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God Bless America
BY Patrick Gibney
As I sat down to write something about Veteran’s Day for The Oily Discharge, one person/family came to mind. I was an 18-year-old exchange student when I arrived in the US from Ireland in 1987. I came with two other Irish lads, my lifelong friends, Jimmy, and Justin. We each lived with American families while completing our senior year at Fayetteville Academy High School. I lived with the Reneau family for the first month before moving in with the Jordans, Jimmy lived with the Eastwick family, and Justin lived with the Jacobelly family on Fort Bragg.
Colonel Robert C. Jacobelly, at the time, was the commander of the 7th Group Special Forces. Col. Jacobelly fought in Vietnam. His body bore the scars of several deployments there. He had a glittering military career that included the defeat and capture of Panamanian dictator, Manuel Noriega in 1989. The Colonel was physically tough and strong and a respected leader of hundreds of the most highly trained soldiers in the world. He was a larger-than-life figure, and we three Irish boys were in awe of him.
Even though Justin was going to be living in his home, the Colonel wanted to meet all three of us when we arrived in the US. He insisted we call him, “Bob.” He also allowed us to drink beer with him, as long as we NEVER drank the last beer in the fridge – which we often did. He was kind and loving and hard and demanding, and he expected a lot out of us. Today we are all successful men, and I think it’s fair to say that Bob Jacobelly played no small part in how we turned out.
Bob and Rene Jacobelly are now retired and living in Tampa, Florida. I want to thank them both, along with their children, Mari, Karen, and Bobby, for the many sacrifices they made for this great country, and for giving three young Irish lads an opportunity to experience the American Dream.
Happy Veteran’s Day.
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