War Stories depicts Jacob as both a 17-year-old soldier in 1944 and as a 93-year-old great-grandfather in 2020. In his younger days, he was eager to join the war effort and make a difference in liberating France from the Nazis. As a teenager, Jacob is impetuous and idealistic. He is a brave soldier who sometimes takes great personal risks to save himself and his comrades. Initially, Jacob is swept up in the notion of becoming a hero, but he soon discovers The Realities of Combat, losing two good friends to the chaos of war.

As an old man, Jacob is still fearless and opinionated, but he is haunted by a mistake he made during the war. His questionable, if well intended, judgment caused the deaths of several innocent members of the Lafleur family due to their proximity to the French Resistance. This error in judgment has haunted him his entire life. Jacob returns to Sainte-Régine for a ceremony honoring his service in liberating the town; ultimately, however, he uses this platform to publicly confess the mistake that cost the Lafleur family so dearly. In the end, he is able to resolve his guilt by re-establishing a link with the surviving Lafleur daughter.