Raymond Jacobs

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Lowery's most widely circulated picture of the first flag raising. This picture is usually captioned as: 1st Lt. Harold G. Schrier with Platoon Sergeant Ernest I. Thomas, Jr. (both seated), PFC James Michels (in foreground with carbine), Sergeant Henry O. Hansen (standing, wearing soft cap), Corporal Charles W. Lindberg (standing, extreme right), on Mount Suribachi at the first flag raising.
Lowery's most widely circulated picture of the first flag raising. This picture is usually captioned as: 1st Lt. Harold G. Schrier with Platoon Sergeant Ernest I. Thomas, Jr. (both seated), PFC James Michels (in foreground with carbine), Sergeant Henry O. Hansen (standing, wearing soft cap), Corporal Charles W. Lindberg (standing, extreme right), on Mount Suribachi at the first flag raising.

Raymond Jacobs (1925–January 29, 2008) was a United States Marine Corps Private First Class, a Radioman with the 2nd Battalion, 28th Marines of the 5th Marine Division (Iwo Jima), and later a news reporter. Although not officially confirmed, Jacobs maintained that he was the last surviving member of the original party of Marines who raised the first flag on Mount Suribachi on February 23, 1945 during the Battle of Iwo Jima.[1][2]

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[edit] Biography

Raymond Jacobs was born in 1925 in Bridgeport, Connecticut. He served during World War II as a radio operator in the Pacific Theatre. Awarded the Purple Heart, he was honorably discharged in 1946. He was called up during the Korean War in 1951 before retiring as a sergeant.

Jacobs worked as a reporter, anchor, and news director for KTVU in Oakland, California for 34 years before retired in 1992.[3]

[edit] Photo claim

Jacobs spent his later years working to prove that he was the radio operator photographed by Louis R. Lowery, (a photographer with Leatherneck magazine), standing beneath the first American flag raised by Marines on Mount Suribachi.[4][2] He even disputed the official identifications in the picture and asserted that it should be: PFC James Robeson (lower left corner), Lt. Harold Schrier (sitting behind his legs), PFC Raymond Jacobs (carrying radio), Sgt Henry Hansen (cloth cap), unknown (lower hand on pole), Sgt Ernest Thomas (back to camera), Phm2c John Bradley (helmet above Thomas), PFC James Michels (with carbine), Cpl Charles Lindberg (above Michels).[4]

Many veterans have questioned Jacobs' claim as his face is not visible in Lowery's most widely circulated photograph. Jacobs' claim was based on other photographs taken at the flagraising by Lowery which he asserted show him. The man with a radio on his back in the most famous of Lowery's photographs had usually been identified as PFC Gene Marshall, a radio operator with the 5th Marine Division who died in 1987. The other men involved in the raising have all died. Annette Amerman, a historian with the Marine Corps History Division, said "there are many that believe" Jacobs was the radioman. "However, there are no official records produced at the time that can prove or refute Mr. Jacobs' location."[2]

Raymond Jacobs died of natural causes at a hospital in Redding, California, on January 29, 2008, at the age of 82.[2]

[edit] See also

United States Marine Corps Portal

[edit] References

  1. ^ Last Iwo Jima flag veteran dies, BBC, February 5, 2008.
  2. ^ a b c d Last Marine in Iwo Jima Photo Dies at 82, AP, February 5, 2008.
  3. ^ Raymond Jacobs - ex-KTVU news director, Iwo Jima vet, The San Francisco Chronicle, February 6, 2008.
  4. ^ a b America's Greatest Generation: Marine Heroes: Raymond Jacobs.

[edit] External links


Persondata
NAME Jacobs, Raymond
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION United States Marine Corps radio operator and later a news reporter
DATE OF BIRTH January 24,1927
PLACE OF BIRTH Bridgeport, Connecticut
DATE OF DEATH January 29, 2008
PLACE OF DEATH Redding, California
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