Les was a friend and great inspiration for this blog. RIP
This is my favorite photo of Les at the ripe old age of 19
Lester Anthony Jacoby May 7, 1928 - October 27, 2020 Columbia, South Carolina - Les Jacoby, 92, beloved father, grandfather, brother, uncle and friend, and the last combat steam and diesel locomotive railroad engineer in the world, died on Tuesday, October 27, 2020 in Columbia, South Carolina. He was born in Wabasha, Minnesota, the oldest of 11 children born to Nicholas and Marcella (Kennebeck) Jacoby, and lived on the family farm in southern Minnesota, with no running water or electricity, until he entered the U.S. Army in 1946. He proudly served his country first during WWII as an advisor to the Korean National Railroad, then with the 790th Transportation Railway Operating Battalion, where at the age of 19 he became the engineer of the last USATC S160 steam locomotive to be used in conflict. He operated the Gen. Pershing #101 in combat until he returned to the US at the end of his tour. The Gen. Pershing 101 is now a permanent exhibit at the National Railroad Museum in Green Bay, WI. read online here
Lester Anthony Jacoby obit by Nancy on Scribd
