Edward James Jacobs Jr. was a United States Navy pilot who went missing in action during the Vietnam War on August 25, 1967. He is one of thirty-seven service personal to from Washington that remain unaccounted for during the Vietnam War.
Background[]
Edward Jacobs Jr. enlisted in the United States Navy via the Regular Military from his hometown of Mount Vernon, Washington. His service was number was O-571419. He would become a Commander attached to the Heavy Photographic Squadron 62 (VAP-62) of the 7th Fleet.
Disappearance[]
On the night of August 25, 1967, Jacobs, and two other Navy personal, Jim Zavocky and Ronald Bois Claire were flying a RA-3B Skywarrior (bureau number 144835, call sign "Quizshow 09") over the Gulf of Tonkin off the coast of (North) Vietnam. They were carrying out a reconnaissance mission and approaching the coastline when radar contact was lost. Jacobs was the pilot of the aircraft.
A five-day search failed to locate the aircraft or its crew. There is no evidence that enemy fire or aircraft trouble contributed to their disappearance; they simply vanished without a trace.
Aftermath[]
Neither Boise Claire, Jacobs, or Zavocky, have been among the returned prisoners of war or remains that have been returned to US custody since the end of the Vietnam War. They were declared killed in action-body not recovered. He was awarded the Purple Heart and Air Medal and memorialized in Court B of the Courts of Missing at the Honolulu Memorial in Honolulu, Hawaii and on Panel 25E, Line 42 of the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial in Washington, D.C. Additionally, he has memorial markers in Barrancas National Cemetery in Pensacola, Florida and in Hawthorne Memorial Park in Mount Vernon.
Edward James Jacobs Jr. is among the over 1,500 Americans who remain unaccounted for in the Vietnam War. The DPAA has listed his case as being under Non-recoverable.