How does a man with a quiet demeanor, a sense of humor, loyalty to a fault, and a modest opinion of himself such as Nelson Edward Jacobs (Jake) survive being a dive bomber during the horrific World War in the Pacific? How does a man who had experienced so much emotional pain in his life remain so good? This book tells Jake’s story beginning with him unexpectedly joining the US Armed Forces at age nineteen like so many young men do, to get away from home! Chronologically, Jake encountered being a China Marine, a dive bomb pilot, an army officer, and consultant for Boeing all while he tried to manage some harsh setbacks in his personal life. It shares with the reader Jake’s contentment and strength in the military as well as his inability to find the right woman. It gives the inside stories of a man who in the last years of his life should have been celebrated not victimized through exploitation. Near Misses is a historically correct memoir told in a way that the reader cannot stop reading from Jake’s first love in Arkansas to the greatest emotional tragedy of his life—his last days!

Kerry Ann Jacobs, daughter-in-law to Major Nelson Edward Jacobs, is a retired Arizona K-12 public school teacher presently living in Fountain Hills, Arizona. She graduated from Arizona State University and after her two sons, Matt and Todd, were grown she earned her Masters degree in counseling from University of Phoenix. During her 30 year teaching career she taught Kindergarten through high school mostly to our immigrants and refugees to America.

Edward Lee Jacobs, her husband and only child to Jake, passed away in April 2021. He had earned a BA from University of California, Northridge and attended UCLA. He was retired from the pharmaceutical world. As a talented business executive, he successfully helped to bring a few major drugs to the market one being Tylenol. Along with Jake’s personal journal, Ed’s life long experience and memories of his father enabled the writing of this book, Near Misses.