Former Lieutenant’s Memoir Released

Earle W. Jacobs, now, after more than seventy years have elapsed, narrates some of his experiences in the early times of his four-plus years in the army while he was a second lieutenant during World War II. Having a very good memory, he has written this portion of his biography, covering the time he, the army of the United States, and its allies, Great Britain and the Free French, took on the German army in Europe.

This brief memoir, entitled Yes, They Do—“Gang Aft Agley!”, relates also the circumstances in his late teens and early twenties that resulted in his induction into the army of the United States at Fort Macarthur in Los Angeles, actually at the port of San Pedro, in October of 1941. This resulting event would make obvious his decision to use a portion of Robert Burns’s, the famous Scottish poet’s, much-excerpted-from poem “To a Mouse.”

That is what led, of course, in his eventual landing on Utah Beach shortly after D-day. Sword Beach, the farthest north, was used by the British and the few Free French available, and the really tough landing beach was in the middle, Omaha, also an American landing beach. Jacobs stood by the unloading hatch opened in the side of the Llangiby Castle, watching as his men individually struggled down the cargo net and into the little tank lander. “I became convinced I would be the one to lose his grip on the net, fall into the water, and be crushed as the two boats crashed together.” Jacobs was a second lieutenant at that time, and he also relates, “You wouldn’t know to look at me that I was a lieutenant. However, no officers or noncoms either, for that matter, had any insignia of rank showing, definitely not painted on our helmets as some movies would have you believe.” There, just a couple of examples of the descriptions Jacobs includes in this memoir.

For the information of book enthusiasts, this book was presented at the Beijing International Book Fair at the end of August and was presented again at the 2016 Frankfurt Book Fair in Germany last October 19. The latter is considered the world’s largest, most prestigious event of the publishing industry.

 
 
Yes, They Do—“Gang Aft Agley!”
Written by Earle W. Jacobs
Kindle | $3.99
Paperback | $12.95
Book copies are available at www.amazon.com, www.barnesandnoble.com, and other online book retailers.
                                                                                                                             
 

About the Author

Earle W. Jacobs was in the army from October 1941 to January 1946, with four battle stars on his ETO Campaign Ribbon. Earle has published several books since he started writing in 1989. He currently lives in Southern California with his wife, Alla Mykhaylivna, and their one-eared cat.

Contact Information

Charles Watson

Fulfillment Officer

LitFire Publishing

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