We Fought Battles Too

For those many of you out there who think that I am not a real person, I want you to know that five of my uncles were military officers who fought in World War II. My mother is Helen Marjorie Jacobson and my father is Leroy B. Sloan. All four of my mother's brothers were in the war plus one of my father's brothers. One of my uncles fought in the Battle of the Bulge as part of the Army Tank Corps. Another uncle fought in the Invasion of Iwo Jima. Yet another uncle dropped the A-Bomb on Japan.

I have a history of service too. I beat the draft.

Newell Jacobson fought in World War II as a member of the Allied Forces which crossed France and entered Germany. Newell was not in the Normandy Invasion but joined with the Allied Forces about one-third way across France. He was a member of the Army Tank Corps.

Newell Jacobson fought in the Battle of the Bulge. He was a Liaison Officer who carried messages between command posts. Almost all of the other Liaison Officers in his group were killed in the battle.
My uncles plus my grandparents

Newell Jacobson was later credited with capturing 27 German Soldiers. He and his partner took a stroll outside their camp when, to their surprise, a German soldier jumped out behind a rock with his hands up. When Newell, who had studied some German, accepted his offer of surrender, the soldier said that there were other soldiers who wanted to surrender too. When Newell agreed, the German soldier called out and 26 other German soldiers jumped out behind rocks and trees with their hands up. Newell and his partner then marched them all back to camp, with his partner leading the way to may sure that their own soldiers did not shoot, and Newell following up the rear.

Thus, Newell and his partner alone were credited with capturing 27 German soldiers. Newell's partner was later killed in the war.

Newell Jacobson received the Purple Heart for what he said was a very minor injury.

Newell Jacobson was later stationed in Germany and also served in the Korean War, where he learned to speak Korean. He retired as a major after 20 years in the Army. He later worked for the post office in Council Bluffs, Iowa and then retired to Homestead, Florida, where he died in 1989.

Alden Jacobson flew on the bombing mission which dropped the A-Bomb on Nagasaki. Alden was an Air Force pilot who flew many bombing missions over Japan, but he was not piloting the aircraft which dropped THE BOMB. Alden was in a support aircraft. He saw the bomb drop and the mushroom cloud go up.

Alden was flying essentially as a passenger. Alden had signed up for this mission as a backup pilot to increase his number of missions so that he could get to go home early. Other members of his regular crew objected. They felt that it was bad luck if they did not always fly together.

Alden's plan did not work, because this his last mission ended the War with Japan. Alden was stationed for the next several years as part of the American Occupation Forces in Japan. One of his sons, William, was born in Japan in 1948.

Alden retired as a Lieutenant Colonel after 20 years in the Air Force. He them bought out the Family Farm ten miles north of Creston Iowa from his brothers and sisters, but then farmed the farm only a few years before he sold the farm at a huge profit. The farm had stayed in the family for just short of 100 years.

Alden is still alive. He lives near Key Largo, Florida. He has never doubted that dropping the A-bomb was the right thing to do.

Edward Sloan was a US Marine who fought in the Invasion of Iwo Jima. After the war, Edward Sloan came back but almost immediately broke relations with his family and was last seen by them in 1946. Nobody ever knew what happened to him until the Social Security Death Index came out and showed that he had died in Iowa in 1978.

Even then, it almost seemed that he was concealing his identity, because he is listed in the Social Security Death Index only as E. Sloan, not as Edward Sloan.

I have posted the Sam Sloan Family History online at http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?db=samsloan

I have posted Thomas Jefferson's Family Tree at http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?db=samhsloan

Sam Sloan
http://www.samsloan.com/battles.htm

Here are more family history and photos:


Contact address - please send e-mail to the following address: Sloan@ishipress.com