Jack joined his brother Waldo in the army, but the Italian campaign prevented their reunion.

Jack B. Averrett, who was descended from Pajaro Valley pioneer Jacob Blackburn, was born to Mr. and Mrs. Harry Averrett in Watsonville in 1917. His mother died when he was a baby, leaving his father to care for him and his brother Waldo. Harry re-married and provided a home for his sons and second wife until a World War I wound forced his confinement in the VA Hospital at Palo Alto. Jack had only completed one year of high school when he was forced to leave school and seek employment. In January 1943 he was unemployed and living in Carbon County, Utah.

Jack B. Averrett returned to California and on February 6, 1943, was inducted into the army in Sacramento. Following basic training, he was assigned to the 540th Combat Engineers. The 540th regimental history details activities of his unit during the final weeks of his life.

“On January 22, 1944, Allied forces landed at Anzio, Italy, in Operation Shingle, a movement to draw German forces away from Cassino and provide the Allies access to Rome. The 540th Engineer Combat Regiment was involved in clearing and maintaining the beach at Anzio as a port of operations for the Allied forces after a heavy bombardment by the German artillery.”

On March 10, 1944, while the 540th Combat Engineers continued to fight their way out of Anzio, Jack B. Averrett was listed as killed in action. His body was recovered and buried in the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery in Nettuno, Italy. His awards include the Purple Heart.

(ABMC; NARA2; WRP April 18, 1944 1:4, SCSn July27, 1944; West Virginia Division Culture & History, West Virginia Veterans Memorial, http://www.wvculture.org/history/wvmemory/vets/hughes/ hughes.html, [16 September 2008])