My father, Pvt. Moss D Jones, Jr. was stationed with the 17th Airborne Division in England on Christmas Eve of 1944. Shortly before midnight, he boarded Army aircraft and parachuted into combat zone at the Battle of the Buldge. He landed outside a small Catholic Church having midnight mass and soon found himself in a fierce battle. It was then that he vowed to his battle buddy, that if he ever saw another Christmas he would do something very special. In December of 1947 upon his return to Falls City, Nebraska he took his paints and brushes and began using the large picture window in the family home at 1516 Schoenheit Street to paint different Nativity scenes each year. On the 25th anniversary of his window paintings, he painted each and every window across the front of the family home with different Christmas scenes despite his disabling back injury that he endured during the WWII. The tradition continued until his death in July of 1975.
My father would include special animals of the household each year too.
Moss Jones Jr came from a very active military family. At one time while deployed for WWII, his mother got a telegram that all five of her sons were missing in action or killed. Moss and three of his brothers came home, however Donald Jones died at Normandy.
Today, Moss would be very proud of his grandson, Spc. Stephen D. Randall serving in the United States Army as a Combat Engineer.
Falls City, NE
