Cpt. Gussie M. Jones was born in Forrest City and spent much of her youth in Palestine, Arkansas. Along with her seven siblings, she was forced to become self-reliant from an early age due to the untimely death of her parents. As an honor roll student, she became the first in her family to go to college. Cpt. Jones attended Arkansas Central University where she earned a bachelor's degree in business administration in 1986. She would go on to earn a degree in nursing, her second bachelor's degree, from Syracuse University in 1988. That same year, she was selected to attend the Army Enlisted Commissioning Program and began her career as a registered nurse and a commissioned officer in September of 1998. Cpt. Jones served at the Beaumont Army Medical Center's intensive care unit and she volunteered to serve as a medical surgical nurse in Baghdad.Cpt. Jones left from Biggs Army Airfield on January 7 and passed away in November of heart failure in the Baghdad hospital where she served. "She was a very dedicated person and was always smiling," said co-worker and friend, Cpt. Susan Gilbert. "If anyone asked her to do something, she would do it. And she was very kind and gentle and patient with the patients." My thoughts and prayers go out to her family and loved ones.