MAXWELL, Neb. (AP) – A Nebraska Army National Guard sergeant who died in Afghanistan has been buried. A service was held Tuesday at Fort McPherson National Cemetery in Maxwell for 28-year-old Omar Jones, of Maywood. The Nebraska National Guard says Jones died of a noncombat
injury on July 18 at a base in Balkh Province. His death is under investigation. The North Platte Telegraph reports that Maj. Steve Collins was Jones’ commander during a deployment in Iraq. Collins says Jones “had the biggest heart of any soldier I knew.” Jones was an electrician assigned to the 623rd Engineer Company in Wahoo. The guard says Jones was born in Jackson, Miss. After active duty in the Army, he joined the Nebraska National Guard in 2005. Jones is survived by his wife, Ava, and two children.