↑ Lt. Colonel Jaekels was a much decorated pilot during WWII, flying numerous missions over Japan and the Phillipines. He was personally presented with a ceremonial sword by Chang Kai Chek of China for the numerous missions he flew against the Japanese in the Phillipines. Today, the whereabouts of the sword is not known. I have been trying to secure it for Dave, his son. Martha was in possession of it when she died. It is assumed that one of Alfred's sons has it or at least knows what happened to it. I have been tring to track the down in Birmingham: Russell, Richard, Larry, and Lynn McDonald. So far, no luck. He was flying solo from Wahington, DC to home in Birmingham when his plane crashed on a mountain near Gadsden, AL in 1950. Martha was pregnant with Jan when he died. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, DC.
