Don Jakeway, a WWII veteran from Johnstown and one of the last original paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne Division, has died.
According to the Motts Military Museum, he passed away at 2 a.m. Saturday morning.
Jakeway is a four-time Bronze Star awardee and recipient of the Purple Heart. In an interview with 10TV in July of 2018, he estimated he received a total of 27 medals.
Seventy-five years ago, he made it through the D-Day invasion in Normandy.
After he was struck by German artillery during The Battle of the Bulge, Jakeway told 10TV the ambulance he was in had rolled off the side of the mountain, ending up upside down in the river, killing everyone inside except for him.
He said one of his most memorable missions was in 1944.
"A Jewish family hid in that house for 25 months from the Germans in the woods in Holland and my patrol liberated that family," he told 10TV.
Jakeway, who lived in Johnstown, devoted most of his time to charity, something he promised himself he would do if he made it home from war alive.
In June of 2019, the then-97-year-old was invited to speak with other WWII veterans 75th anniversary of D-Day at the National Veterans Memorial and Museum.
He told 10TV it’s important to share the stories for generations to come.
“There’s not too many of us left anymore.”