E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSS
Capt. Jack Jacobs is awarded the Medal of Honor by President Nixon on Oct. 9, 1969 on the south lawn of the White House. Standing behind the President are Secretary of the Army Stanley Resor and Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird. The old executive building can be seen in the background.
Veteran viewers and readers know one of the great blessings in my life has been the exposure I've received to the military—active duty, in the field and veterans—and especially the time I get to spend with Recipients of the Medal of Honor by serving on their Foundation Board. The ultimate blessing is: I get to work with a Medal of Honor recipient here at NBC every day. We have become close friends, and I'd take a bullet for him—just as he took a couple for the home team during his time in Vietnam. I'd like to ask you to pay special attention to a segment airing tonight: Jack Jacobs goes back to Vietnam, to the battlefield where he sustained the grievous wounds that resulted in the Medal being placed around his neck by President Nixon. My only regret is that I badly wanted to go on that trip with him, but could not. Instead, the honor fell to Chris Jansing, who tells the story so beautifully. Jack will join us on the set tonight. He is a genuine American hero. I am blessed to know him. I hope you can join us for that segment and the rest of our broadcast tonight.
Leave a Comment:
Very nice Brian....that had to be a great honor! But to use the term "take a bullet"for someone....that's a tad of a stretch don't you think?
Oh well, unfortunately in my life I've never been blessed with a friend who was that special to want to lay down my life for.
See you this evening!
Oh and it was a fantastic piece of news that AZ Congresswoman Giffords is out of the hospital and free to go home...and so soon!!!!! That was a blessing!!!!
Take care
Robert Fleming
No I do not think it was a stretch for Brian to take a bullet for Jack Jacobs because I know of whereof
he speaks but you don't wanna hear it, but yes it was a fantastic piece of news about
Gabrielle Giffords going home. A miracle, actually. Brian, as concerns Spider-Man, my husband and
I find that we always disagree with Louisville movie critics, etc.. When they pan a movie , we
like it; when they like it, we hate it. Have a nice evening all Phyllis
Good Evening Mr.Williams, Another fine broadcast this evening as always!
First of all wonderful to know that Gabrielle Giffords has been released from the hospital and now at home. She has made remarkable progress and with continued rehabilitation each day she will improve. A long way to go, but making great strides already.
The piece by Chris Jansing about Colonel Jack Jacobs, Medal of Honor Recipient, returning to Vietnam was truly moving. Hearing Colonel Jacobs speak about how time goes backwards having returned to the area and never forgettting the experiences of massive gunfire and mortars. How he was wounded and helped save others tells of a real hero and shows such bravery. As he stated the soldiers are fighting for eachother and remembering all those who were lost and wounded is what matters most. A true hero. A moving piece.
The report by Mr.Costello about the economic problems in Greece was disturbing and how the problems of all these country's economies have a ripple effect all over the world. It is understandable the people of Greece are protesting in Athens due to anger and frustration over budget cuts. One hopes things get better overall.
On another note the opening night of "Spiderman, Turn Off the Dark" went well and even though reviews were mixed at least the performance was good for all the actors and everyone involved in the production.
Thank You for the broadcast Mr.Williams. Peace to You and to All!
Be Well Everyone!
Stay Extra,Extra Safe and Well Richard! Congratulations again for winning an Edward R. Murrow Award for the Dateline special, "A Father's Mission" and "Iraq, A Long Way Out" covered on Nightly News and MSNBC!
And again to You Mr.Williams for overall excellence for Nightly News! And to Today for the Viral Video!
Winning Four Murrow Awards is Awesome!
Take Extra Good Care Richard and Crew!
Lisa
With tears in my eyes, I thank Col Jacobs for his service in Vietnam and for his continued service to our country. I thank him and Brian Williams for sharing their thoughts tonight.
Tonight's segment reminded me of my own visit to Vietnam eleven years ago, and as I write this I am looking at a photo of my group paddling down one of the Mekong estuaries. It was so narrow, with so much foliage hiding God-knows-what, and I wondered then what it would be like to be eighteen years old and in such a strange and dangerous setting. It's one thing to be a tourist now, and quite another to have been a warrior then.
