AFA Remembers Joe Jacobs

Arlington, VA – The Air Force Association (AFA) honors the life and memory of Joe Jacobs, a decorated World War II veteran, a Pearl Harbor survivor and an exemplary individual.

Jacobs passed away February 7, 2009, in Dallas, Texas.

Jacobs served in the Pacific as Navigator on a B-17 Flying Fortress spanning the entirety of U.S. involvement in World War II.

During that service, from 1940 until he retired from active duty in 1946, at the rank of Lt. Col., he earned the Distinguished Flying Cross with one Oak Leaf Cluster, the Air Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, and was authorized to wear the Pacific Campaign Ribbon with four Battle Stars.

At the start of the war, he was stationed at Hickam Air Field in Hawaii and survived the Pearl Harbor attack. He flew numerous combat missions, including the battle of Midway and the first Bombardment outfit on Guadalcanal – two of the most famous and important battles of the Pacific war.

At one point, the co-pilot on his B-17 was Gene Roddenberry, another decorated veteran of World War II in the Pacific and a famed science fiction writer, whose work includes “Star Trek.”

Jacobs married Irene in 1947 and they settled in Dallas. He went on to be successful as an independent businessman for many years and an avid tennis player far into his senior years. He will be missed.

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The AFA is a 501(C)(3), nonprofit organization promoting public understanding of aerospace power and the pivotal role it plays in the security of the nation. AFA has more than 200 chapters nationally and internationally representing 125,000 members. Visit AFA www.AFA.org.

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