Lt. Robert 'Jake' Jacobson, was a college graduate from the North Western University. He signed on with the U.S. Army Air Force before America entered the war. From October 1942, he flew 31 combat missions as B-24 bombardier in the B-24D, Hot Stuff, in the 93rd Bomb Group. He was one of the first American airmen to complete a tour of duty. When Lt. Jacobson's plane was scheduled to fly back to the USA on 3 May, for a war bond tour, by a quirk of fate, Jacobson and his copilot were taken off the flight at the last moment, their places taken by Lt. General Frank Andrews and his staff ordered back to the USA by Gen. George Marshall for consultations. Hot Stuff, crashed catastrophically into a mountain in Iceland, attempting to land in bad weather, with only the tail gunner surviving.



Jacobson went on to fly another 14 missions, this time on a B-29 in the Pacific, and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. After the war, he earned a Master's Degree in hospital administration before being recalled to active duty to serve in USAAF hospitals overseas. He retired from the Air Force, as a Major, in 1968 working in a hospital in Texas until his final retirement in 1983.