service in aerial flight over enemy-occupied Europe. He was credited with shooting down a Messerschmitt 109 with the aid of his flight leader.

He was reported missing in action and later killed in action flying over Germany on September 16, 1944.

Grant’s final resting place is in Millcreek, Utah Wasatch Lawn Memorial Park.

This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project (see++ www.storiesbehindthestars.org++). This is a national effort of volunteers to write the stories of all 400,000+ of the US WWII fallen here on Fold3. Can you help write these stories? Related to this, there will be a smartphone app that will allow people to visit any war memorial or cemetery, scan the fallen's name and read his/her story.