J.C. Brooks was a son of Kentucky who valiantly fought and was killed in action in World War II on August 1, 1943, at the age of 19. He was born on December 5, 1923,in Rockfield, Kentucky, to parents, Ardie and Ettie Brooks. He was a beloved brother to Paul and Chester Brooks, Frances Brooks Adkins, Anna Pearl Swift Jameson, and Earl Swift.
In February 1943, J.C. joined the Army to honor a family tradition of military service and to defend the country that he loved. In the summer of 1943, PVT Brooks was assigned to Company I, 3rd Battalion, 39th Infantry Regiment, 9th Infantry Division. His unit was part of Operation HUSKY, the Allied effort to capture Sicily from the fascist Italian regime. He was killed during the arduous Battle of Troina while leading an advance as first scout. His courageous sacrifice prompted his unit to take cover and they were pinned down for the rest of the day. PVT Brooks could not be recovered because of the fighting. The mission was ultimately successful in driving the heavily armed German forces out of Sicily. The unit lost only five soldiers that day, in part because of the bravery of PVT Brooks.
The War Department notified his family that he was missing in action in Sept 1943 and presumed killed in action a year later. His family grieved but they never knew what happened. His brother Chester, himself a WWII veteran, described J.C. as "tender-hearted." He kept his picture on his wall throughout his lifetime and named one of his sons after him. His parents and all his siblings sadly passed without the closure that would come from his return. Fortunately, the family stories they passed on will help his remaining family and friends to carry forward the history so that his selfless sacrifice, courageous leadership, personal compassion, and dedication to the cause of freedom will not be forgotten.
In 2016, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) identified an unknown soldier interred in a U. S. Cemetery in Italy as a possible match to PVT Brooks. After extensive research, this unknown soldier was disinterred in June 2019 and sent to the DPAA Laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, for analysis. On Sept 27, 2022, using anthropological and dental analysis along with DNA from his sisters, Frances and Anna Pearl, and his nephew and namesake, Jay, Pvt Brooks' remains were positively identified.
Eighty years after his death, J. C. Brooks will be honored by a Welcome Home ceremony when he arrives at the airport in Louisville, Kentucky. The Rolling Thunder and others will then accompany him to the Funeral Home in Elizabethtown. He will say goodbye to family and friends in a graveside service with full military honors at Elizabethtown Memorial Gardens on Saturday, September 23, 2023, at 1pm followed by a Celebration of Life held at the American Legion in Elizabethtown.
In February 1943, J.C. joined the Army to honor a family tradition of military service and to defend the country that he loved. In the summer of 1943, PVT Brooks was assigned to Company I, 3rd Battalion, 39th Infantry Regiment, 9th Infantry Division. His unit was part of Operation HUSKY, the Allied effort to capture Sicily from the fascist Italian regime. He was killed during the arduous Battle of Troina while leading an advance as first scout. His courageous sacrifice prompted his unit to take cover and they were pinned down for the rest of the day. PVT Brooks could not be recovered because of the fighting. The mission was ultimately successful in driving the heavily armed German forces out of Sicily. The unit lost only five soldiers that day, in part because of the bravery of PVT Brooks.
The War Department notified his family that he was missing in action in Sept 1943 and presumed killed in action a year later. His family grieved but they never knew what happened. His brother Chester, himself a WWII veteran, described J.C. as "tender-hearted." He kept his picture on his wall throughout his lifetime and named one of his sons after him. His parents and all his siblings sadly passed without the closure that would come from his return. Fortunately, the family stories they passed on will help his remaining family and friends to carry forward the history so that his selfless sacrifice, courageous leadership, personal compassion, and dedication to the cause of freedom will not be forgotten.
In 2016, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) identified an unknown soldier interred in a U. S. Cemetery in Italy as a possible match to PVT Brooks. After extensive research, this unknown soldier was disinterred in June 2019 and sent to the DPAA Laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, for analysis. On Sept 27, 2022, using anthropological and dental analysis along with DNA from his sisters, Frances and Anna Pearl, and his nephew and namesake, Jay, Pvt Brooks' remains were positively identified.
Eighty years after his death, J. C. Brooks will be honored by a Welcome Home ceremony when he arrives at the airport in Louisville, Kentucky. The Rolling Thunder and others will then accompany him to the Funeral Home in Elizabethtown. He will say goodbye to family and friends in a graveside service with full military honors at Elizabethtown Memorial Gardens on Saturday, September 23, 2023, at 1pm followed by a Celebration of Life held at the American Legion in Elizabethtown.
