Born: 1915
Died: June 22, 1944
Campaigns Served: Namur, Saipan (killed)
Highest Rank Attained: Sergeant
Decorations: Silver Star, Purple Heart
Jack Aeby was one of the original NCOs of the First Separate Battalion. When his company was designated as Charlie Company of the 24th Marines, Aeby held the rank of corporal and was commanding a squad.
Aeby fought in the battle of Namur and proved his abilities under fire; he was promoted to Sergeant in the spring of 1944. In June of that year, he led his squad into combat on Saipan.
A week after landing, Able and Charlie companies were cut off on Saipan's hellish Hill 700. While the battalion officers tried to extricate the trapped men, the two companies took heavy casualties. Some Charlie Company men had been hit and were lying in the open, exposed to enemy fire. Sergeant Aeby, with complete disregard for his own safety, ran out of cover to try and rescue his helpless comrades. He was shot down during the attempt, but not before his exploits had been noticed and entered into the lore of the battalion; Captain Frederic Stott noted "Sergeant Aeby's fatal attempted rescue of wounded men on deadly Hill 700" as one of the exemplary acts of bravery demonstrated by the battalion on Saipan.
Sergeant Aeby was buried in Plot 3, Row 7, Grave 607 of the Fourth Marine Division Cemetery on Saipan. After the war, he was reburied in a private cemetery in his home state of Indiana.