Private First Class Douglas Thomas Jacobson was a Marine in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve who received the Medal of Honor for his actions on February 26, 1945 at Hill 382, Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands during World War II. At the time he was serving with Company L, 3d Battalion, 24th Marines, 4th Marine Division. Jacobson was 19 years old.
One other service member also received the Medal of Honor for actions on the same day. The medal was presented on October 5, 1945. He later rose to the rank of Major.
Jacobson was born on November 25, 1925 in Rochester, Monroe County, New York. His Medal of Honor is credited to New York. Jacobson died on August 20, 2000 in Punta Gorda, Florida, at the age of 74. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia.
Jacobson is one of 474 Medal of Honor recipients from World War II and one of 678 credited to New York.
Official Medal of Honor citation
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving with the 3d Battalion, 23d Marines, 4th Marine Division, in combat against enemy Japanese forces during the seizure of Iwo Jima in the Volcano Islands, 26 February 1945. Promptly destroying a stubborn 20-mm antiaircraft gun and its crew after assuming the duties of a bazooka man who had been killed, Pfc. Jacobson waged a relentless battle as his unit fought desperately toward the summit of Hill 382 in an effort to penetrate the heart of Japanese cross-island defense. Employing his weapon with ready accuracy when his platoon was halted by overwhelming enemy fire on 26 February, he first destroyed two hostile machine-gun positions, then attacked a large blockhouse, completely neutralizing the fortification before dispatching the five-man crew of a second pillbox and exploding the installation with a terrific demolitions blast. Moving steadily forward, he wiped out an earth-covered rifle emplacement and, confronted by a cluster of similar emplacements which constituted the perimeter of enemy defenses in his assigned sector, fearlessly advanced, quickly reduced all six positions to a shambles, killed 10 of the enemy, and enabled our forces to occupy the strongpoint. Determined to widen the breach thus forced, he volunteered his services to an adjacent assault company, neutralized a pillbox holding up its advance, opened fire on a Japanese tank pouring a steady stream of bullets on one of our supporting tanks, and smashed the enemy tank's gun turret in a brief but furious action culminating in a singlehanded assault against still another blockhouse and the subsequent neutralization of its firepower. By his dauntless skill and valor, Pfc. Jacobson destroyed a total of 16 enemy positions and annihilated approximately 75 Japanese, thereby contributing essentially to the success of his division's operations against this fanatically defended outpost of the Japanese Empire. His gallant conduct in the face of tremendous odds enhanced and sustained the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.
Citation text: U.S. Government, public domain.
How he died
- Manner of death: natural causes
- Cause of death: heart failure, pneumonia
- Age at death: 74
- Resting place: Arlington National Cemetery
Cause and manner of death: Wikidata.
Other decorations and honors
Besides the Medal of Honor, Douglas Thomas Jacobson received:
Source: Wikidata. Gold chips link to our guide to that decoration.
Battles and campaigns
Also served in: World War II.
Places
Veteran resources, cemeteries and meeting places in New York →
Timeline
- November 25, 1925Born in Rochester, Monroe County, New York
- February 26, 1945Act of valor — Hill 382, Iwo Jima, Volcano IslandsAge 19. Company L, 3d Battalion, 24th Marines, 4th Marine Division
- October 5, 1945Medal of Honor presented
- August 20, 2000Died in Punta Gorda, FloridaAge 74.
- Resting placeArlington National CemeteryArlington, Virginia
Biography
Major Douglas Thomas Jacobson (November 25, 1925 – August 20, 2000) was a United States Marine who earned the United States' highest military honor — the Medal of Honor — for his heroic actions on Iwo Jima during World War II. "Private First Class Jacobson destroyed a total of sixteen enemy positions and annihilated approximately seventy-five Japanese, thereby contributing essentially to the success of his division's operations." He was presented the Medal of Honor by President Harry S. Truman on October 5, 1945.
From the Wikipedia article “Douglas T. Jacobson”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the full article →