After my trip to Vietnam, I became acquainted with a Vietnamese family in my town, and learned a little more. The husband, no friend to the communists, made it out of Saigon in a boat in 1965, leaving his pregnant wife and a couple of children behind. They were not reunited for years and years, during which time she was basically under house arrest. They are now grateful American citizens, but of course they lost too.
On the day that Col. Jacobs was wounded, I was 28 years old and very pregnant with my fourth child. My suburban friends and I all tried to understand what was happening in southeast Asia, but of course we could not. The awesome responsibility of a young lieutenant, charged with keeping his men alive, was something that most of us just could not grasp. If I couldn't process that then, I can now. And I hope I've done something to help compensate for the damage that was done to so many lives during those years.
This is a muddle, I know, but it's full of heartfelt sorrow and gratitude. I look forward to tomorrow evening's segment and maybe I'll see you on Facebook.
Wow, when Col Jacobs talked about still hearing the snap of bullets and motars blasting as he went back to where it all happened, I felt it all myself. We vets never forget those sounds and emotions even now. I agree as all combat vets will, you see a buddy needing help, you do it. The ones that say they could'nt just have not been there. Something unusal happened as that segment went on I found myself standing, hitting a brace and saluting. very unusual for me.
So glad to hear that Gabby Giffords is out of the hospital and on the road to recovery! Although she's got a long road of rehabilitation ahead of her, I'm sure she will get as close to a 100 percent recovery as she can!
Regarding the Spiderman show, that's on the same level to me as a Lady Gaga concert, couldn't pay me to sit through either one of 'em.
Former President Bill CLinton says Spider-Man is fabulous, and I will take his word for it , and
word of mouth will ultimately determine the success of a play, movie, etc., especially coming from
a president. Just my opinion!
Dear Brian; I thank the Lord because nowadays we have the opportunity to express our feelings, emotions and concerns in these "blogs. It is nice to share information,I think,actually,it is the fastest and best way to communicate nowadays if you are able to keep your computer from being compromised into something you don't even know you are being a part of. God spare us from the violence and evilness of this world.
Any way. I was not able to follow up on the news lately. It is wonderful to know that Gabrielle Gifford is out of the hospital and the Lord gave her another chance in life. God bless her that she is able to regain all her physical,as well as all her mental capabilities and get back to her normal life. Thank God for people like her.
I also would like to write a special message for Father's Day.
To whom it may concern:
Gentlemen; Here is hoping that you all will have a wonderful,blasting Father's Day!!
A great hurrah for all the men who sacrificed so much in playing the role of fathers. Thank God for that. We could not have done it without YOU!!!!
Best regards,
Galilea
HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!!!!
Good post, and I have learned so much exchanging ideas with others, like a College
and Master's Degree.
Once again, Mr. Williams is exhibiting his jingoistic, military-worshipping mindset with his effusive praise of his colleague Jack Jacobs, whom he'd "take a bullet" for. What typical chicken hawk bravado, since Brian's claim will likely never be put to the test. As I and others have said before, Brian Williams never served in any branch of the military (which is also true for many of the current crop of politicians who are pushing for Endless War in the Middle East- I'm looking at YOU, Lindsey Graham, and you, too, Joe Lieberman!), nor have his children. He has absolutely no skin in the game. Talk is cheap, Brian. You should stop editorializing about how wonderful our military is, ESPECIALLY since you're on the Medal of Honor Foundation Board. What a misuse of your position!
Thanks to Jack and Chris for the series on going back to the Delta and meeting the VC commander in charge. We were reminded of the treachery of that war when Jack asked how much notice they had of his manuvers and the general answered "3 days" thanks to an infiltrator in the regimental headquarters. I couldn't help but think of the reunion in 1994 between the surviving Rangers who scaled Pointe du Hoc and the German troops who fired down on them from the cliffs of Normandy.