Soldier Details

Division:

Army
82nd Airborne - 508th Parachute Infantry

Theater of Operation:

European

Served:

Jan 10, 1944 - Aug 10, 1945

Honored By:

The Eisenhower Foundation

Biography

Jakeway jumped with the Army 82nd Airborne's 508th Parachute infantry into Normandy 15 minutes after midnight on June 6, 1944. Storms of flak rocketed through the sky around Jakeway as he parachuted down. He landed in a tree in a churchyard. It took him 10 days to reunite with his company, during which time he traveled with the British and another US company. Jakeway fought through Normandy for 37 days, until a sniper bullet struck him in the chest on Jan. 31 1945. He recovered in an English hospital and was sent home. "Courteous of The Columbus Dispatch"