Lt. Jake Orf
Jake Orf knew how to work his
way through the ranks, doing so three times. By 1940 he had already
served two separate hitches in the Army, totaling five years and three
months. He was working for the Traffic Division of the Kansas City
Police Department when Pearl Harbor was attacked. He enlisted the next
day and became a Military Policeman. He quickly made Staff Sergeant,
and was assigned to the Atlantic Base of the Provost Marshall Section in
April, 1943. He was awarded the Legion of Merit after only several
months of criminal investigation in French Morocco. The award is given
for service rendered in a clearly exceptional manner. The award is
very rare and quite prestegious. By August 1943, he was promoted to
2nd Lieutenant. He was then assigned as Officer in charge of Traffic
for the 2651st Military Police Company in the European Theatre.
By March, 1944, Lt. Orf was rotated stateside to Camp Algona.
He was placed in charge of one of the three prisoner of war compounds there
before being given command of the branch camp at Fairmont, Minnesota.
In September, 1944, he was rotated from active duty, returning to the Kansas
City Police Department.