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Official Website of the 389th Bombardment Group (H) |
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A SALUTE TO edwin jacobs
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Capt Edwin M. Jacobs’ job during the war was that of Group Aerial Photo Interpreter. According to the Army Air Force Manual on Military Occupation Specialties, this was the job description of the Aerial Photo Interpreter:
“Identifies, analyzes and tabulates information from photographs. Examines aerial photographs stereoscopically using the photointerpretometer and various other optical instruments as interpretation aids; determines location of enemy military installations, vital industries, rail and shipping centers, storage facilities and dumps, strength and position of enemy personnel, equipment and defense installations; computes bomb fall plots and bomb damage assessment reports.
“Identifies type and number of enemy airfields, aircraft, naval equipment and ships, and antiaircraft and artillery positions; compares new photographic coverage with previous coverage of same location to detect changes in enemy installations and industries, camouflaged areas, dummies and decoys; writes immediate and detailed reports and summaries of interpretations; prepares sketches, diagrams, statistical charts and specialized research reports as required related to intelligence information gleaned from photographs; coordinates photo-interpretation activities with related intelligence work.
“Must be able to detect slight variations in appearance of vegetation and contour and to identify geographical features and works of man in aerial photographs. May have the staff responsibility for the preparation of pertinent camouflage plans contributing to local security.
“Must have thorough knowledge of military installations, principles of identification, map reading and tactical employment of ground troops. Should have sufficient knowledge of camouflage to prepare deceptive plans and supervise their execution.”
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When the 389th left England Jacobs brought home more than 1,500 negatives and photos. After the war ended Jacobs began the gargantuan task of organizing the many hundreds of images into categories, and selecting for publication those he thought best represented the group’s history. He set up a darkroom, made prints from the negatives he had chosen, and trimmed the photos and did the paste-up for each page of the Blue Book himself. This is a pretty impressive accomplishment! Jacobs even marketed the books himself, sending out flyers to all the men for whom he had addresses. The cost of the Blue Book in 1947 was $5 - equal to about $75 in today’s economy. Wonder what Capt Jacobs would say if he knew that used Blue Books sell today for up to $300 on Internet auctions, on the rare occasions they become available. Hopefully this would make him realize how much his creative efforts have meant to the veterans and continue to mean to the Next Gens.
I learned that Jacobs was the man behind the Blue Book when fellow 389th historian and researcher, Chris Gregg, sent me a copy of the sales brochure for The Pictorial History of the 389th Bombardment Group. It was among the papers of his grandfather, Harry Gregg, who was bombardier for the Chester Spurrier crew, 567th. After searching the Internet I was disappointed to find I would never have an opportunity to meet Ed Jacobs; he folded wings 1995. What fun it would have been to interview him about the operations of the photo lab, the intelligence section, and his knowledge of the group’s history. The good news however, is that I did find his widow, Virginia, still lived in Dallas, Texas. I wrote to her in hopes that some of Ed’s photographs had been preserved and that she might allow me to copy them.
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| Edwin Jacobs' original sales brochure for The Pictorial History of the 389th Bombardment Group. He mailed these brochures to all the men for whom he had addresses, more than 3,700. |
In September 2008 I received a call from Ed and Virginia Jacobs’ son, Dr. Mark Jacobs. I was thrilled when he told me he thought there was a trunk full of stuff in his mom’s attic that might interest me. He was uncertain about the condition of any negatives and photos that had been stored in the attic in the sweltering Texas heat for decades, but he volunteered to bring whatever he found back to Houston. I was excited when, about a month later, Mark invited me to his house to pick up the collection. It sounded as though there were a great many items, but I tried to keep my imagination from running amok because I’ve been disappointed before.
I was completely unprepared for the site that greeted me when I walked into Mark’s dining room and saw stacks and stacks of yellowed and brittle envelopes containing negatives laid out on the table. There was also a large box of prints and a logbook of code numbers and descriptions. Mark had obviously been browsing the collection because he guided me around the table showing me samples of things he thought were interesting or significant. I could not believe my great good fortune! I could see it was an astounding windfall of 389th history and information beyond my wildest dreams.
According to Ed Jacobs’ wife Virginia, Jacobs majored in journalism at the University of Texas at Austin before enlisting in May 1942. He took basic training at Sheppard Field in Wichita Falls, Texas. Before my father volunteered to be a combat flyer, he was a drill sergeant at Sheppard Field, so it’s possible Jacobs was one of the recruits my dad trained.
After a brief assignment at Lincoln, Nebraska, Jacobs went to Officers Candidate School in Miami Beach. Ed and Virginia were married in Miami December 5, 1942, and Virginia then accompanied Ed to all his training posts in the states, including intelligence school at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and the 389th’s temporary bases in El Paso, Texas, and Denver, Colorado, in the spring and summer of 1943. When the 389th deployed overseas, Virginia went home to Dallas.
After the war Jacobs served in the Air Force Reserves until he was called to active duty during the Korean War. He and Virginia moved to Greenville, South Carolina, where he was involved in intelligence training for a little over a year. Their son Mark was born there in 1952. The family returned to Dallas and Ed Jacobs continued his service in the USAF Reserves, retiring a Lt Col. In civilian life he was in business with his father in the petroleum distribution field.
I am deeply grateful to Edwin Jacobs for his tremendous efforts to preserve the history of the 389th Bomb Group with his Blue Book, and for holding onto all the original negatives and photos he brought home from the war.
I am also deeply grateful to Mark Jacobs and his mother Virginia for their incredible generosity in gifting this very important collection to the 389th photo archives. It is a real treasure and will be of great value to all who seek answers to questions like, “What did my grandpa do in the war.”
Copyright © 2009 389th Bombardment Group. All rights reserved.