Randall Jacobs (1895-1967) was a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

officer. He reached the rank of Vice-Admiral.

Early life and education

He was born in 12 December 1895 at Danville in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. He attended the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as United States Secre ...

graduating in 1907. He was in the same class as several other future Admirals including John H. Hoover, Augustin T. Beauregard, Patrick N. L. Bellinger, Harold M. Bemis, Richard S. Edwards, Robert C. Giffen, Felix X. Gygax, Henry K. Hewitt,

Jonas H. Ingram Jonas Howard Ingram (October 15, 1887 – September 9, 1952) was an officer in the United States Navy during World War I and World War II. He commanded the United States Atlantic Fleet during World War II and was a recipient of the Medal of Hon ...

, Claud A. Jones, Ernest D. McWhorter, Albert C. Read, and Robert A. Theobald.

Career

In 1927, he was the Commander of the USS Monocacy. He served as a Commander on USS Black Hawk. He served as Commander of USS Utah from 1 April 1932 until 3 May 1934. In December 19 1941, he was appointed Commander of the

Bureau of Navigation The Bureau of Navigation, later the Bureau of Navigation and Steamboat Inspection and finally the Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation — not to be confused with the United States Navys Bureau of Navigation — was an agency of the Unite ...

. While in charge, Jacobs would play a key role in recruitment for the Navy during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. This included the enlistement of Black men into naval units as a result of discussion with US President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

, Secretary of the Navy

Frank Knox William Franklin Knox (January 1, 1874 – April 28, 1944) was an American politician, soldier, newspaper editor, and publisher. He was the Republican vice presidential candidate in 1936 and Secretary of the Navy under Franklin D. Roosevelt d ...

and the director of selective service. Jacobs continued in his role in charge of navigation and recruitment as the organization became the Bureau of Naval Personnel in 1942. In charge of naval personnel during the

, Jacobs name was used in numerous instances to address telegrams to inform the family of naval personnel if an individual was killed or missing. This include telegrams to the family of those lost in the sinking of the USS Indianpolis. However in one case, a telegram was sent in Jacob's name but in error to the parents of a radio technician who was believed missing but in fact had not joined the Indianapolis and therefore survived. In early 1943, Jacobs utilised the reorganized Bureau of Naval Personnel to create a new, standardized, program of training and college education for those in the Navy, including creation of definitive US training manuals for each aspect of naval warfare across 1943 and 1944. In April 1943, Jacobs proposed to Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox that the US Navy consider an experimental program to enlist Black women into enlisted ranks, however Jacob's programme was not considered until

James Forrestal James Vincent Forrestal (February 15, 1892 – May 22, 1949) was the last Cabinet (government), cabinet-level United States Secretary of the Navy and the first United States Secretary of Defense. Forrestal came from a very strict middle-cla ...

became Secretary in 1944. In 1944, Jacobs testified before the Committee on Naval Affairs of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

, recommending that the Six-star rank of Admiral of the Navy be made the Naval equivalent to General of the Armies. In 1945, Jacobs when he was succeeded at the Bureau of Naval Personnel by Rear-Admiral Louis E. Denfeld.

Death

He died 19 June 1967 at Bethesda,

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

. He is buried Section 30 at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

Honours

He was a recipient of the

Navy Distinguished Service Medal The Navy Distinguished Service Medal is a military decoration of the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps which was first created in 1919 and is presented to Sailors and Marines to recognize distinguished and exceptionally meritorio ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jacobs, Randall 1895 births 1967 deaths United States Navy vice admirals United States Navy World War II admirals Military personnel from Pennsylvania