J.C. Brooks was a son of Kentucky who valiantly fought and was killed in action in World War II on August 1, 1943, at the age of 19. He was born on December 5, 1923,in Rockfield, Kentucky, to parents, Ardie and Ettie Brooks. He was a beloved brother to Paul and Chester Brooks, Frances Brooks Adkins, Anna Pearl Swift Jameson, and Earl Swift.
In February 1943, J.C. joined the Army to honor a family tradition of military service and to defend the country that he loved. In the summer of 1943, PVT Brooks was assigned to Company I, 3rd Battalion, 39th Infantry Regiment, 9th Infantry Division. His unit was part of Operation HUSKY, the Allied effort to capture Sicily from the fascist Italian regime. He was killed during the arduous Battle of Troina while leading an advance as first scout. His courageous sacrifice prompted his unit to take cover and they were pinned down for the rest of the day. PVT Brooks could not be recovered because of the fighting. The mission was ultimately successful in driving the heavily armed German forces out of Sicily. The unit lost only five soldiers that day, in part because of the bravery of PVT Brooks.
The War Department notified his family that he was missing in action in Sept 1943 and presumed killed in action a year later. His family grieved but they never knew what happened. His brother Chester, himself a WWII veteran, described J.C. as "tender-hearted." He kept his picture on his wall throughout his lifetime and named one of his sons after him. His parents and all his siblings sadly passed without the closure that would come from his return. Fortunately, the family stories they passed on will help his remaining family and friends to carry forward the history so that his selfless sacrifice, courageous leadership, personal compassion, and dedication to the cause of freedom will not be forgotten.
In 2016, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) identified an unknown soldier interred in a U. S. Cemetery in Italy as a possible match to PVT Brooks. After extensive research, this unknown soldier was disinterred in June 2019 and sent to the DPAA Laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, for analysis. On Sept 27, 2022, using anthropological and dental analysis along with DNA from his sisters, Frances and Anna Pearl, and his nephew and namesake, Jay, Pvt Brooks' remains were positively identified.
Eighty years after his death, J. C. Brooks will be honored by a Welcome Home ceremony when he arrives at the airport in Louisville, Kentucky. The Rolling Thunder and others will then accompany him to the Funeral Home in Elizabethtown. He will say goodbye to family and friends in a graveside service with full military honors at Elizabethtown Memorial Gardens on Saturday, September 23, 2023, at 1pm followed by a Celebration of Life held at the American Legion in Elizabethtown.
In February 1943, J.C. joined the Army to honor a family tradition of military service and to defend the country that he loved. In the summer of 1943, PVT Brooks was assigned to Company I, 3rd Battalion, 39th Infantry Regiment, 9th Infantry Division. His unit was part of Operation HUSKY, the Allied effort to capture Sicily from the fascist Italian regime. He was killed during the arduous Battle of Troina while leading an advance as first scout. His courageous sacrifice prompted his unit to take cover and they were pinned down for the rest of the day. PVT Brooks could not be recovered because of the fighting. The mission was ultimately successful in driving the heavily armed German forces out of Sicily. The unit lost only five soldiers that day, in part because of the bravery of PVT Brooks.
The War Department notified his family that he was missing in action in Sept 1943 and presumed killed in action a year later. His family grieved but they never knew what happened. His brother Chester, himself a WWII veteran, described J.C. as "tender-hearted." He kept his picture on his wall throughout his lifetime and named one of his sons after him. His parents and all his siblings sadly passed without the closure that would come from his return. Fortunately, the family stories they passed on will help his remaining family and friends to carry forward the history so that his selfless sacrifice, courageous leadership, personal compassion, and dedication to the cause of freedom will not be forgotten.
In 2016, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) identified an unknown soldier interred in a U. S. Cemetery in Italy as a possible match to PVT Brooks. After extensive research, this unknown soldier was disinterred in June 2019 and sent to the DPAA Laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, for analysis. On Sept 27, 2022, using anthropological and dental analysis along with DNA from his sisters, Frances and Anna Pearl, and his nephew and namesake, Jay, Pvt Brooks' remains were positively identified.
Eighty years after his death, J. C. Brooks will be honored by a Welcome Home ceremony when he arrives at the airport in Louisville, Kentucky. The Rolling Thunder and others will then accompany him to the Funeral Home in Elizabethtown. He will say goodbye to family and friends in a graveside service with full military honors at Elizabethtown Memorial Gardens on Saturday, September 23, 2023, at 1pm followed by a Celebration of Life held at the American Legion in Elizabethtown.
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Entered the service from Kentucky.
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