Listed on the photographs caption as the first American casualty in the Italian campaign. Grave of the 1st American casualty, Gela, Sicily, 12 July 1943 privateletters.net
I received this photo in an email on 1 August 2011. I found S1c Paul B. Wilson on the Muster Rolls of the USS Elizabeth Stanton. via Ancestry.com. According to the Rolls, he was killed during the landing operations at Gela on 10 July 1943. I added this photo, SC 180492, to my list for my planned visit to the NARA II, College Park, which occurred Friday, 12 August. I found in Box 179 a second Signal Corps photo of the grave, SC 180493. It is unknown who was the first American casualty at Sicily. East of Gela, 24 men of the 157th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division, and one seaman, John H. Jones, of the USS Thomas Jefferson drowned during the landings at Punta Bracetto when two landing crafts collided near the rocky shore. It appears that Seaman Wilson's body was never recovered from this temporary grave. He is listed on the Tablet of Missing at the ABMC Sicily-Rome Cemetery. Dave
Paul was my Grandfathers Brother his Purple Heart has been passed down to me after my Grandfathers death to keep it in the family
S1C John Henry Jones was my Great Uncle on my Grandmother's side. I would appreciate any further information or links to which you may direct me. I am very proud of him and remember my family speaking of him when I was a child. If I can figure out how to navigate this page and post a pre-war picture of him, I will do that. Thank you for your service. Gene Roberts
