From a small town in southern Minnesota, Jacob Zimmerli was sent to the other side of the world to a place called the Philippines. It was World War 2, and Jacob Wesley Zimmerli was part of the US Army. More specifically, he was a member of the 96th Infantry, a division called The Deadeyes. He was 18 when enlisted, and 20 when he came home.
This is his story of those days, from enlistment until he was home again. Relatives of soldiers from WWII who have never heard their father's or grandfather's story of their time in the war will find this a great resource, and may discover it is a source for closure. Told without fanfare or gory details, this is the story so many soldiers lived.
Jacob – Wes, as he has been called most of his life – originally wrote his memoirs in 2004 after working with the Disabeld American Veterans organization. He realized hundreds of WWII veterans were dying each day without anyone knowing their stories, what experiences they had endured as young men. When his grandson contacted him for a college interview, he wrote everything down he could remember to share in the interview. Later, his fourth son, Michael, combined Wes's original story with elements of the interview, pictures, and published it in 2021, making Wes a published author at 96 years old.
This is that story.
