I want to say goodbye to my dearest friend Colonel Daniel W. Jacobowitz, USAF (Ret). Jake and I met as rookie section commanders at Squadron Officer School, Air University, Maxwell AFB in 1976. He had come from missiles and then intelligence and I had come from being a flight operations officer for 37th ARRS. He was the smartest person I ever met and let me tell you I have met some smart people.
Jake and I would pull his 30 foot sailboat up to Lake Martin and cruise around the lake talking about the world, the Air Force and how to make them better. We enrolled in the Auburn University Master’s program and for two years we went to night school together. Without Jake I wouldn’t have made it through because for one year of those two I was in a full leg cast from my toes to my hip and Jake drove, carried my books and opened doors as I maneuvered on crutches.
One of my favorite memories is when Jake took his son Norman and I took my son Tony B. to see “Star Wars.” As we left the theatre Jake turned to me and said, “Do you know what we just saw? A cowboy movie set in space.” He was right, it is a cowboy movie much like we had watched in the theaters when we were Norman and Tony B’s age.
I watched as Jake would nicely win discussions with our professors in the Political Science program politely recalling obscure facts and piercing holes in the professors’ arguments. Jake was a reserve on the AU soccer team until I went down while playing on the Squadron Officer’s softball team and he moved up to take my spot. I used to jokingly accuse him of a covert action operation to dig the hole I stepped in and tore all the ligaments in my knee. “Well,” He said. “How else was I going to “break” into the starting line-up.”
Jake went on to become the consummate staff officer working for both the Joint Chiefs and the National Security Council. I truly believe that if not for that Nicaragua incident, he would have been selected for General.
As I said Jake was the brightest person I ever met. He was a graduate of Rutgers and had a decided New Jersey/New York accent. He was the best Yankee I ever knew. I will miss him.