Joseph Jacobson was born in Baltimore, Maryland on 4 December 1919. He was the second of five sons born to Carl and Mary (Metzger) Jacobson; the family moved to West Virginia in the early 1920s and the boys all grew up in Morgantown.

Joseph attended West Virginia University, where he was active on the track team. His last year at the school was 1941; after graduation, he found employment with the DuPont Company.

Jacobson joined the Navy in 1942, hoping to become a pilot. After compelting his training at Naval Air Station Pensacola, he was given his fighter pilot’s wings and a commission as a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps Reserve, effective 25 November 1942.

After a few months of stateside duty in California, Jacobson was assigned to VMF-212, a fighter squadron based in the Solomon Islands. He joined the “Hell Hounds” in the summer of 1943, and participated in combat missions in the northern Solomons.

On the afternoon of 30 October 1943, 1Lt. Jacobson took off as part of a four-plane flight to escort bombers to Bougainville and strafe Japanese shipping. His division, led by Major Stewart B. O’Neill, departed at 1305 and flew along the east coast of Bougainville searching for targets.

2Lt. Alvin Jensen spotted four Japanese transports in Arawa Bay, and the fighters took turns strafing the ships from end to end. As the attack commenced, Lieutenant Jacobson’s Corsair (F4U-1 17462) was seen to make “a fast turn to the east,” and the “pilot was heard to say he was going down.”

Despite some antiaircraft fire from the transports, the fighters set all four ships ablaze before heading for home. One wounded VMF-212 pilot bailed out of his damaged Corsair near Vella Lavella and was rescued. Lieutenant Jacobson, however, did not return to base.

After a few days of fruitless searching, Joe Jacobson was listed missing in action. He was finally declared dead on 11 January 1946. No trace of pilot or plane has ever been found.

“Lieutenant Jensen spotted four  AKs in Marawa [sic] Bay. He called the B-25s by radio and then dove past them, signalling them to follow him in. As he went down he strafed three of the AKs which were lying close together. The B-25s did not notice and continued their search for the AKs. At this point Lieutenant Jacobson was seen to make a fast turn to the east. This was the last sighting of Jacobson. Jensen and Captain Poske made several more passes at the targets. They were joined by the VMF-221 contingent and by Major O’Neill. These targets were: a steel-hulled AK of about 200 feet, a wooden AK of about 135 feet, a wooden AK of about 90 feet, and a motor launch, sampan style, of about 40 feet.

“[Ships] were burning with flames 80-90 feet high at 1750 when planes returned in search for Lt. Jacobson.”

– VMF-212 War Diary, 30 October 1943.

CENOTAPHS
Manila American Cemetery and Memorial
Greenmount Cemetery, York, PA