WAUKESHA — Almost every week, Bill Rheingans signs his buddy Bob Jacobs out of his senior center in Waukesha. Every time, they find a restaurant to sit down at and share their stories from their service.
Watch: 101-year-old Iwo Jima hero shares century of memories through a weekly tradition
Jacobs is 101 years old—a beloved hero admired for both his humor and his remarkable memory.
"There's not a lot of us World War II veterans left anymore,” said Jacobs.
Jacobs grew up in Beaver Dam and was drafted into the Army in 1943, shortly after he graduated from high school.
"The fellows that I knew of, including myself, was anxious to get in the service and get this thing over with,” said Jacobs.
His first year was spent at Ft. Bliss, Texas, for training camp, where he learned how to be an anti-aircraft weapons soldier. From there, he was stationed in Hawaii for another year before sailing on an LST to Iwo Jima. He says that on his way there, his ship had to drop off its position in the convoy for repairs, only to find out that it may have saved his life.
“If we went back to where we were supposed to be, who knows what happened, because the Kamikaze plane hit the ship in the position where we were supposed to be. So we were just lucky,” said Jacobs.
Once they got there, Jacobs said that Iwo Jima was a land full of ash, where no one lived, and no vegetation grew. It made it hard for Marines to protect themselves.
"You were just in the wide, wide open spaces. The government said that was the bloodiest battle that the United States had ever been in. I lost a lot of friends over there,” said Jacobs.
Jacobs was present when the flag was raised on Iwo Jima and the iconic photo was taken.
Iwo Jima was secured by the U.S. in March of 1945, and the war ended months later in September.
After his service, Jacobs moved back to Wisconsin. He attended business school at Marquette and worked at Mrs. Karl's Bakery for 37 years. He and his wife were married for more than 70 years.
Nowadays, Rheingans and Jacobs spend their time sitting for hours, sharing their stories—sitting until they are asked to stand.
At Mission BBQ, patrons are invited to sing the national anthem every day at 12 p.m.— a moment for veterans like Jacobs to remember what their service was for.
Rheingans says his mission is simple:
"I just want to make sure that those stories get out to the public and to anybody who's willing to listen to them, before those stories disappear."
A couple of months ago, Rheingans stopped by TMJ4’s Let’s Talk West Allis and spoke about the many ways the community can honor United States veterans. Highlighting Jacobs was at the top of the list.
“Bob's a hero. Every time, like I say, we get together, there's always some stories, and he's had a lot of hardships, and I just want to make sure that he's being recognized and definitely deserving of that recognition," Rheingans said.
Together, the two of them hope to see more curious minds and more appreciation for the country they fought for.
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