---

In Memory of Army Cpl.

Robert Milton Jacobs

Sioux Falls, South Dakota,Minnehaha County

June 15, 1946 – May10, 1968

Killed in hostile ground action in An Nukt Tan, Gia Din Province, South Vietnam

   

Robert (Bob) Milton Jacobs was born in Sioux Falls, South Dakota on June 15, 1946 to Milton Robert and Joyce (Brendsel) Jacobs. Bob had two sisters, Carolyn and Judy. He attended Mark Twain and Lowell grade schools, and Edison Jr. High School. His sister, Judy, describes Bob as a typical boy who had fun teasing his younger sisters. He enjoyed music, and was involved with band, choir, community plays, and was a member of All State Chorus. He enjoyed fishing and pheasant hunting with his dad, drawing, and playing with an extensive model train set. Bob participated in his church choir, and Boy Scouts. He loved to explore his surroundings when his family went camping. He once caught a rainbow trout with his bare hands in Spearfish Canyon. Bob graduated from Washington High in 1964, and attended one year at Augustana College in Sioux Falls.

  
Bobby (center) and Judy (right) 1958 Bobby with his first train

Robert M. Jacobs was drafted into the Army on June 13, 1967. He took basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, advanced and specialized training at Fort Polk, Louisiana, and then went on to Fort Knox, Kentucky. Cpl. Jacobs left for Vietnam from Oakland, California on December 4, 1967, attached to Company A, 3rd Battalion, 39th Infantry Regiment, 9th Infantry Division. His company was providing security for the village An Nukt Tan. On May 10, 1968, during hostile ground action with the enemy, Corporal Robert Milton Jacobs was struck by rifle fire and killed.

Dave Jacobs, cousin to Bob, wrote:

Bobby was an avid model car builder. He would write me letters telling me how it was in Vietnam; along with a list of model cars he would like me to send him. I was about 10 or 11 years old. I would open the boxes and tightly pack everything so it could make the trip. While doing this I would write him back on almost every surface of the box. This is how we conversed until his death.

Doodles from Bob

Sister Judy writes:

Dad was 49 years old when Bob was killed. He’s been grieving for 38 years. My mother was in poor health when we received news of Bob’s death. She was not allowed to see Bob’s remains or go to his funeral. There was no closure for her. She died in 1972. I sometimes think of how different our family would be if Bob had survived. Would mom have lived longer? Would Bob have married and had children? Would he have become a singer, an artist, a car designer or engineer in the car industry? Would he and dad be fishing the lakes and hunting the fields? Would we still be fighting as brothers and sisters do? Wars have robbed young men and women of their futures. Let us not forget.

Cpl. Robert Milton Jacobs was buried in Hills of Rest Cemetery in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Cpl Jacob’s name can be found on Panel 58E, Line 009 of the Veterans’ Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C.

Shay Kelly Simons, 8th grade, Stanley County Middle School, Fort Pierre, South Dakota, February 16, 2006, respectfully submitted this entry. Dave Jacobs, Hartford, South Dakota, cousin to Cpl. Jacobs, and Judy Rueb, Sheridan, Wyoming, sister to Cpl. Robert Jacobs, provided information for this entry.