S/SGT Gerald L. "Jerry" Jacobsen

Missing in Action in WWII; Coming Home After 73 Years 

Darling Husband and beloved son, brother and uncle. Age 27. Died in combat in the 35th Infantry Division assault on St. Lo, France on July 15, 1944. Also deceased are his parents, Charles and Anna; and siblings, Charles, Robert, Howard, Harold “Russ”, Lester, Richard, Phyllis Ekstrand, and Donald. Survived by his wife, Catherine; sister, Jacqualyn LaBathe; and numerous nieces, nephews, and other family. 

Jerry entered the Army in 1942, and married Catherine Burket the following year; sixteen months later, he was shipped overseas. Jerry faithfully wrote Catherine every single day he was gone. 10 days after arriving in France, about a month after D-Day, Jerry was assigned to an isolated forward observation post. The position was shelled by German artillery and communications were lost. At the end of the battle, scores of soldiers were missing, including Jerry, and many of the fallen were unidentifiable. Jerry was officially listed as missing in action, and subsequently designated as deceased a year and a day later. Meanwhile, an unidentified body was interred in a grave in Normandy marked “A Comrade in Arms, Known But to God"; 73 years later exhumed and identified as S/SGT Gerald L. Jacobsen. 

The Jacobsen family sacrificed much for their country. Six of Jerry’s brothers also served in combat, five in WWII and one in Korea and Vietnam; two of them, like Jerry, also gave their lives – Robert in WWII and Donald in Vietnam. Through the persistent efforts of Jerry’s dedicated family, he has finally been identified and at long last is coming home to be laid to rest. 

Mass of Christian Burial at 11:00 AM on Friday, July 14 at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church, 380 E Little Canada Rd, Little Canada. Visitation from 4-8 PM Thursday 7/13 at Mueller-Bies Funeral Home (Roseville), 2130 N. Dale Street at County Road B, and at the church from 9-11 AM Friday 7/14. Committal Service at Fort Snelling National Cemetery, Assembly Area #2, at 2:30 PM Friday 7/14. 

A very special thank you to all involved in finally bringing Jerry home.