From the ashes of cruel war
That left a poor soul blackened sore
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
I rise
Now reaching to touch the skies…
Excerpt from: “I Rise”, Gary Jacobson, 1999

March 29 marks Vietnam War Veterans Day, when all the American veterans who served in the U.S. armed forces during the Vietnam War are recognized and honored.

On this special day, we would like to pay tribute to late Gary Jacobson (1943-2020), who passed away on December 1, 2020. Six days later he was laid to rest by his family and friends with full military honors in his home area in Idaho. Gary was an exceptional person to us, as he became a friend of our reenactment group.

Gary Jacobson (1943-2020) Source: https://pzzzz.tripod.com/namtour.html

Gary was a Vietnam War veteran and a trooper, who served in-country during 1966-67 with B Co 2/7 Air Cavalry. Seriously wounded by a booby trap, he was awarded the Purple Heart. Later he became an author, sharing his Vietnam experience with others. His books include the memoirs Just a Walk in the Park Grunts Call Vietnam and war poetry titled My Thousand Yard Stare.

Books by Gary Jacobson that are in the collection of NAM (own photo)

The two copies of these works signed by Gary with a handwritten dedication to our group will be a great reminder of their author, with whom we stayed in touch for nearly eleven years.

We also recommend to take Gary’s Vietnam Picture Tour, available on his website (under the web address https://pzzzz.tripod.com/namtour.html), which contains some genuine photography from the Vietnam War and excerpts from poetry by Gary.

Gary Jacobson prior to a combat patrol in Vietnam. Source: https://pzzzz.tripod.com/namtour.html

 Gary, our thoughts and prayers are with you, your family and friends.
Rest In Peace.