Name: Douglas Thomas Jacobson
Rank: Private First Class
Branch: U.S. Marine Corps Reserve
Unit: 3d Battalion, 23d Marines, 4th Marine Division
Place: Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands
Entered Service At: New York
Born: 25 November 1925, Rochester, New York
Summary of Action
On the black volcanic slopes of Iwo Jima, as Marines fought inch by inch toward the summit of Hill 382, Private First Class Douglas T. Jacobson stepped into a fight that few could have survived.
When his unit’s bazooka man was killed, Jacobson immediately took up the weapon and destroyed a stubborn 20mm antiaircraft gun and its crew. But that was only the beginning.
With his platoon pinned down by intense enemy fire, he methodically attacked and eliminated two machine-gun positions. Advancing under relentless fire, he assaulted a large blockhouse, neutralized it, and then destroyed a second pillbox and its five-man crew with a devastating demolitions blast.
Still moving forward, he wiped out an earth-covered rifle emplacement. Confronted by a cluster of six additional fortified positions forming the perimeter of the enemy defense, he advanced fearlessly and reduced each one to ruin — killing ten of the enemy and enabling American forces to seize the strong point.
Determined to widen the breach, Jacobson volunteered to assist a neighboring assault company. He destroyed another pillbox, then engaged a Japanese tank that was pouring fire into U.S. supporting armor. In a brief, violent engagement, he smashed the enemy tank’s turret before launching a single-handed assault on yet another blockhouse.
By the end of the day, he had destroyed sixteen enemy positions and annihilated approximately seventy-five Japanese soldiers.
One Marine. One bazooka. A sector of Iwo Jima broken open.
Medal of Honor Citation
JACOBSON, DOUGLAS THOMAS
Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, 3d Battalion, 23d Marines, 4th Marine Division.
Place and date: Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands, 26 February 1945.
Entered service at: New York.
Born: 25 November 1925, Rochester, N.Y.
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 Island, 26 February 1945. Promptly destroying a stubborn 20mm. 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 2 hostile machinegun positions, then attacked a large blockhouse, completely neutralizing the fortification before dispatching the 5-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 6 positions to a shambles, killed 10 of the enemy, and enabled our forces to occupy the strong point. 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 1 of our supporting tanks, and smashed the enemy tank’s gun turret in a brief but furious action culminating in a single-handed 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.
Name: Douglas Thomas Jacobson
