Harold Joseph Jacobs

Major Harold J. Jacobs was a Marine fighter pilot with VMF-321.
He was killed in a mid-air collision over Torokina, Bougainville, on 11 January 1944.

Branch

Marine Corps Reserve
Service Number O-7494

Current Status

Remains Not Recovered

Pursuit Category

The DPAA has not publicized this information.

Capsule History

Pre-War Life

Birth

April 3, 1916
at Vergas, MN

Parents

Harry Anton Jacobs
Nina “Minnie” (Otilla) Jacobs

Education

St. Cloud Tech High School (1935)
St. Cloud Teacher’s College (1940)

Occupation & Employer

College student

Service Life

Entered Service

November 15, 1941 (officer)

Home Of Record

526 Wilson Avenue SE
St. Cloud, MN

Next Of Kin

Wife, Mrs. Myra Jane (Michaelson) Jacobs

Military Specialty

Pilot
Operations Officer

Primary Unit

VMF-321

Campaigns Served

Northern Solomons

Individual Decorations

Distinguished Flying Cross
Purple Heart

Additional Service Details

Major Jacobs was credited with two confirmed and two probable aerial victories

Loss And Burial

Circumstances Of Loss

Harold Jacobs earned his Marine Corps commission and pilot’s wings at NATC Miami in November 1941. A talented flyer and teacher, Jacobs was assigned to NAS Jacksonville as an instructor for several months. He was subsequently posted to VMF-321 for combat duty.

In late 1943, the “Hell’s Angels” deployed overseas and took up residence at Torokina Airstrip on the newly captured island of Bougainville. The squadron began flying escort missions over the Northern Solomons, and joined in “sweep” missions over the major Japanese base at Rabaul. Jacobs flew a few ferry flights, test hops, and escort missions before the end of the year. On 2 January 1944, he scored his first confirmed and first probable kills over Simpson Harbor, followed by another confirmed and another probable over Tobera on 9 January. Jacobs was promoted to the rank of major that same day, and promised to buy a $100 war bond for every enemy plane he shot down.

On 11 January, Major Jacobs took his four-plane division aloft for the regular morning patrol. The Corsairs departed Torokina at 0550, flew their prescribed route, and reported everything normal – a perfectly routine mission. By 0820, they were passing over Torokina Airstrip and preparing to land. Suddenly and unexpectedly, the Corsairs piloted by Jacobs and 1Lt. John A. Adam collided in midair. The tail of F4U-1 02578 was shorn off completely, and the wreckage “hit the water at a tremendous rate of speed, exploded, and submerged immediately” in full view of horrified “Hells Angels” on the ground.

“Major Jacobs’ death was a blow to the squadron… a great loss to the Marine Corps,” recorded the VMF-321 War Diary. Author Bryan Bender notes that, while Jacobs was the third Hells Angel lost in ten days (after 1Lt. Newton Blount and 1Lt. Harvey Carter), his was the first death that was confirmed and witnessed by the squadron. A rescue party visited the wreck site and collected what remains they could find for burial.

Burial Information or Disposition

Shortly after the accident, Major Overand sat down to write a condolence letter to Myra Jacobs. “He was buried in a newly dedicated cemetery here and, thinking you might cherish the pictures of his grave, I enclose them,” he wrote. “It was a simple yet beautiful ceremony conducted by our Catholic Father.”

Overand was telling the truth: Harold Jacobs was indeed buried in Grave 4, Row 5, US Army Cemetery #1 on Bougainville. As the years passed, the remains from this cemetery were re-buried three times in different locations before finally arriving in USAF Cemetery #5, Finschhafen. (This was not an unusual practice: small, temporary cemeteries were often consolidated into successively larger burial grounds.) Proper record keeping ensured that Major Jacobs was always in a properly marked grave.

However, when his remains were exhumed one final time in preparation for shipment to his family, a disturbing fact came to light. A blanket, an ID tag, and a Report of Interment were found in the grave – but no human remains. A thorough check of burial records revealed the cause: Major Jacobs’ grave never contained any bones, only soft tissue recovered from the scene of the accident. In the time between his fatal crash and the post-war investigation, these remains had fully decomposed and nothing was left to bury.

The absence of physical remains led to an ultimate declaration of non-recoverability for Major Harold Jacobs. His family inscribed their memorial “in memory.”