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Pham Phi Hung and Jack Jacobs,in Cao Lanh, Vietnam Photo credit: Jack Jacobs |
Medal of Honor Recipient, Col. Jack Jacobs U.S. Army (Retired) recounts his journey back to Vietnam in a recent article and excellent video series on NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams: Going back to a terrifying place where a young man grew old: Col. Jack Jacobs returns to the site of a ferocious Mekong Delta battle.
Col. Jacobs writes:
“I was an adviser to a Vietnamese infantry battalion, fighting our way through the Tet offensive. One morning, we were caught in the open by more than 250 Viet Cong in prepared positions. Most of us became casualties in the initial seconds of the engagement, and it took us the rest of the day to fight our way out. (Jacobs was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions that day. Read the official citation).”
“I had been meaning to return for ages, but I never stumbled across the opportunity. For me, as for many others, it was almost as if Vietnam wasn’t a real place and existed only as a faint memory. But a few months ago, I returned to stand at the place where, in the short time of a couple of hours, I had grown old.”
Read more of Jack Jacob’s article on NBC news: Part 1
In part two of the series, MOH recipient Col. Jack Jacobs meets the Viet Cong commander who led a deadly ambush of his battalion.
Jacobs is a Medal of Honor recipient for his actions during the Vietnam War.
Read some of Jack Jacob’s blogs from his trip back to Vietnam on Newsvine.
He also recently wrote a memoir: “If Not Now, When?: Duty and Sacrifice in America’s Time of Need“