Jacob Louis Webb (1919-1999)
"Jakie" Webb
He was described as an ex-sailor, well-known in Cafe society circles for his New York night life "activities". In August, 1941, he declared that he was about to elope with Vivian Stokes, Newport's current glamor girl. Twenty-three-year-old "Jakie" had already been married, eloping by aeroplane in February, 1940, with Mary Elizabeth Brann, who divorced him after just seven weeks of marriage. He was described as, "the wandering great-great-grandson of the late Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt, founder of the family fortune." Vivian, who was not quite eighteen, was scheduled to make a splashy Newport debut the following week. Jakie turned up there after a three-month absence, declaring he had: joined Canada's Black Watch; ferried bombers to Britain; and, air-duelled with Germans. He was wearing a windbreaker bearing the insignia of the New York Rangers' hockey team, and one of his shoulders was tattooed with the Black Watch insignia. Asked for comment, his great-uncle, Col. Creighton Webb, said there wasn't going to be any elopement. Everyone was therefore surprised when Jakie eloped - not with Vivian - but with Leonore Lemmon, also well-known in Cafe society circles. They took an aeroplane from New York to Charleston where they were married in September. But, he was arrested during their honeymoon for passing two bad checks, after which his wife returned to her parents, "until Jakie can support me." He then went missing for 3-months, and in October Leonore - still at her parents' - was quoted as saying, "if and when I get out of this mess, I am going to marry a bricklayer who has never been in a nightclub".
In 1943, he was arrested for going AWOL in Reno and impersonating an officer: "when arrested, Private Webb was wearing the uniform of (complete with medals) and impersonating a U.S. Army Air Corps Captain... telling an admiring circle of his alleged experiences in the Southwest Pacific battle area, shooting down Japanese planes by the score." While being held, he escaped by jumping out of a window at the Army Air Base Hospital, but was re-arrested nine hours later, still wearing the bright red bathrobe in which he made his getaway. He was convicted and sentenced to six months hard labor.
In 1943, he was arrested for going AWOL in Reno and impersonating an officer: "when arrested, Private Webb was wearing the uniform of (complete with medals) and impersonating a U.S. Army Air Corps Captain... telling an admiring circle of his alleged experiences in the Southwest Pacific battle area, shooting down Japanese planes by the score." While being held, he escaped by jumping out of a window at the Army Air Base Hospital, but was re-arrested nine hours later, still wearing the bright red bathrobe in which he made his getaway. He was convicted and sentenced to six months hard labor.
