RIVIERA BEACH, FL, USA U.S. Air Force A1C, 17TH SECURITY FORCES SQUADRON, GOODFELLOW AIR FORCE BASE, TEXAS CAMP BUCCA, IRAQ 09/28/2005
Airman 1st Class Elizabeth Nicole Jacobson was born March 26, 1984. She attended Palm Beach Gardens and Gold Coast high schools while living with her grandparents in Florida. She left to live with her mother in Madera, California but later returned to Riviera Beach looking for work. “Elizabeth made everything fun” said a former boyfriend. “She was always laughing.” Elizabeth also belonged to the Fresno Playhouse and won a writing contest on Poetry.com before enlisting.
Airman Jacobson enlisted in the Air Force on December 9, 2003. After completing Security Forces technical school, she was assigned to the 17th Security Forces Squadron at Goodfellow Air Force Base where she performed duties as an installation entry controller and patrolman. She was later deployed to Iraq. While providing convoy security support on Wednesday September 28, 2005 in Safwan Iraq, Elizabeth became the first Security Forces Airman to die in Operation Iraqi Freedom. She is also the first female Airman killed in the line of duty in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The Air Force has established the Elizabeth N. Jacobson Award for Expeditionary Excellence which is given for outstanding performance during a deployment.
“A1C Jacobson was a great troop…always sought the hardest challenges and never gave up. She worked very hard to get on the convoy section and had only been working it for a couple of weeks when the incident occurred. She was a bright and intelligent young lady. Elizabeth was posthumously awarded a Purple Heart, a Bronze Star and an Achievement Medal. She is survived by her father, David Jacobson; mother Marianne Earheart; three sisters; a brother; grandfather Allan Jacobson; grandparents Cos Cosimano and Sondra Millman-Cosimano; and great-grandfather Veto Cosimano.
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