Patti McGarvey -Special to the Sun

The family of 20-year-old Navy Corpsman Daniel Jacobs knew he had only one more month to serve in Iraq, and then would be heading home to the States.

On Thursday, Feb. 23, Jacobs called his mother, Wofford Heights resident Dawn Raymond, from Iraq to say he was fine.

Navy Corpsman Daniel Jacobs, 20, was injured by a roadside bomb while on duty in Iraq on Feb. 26.

Three days later he was severely injured by a roadside bomb.

Jacobs is now recuperating in National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. Doctors are trying to save his right foot.

On the afternoon of Sunday, Feb. 26, Jacobs' stepfather, Roy Raymond of Wofford Heights, received a call from his brother-in-law Tim Palmer of Fillmore. Jacobs, because his mother had had a recent medical crisis, had arranged with the Navy that if he were to be killed in action or injured that the military was to call his Aunt Sheila and Uncle Tim first, because he didn't want a stranger delivering sad news to his mother. Roy broke the news to Dawn that Daniel had been badly injured by an IED (improvised exploding device) in Ramadi, Iraq, and that he was missing a few fingers and his legs and feet were injured badly.

Dawn, a checker at Isabella Supermarket, immediately called the Red Cross to get more information about her son, but the process was not fast enough so she began making calls to all the contacts she had. The next day Dawn finally received a call from a Marine Gunny Sergeant in Twentynine Palms. Jacobs had been stationed in Twentynine Palms before his deployment to Iraq last year.

Dawn was told that her son had been transported to Germany and had undergone surgery on his legs to remove the metal fragments from the bomb. She learned that both of her son's ankles and feet were in serious condition, and his right arm was broken.

Jacobs was on patrol riding in a Humvee when the car in front of them began shooting at them. The driver slowed down, and then a roadside bomb exploded next to the Humvee. Jacobs was one of five soldiers inside. One soldier died instantly and the others, including Jacobs, were badly hurt. Reportedly, Jacobs would not allow himself to be removed from the wreckage before the others were.

On Feb. 28 the military made arrangements to transport Jacobs from Germany to Bethesda, where he underwent another surgery and saw an orthopedic doctor for his badly damaged legs. Waiting to greet Jacobs upon his return to the States were his grandmother, Sally Robinson, and his father, Grover Jacobs, both of Ohio. Grover is a retired Navy man. Jacobs' girlfriend, Kylie Campbell, a junior here at Kern Valley High School in Lake Isabella, and her mother Cindy Campbell also flew there to be there for him.

On Friday the military arranged for Dawn and her son Greg, 22, and daughter Alex, 15, to fly from Bakersfield to Maryland and stay on base at the Navy Lodge. Dawn reported from the hospital on Saturday that her son was moved from the Intensive Care Unit in the morning and was able to talk for the first time. His lower legs are in traction and the doctor has realigned his toes. “My son has asked the doctor to do all he can to save his right foot,” Dawn said. His left foot is in pretty good condition, she said, but the right foot is seriously injured. Jacobs also underwent surgery on his right arm; a plate was put into it. He lost the tips of his index and middle fingers on his left hand.

Although Jacobs will be in the hospital for a lengthy stay, he will be honored on Thursday with a Purple Heart. He has already had several high-ranking military visitors to offer their encouragement for his recovery.

Dawn said it was her good attitude that helped her get through her own medical battle. She said that her son has that same attitude. “He is a strong kid, and having my attitude will help him get through this. He is my hero.”

Jacobs was raised in the Kern Valley. He went to Woodrow Wallace Elementary School in Lake Isabella, where he was involved in Little League. He attended Kern Valley High School, where he played baseball, until his senior year when he moved to Fillmore. He graduated from Fillmore High School in June 2004.

Jacobs joined the Navy in August 2004 and was deployed to Iraq in September 2005. He had served five months of his six-month deployment at the time of the explosion.

News Extra:

The Kern Valley Sun has learned that a Walker Basin man, Marine Cpl. Adam Zanutto, 26, has died after being injured by a roadside bomb in Iraq. Zanutto's parents own the Fence Post newspaper in Walker Basin. Zanutto was injured on Feb. 25, and died Monday of his injuries in Bethesda, Maryland.

It was also a roadside bomb that seriously injured Daniel Jacobs, 20, a Navy Corpsman, on Feb. 26 in Ramadi, Iraq. Jacobs grew up in the Kern Valley. (See story at right.) Both servicemen were treated initially in Germany and then taken to National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland for further treatment.

The Bakersfield Californian newspaper reported Monday night that Zanutto's death was confirmed by his sister-in-law and by the principal of Piute Mountain School, which Zanutto attended as a child.

Sun sports editor Ray Conner coached Zanutto in Little League, and remembers him well.

“He was very personable, very coachable,” Conner said. “He was a quiet kid. He always wanted to improve in everything he did. He was a very talented kid.”

Conner expressed his sympathy to Rick and Donna Zanutto, Adam's parents. “I'm in shock. I'm sorry for their loss. No words can express what they must be feeling.”

The staff of the Kern Valley Sun expresses their deepest sympathies to the Zanuttos for the loss of their son.