Jack was born on the 2nd of August 1945, in Brooklyn, New York, and his family were Jewish with ancestry from Greece, Poland, and Romania. His father had been drafted into the Army during World War 2 and served in the Pacific theater. The family moved from Queens to Woodbridge, New Jersey when Jack was about ten years old and he attended and graduated from Woodbridge High School in 1962. He then attended Rutgers University and was a member of the Army Reserve Officer Training Corps. Graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in 1966, Jack was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant and about a year later, would deploy to the Republic of Vietnam for the first time. Instead of deploying with the 82nd Airborne with the infantry unit that he wanted to serve with, Jack was told that he was going as an adviser, purely because he had a college degree. It was his actions on the 9th of March 1968, that would later earn him the Medal of Honor. The citation reads:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Capt. Jacobs (then 1st Lt.), Infantry, distinguished himself while serving as assistant battalion adviser, 2d Battalion, 16th Infantry, 9th Infantry Division, Army of the Republic of Vietnam. The 2d Battalion was advancing to contact when it came under intense heavy machine-gun and mortar fire from a Viet Cong battalion positioned in well-fortified bunkers. As the 2d Battalion deployed into attack formation, its advance was halted by devastating fire. Capt. Jacobs, with the command element of the lead company, called for and directed air strikes on the enemy positions to facilitate a renewed attack. Due to the intensity of the enemy fire and heavy casualties to the command group, including the company commander, the attack stopped and the friendly troops became disorganized. Although wounded by mortar fragments, Capt. Jacobs assumed command of the allied company, ordered a withdrawal from the exposed position, and established a defensive perimeter. Despite profuse bleeding from head wounds which impaired his vision, Capt. Jacobs, with complete disregard for his safety, returned under intense fire to evacuate a seriously wounded adviser to the safety of a wooded area where he administered lifesaving first aid. He then returned through heavy automatic-weapons fire to evacuate the wounded company commander. Capt. Jacobs made repeated trips across the fire-swept, open rice paddies, evacuating wounded and their weapons. On three separate occasions, Capt. Jacobs contacted and drove off Viet Cong squads who were searching for allied wounded and weapons, single-handedly killing three and wounding several others. His gallant actions and extraordinary heroism saved the lives of one U.S. adviser and 13 allied soldiers. Through his effort the allied company was restored to an effective fighting unit and prevented defeat of the friendly forces by a strong and determined enemy. Capt. Jacobs, by his gallantry and bravery in action in the highest traditions of the military service, has reflected great credit upon himself, his unit, and the U.S. Army.

Jack received the Medal of Honor on the 9th of October 1969, along with three others, from President Nixon in an outdoor ceremony at the White House. He remained in the Army, returning to Vietnam in a combat role, which wasn’t allowed, through what Jack admits involved some deception. Jack also taught international relations and comparative politics at the US Military Academy from 1973 to 1976, as well as at the National War College in Washington DC. Jack ended his time in the Army in 1987, retiring at the rank of Colonel.

Jack married Sue, with whom they had a daughter and two sons, and after the Army he began a career in the financial field. In 2008, his memoir, “If Not Now, When?: Duty and Sacrifice In America’s Time of Need”, was published and followed by another book in 2012, “Basic: Surviving Boot Camp and Basic Training”, which is a history of American military basic training. In 2009, Jack appeared on the Colbert Report’s Doom Bunker segment, where he and Steven Moore from the Wall Street Journal were given three obscure end-of-the-world scenarios to comment on. Here is a part of that segment:

Jack Howard Jacobs is 77 years old at the time of this recording. He still lives in New Jersey and is a military analyst for MSNBC.