The Greatest Generation

Doug Jacobson

Doug Jacobson was born in Stoughton, WI in 1928 and graduated from Edgerton WI High School in 1945. While growing up, he worked on the family farm and, like most kids, had chores to do. Including loading bundles of tobacco onto trains.

At age 17, Doug enlisted in the Navy right out of high school in 1945. He completed basic training at Great Lakes Naval Base in Illinois with an MOS as a Radioman. He was sent to San Francisco then deployed to the Pacific on the USS Iowa. He was stationed at Pearl Harbor then to Bikini Atoll, also known as Bikini Island, in 1946. The United States conducted 23-24 nuclear weapons there between 1946-1958 during the Bikini Atoll program.

As an example of the sacrifice these families endured while loved ones were away serving, Doug was home on leave with his hands peeling badly, staying at his brother Lester and sister-in-law Charlotte’s farmstead near Stoughton. Upon his return to the Great Lakes, their oldest daughter came down with scarlet fever. Sometime later, Lester came down with it and was sent to Madison to quarantine for three weeks. Charlotte was left on the farmstead with three small children to do the milking and planting.

Doug was the victim of an accident while deployed in which a load of pipe dislodged from the truck it was on and some fell on his feet, crushing them. Doug chose to continue on unable to remove his boots and received no medical treatment. He dealt with his injuries for the rest of his life.

After being discharged in 1947, Doug purchased a service station in Edgerton. J&F Service Station (Jacobson and Flattem) sold Phillips 66 products as well as many other products, including appliances. He operated it for around 10 years before renting a farm in rural Stoughton in 1960. In 1963, Doug purchased a nearby farm. The family farm raised corn, tobacco, dairy, pigs and more. Upon retiring from farming in the 70’s, Doug went to work for Coachman’s Inn Golf Course as a greenskeeper. Once fully retired, he was always there to help his family with projects of all kinds.

Doug married Eloise Good in 1950. They lived a block away from the service station before moving to the farms. They had five children, Paul (a Vietnam Veteran), David, Lynn, Cheryl and Elise. Sadly, Doug passed away in August of 2024. Family members stated that Doug, in typical Greatest Generation fashion, didn’t talk a lot about his time in the service of our country.

The pride the family takes in his service is clear and an entire nation is grateful for his service.  Thank you, Doug, and your entire family.