Born: April 3, 1923
Died: February 4, 2000
Campaigns Served: Namur, Saipan (wounded)
Highest Rank Attained: Corporal
Decorations: Purple Heart
With Able Company:
Jesse Acklam joined Able Company on September 27, 1943, from training at Camp Elliot. He was classified as a rifleman, and promoted to Private First Class on January 1, 1944.
Acklam served as a rifleman in the battle of Namur, and as a platoon messenger on Saipan. He was evacuated from Saipan on June 16, 1944; though the battalion recorded him as "sick," Acklam would be awarded a Purple Heart. Acklam was taken aboard the USS Bountiful and sent to the Aiea Heights Naval hospital for treatment.
With HQ Company:
Upon recovery, Acklam returned to the 24th Marines. He was promoted to corporal and assigned to the Headquarters Company as a clerk. Acklam remained at Camp Maui when the division sailed for the invasion of Iwo Jima; he saw no further combat and survived the war unwounded.
After the war, Jesse Acklam returned to Wisconsin. He died in 2000, and is buried in the Southern Wisconsin Veteran's Memorial Cemetery.
Photo by Philip, FindAGrave.com volunteer.