|
Remembering a hero |
|
June 7, 2017 |
By U.S. Congressman Raul Labrador
 |
| Art Jackson |
Art Jackson died last month on Flag Day, at age
92. It was a fitting day to pass because Jackson
loved and honored the flag. Every day at his
Boise home, he flew the American and Marine
Corps flags.
Most Idahoans know Jackson as the World War II
hero who received the Medal of Honor for his
bravery on the Pacific island of Peleliu, a
fight called “the bitterest battle of the war
for the Marines.”
But late in life Jackson championed respect for
the flag, alerting those who failed to provide
proper care for the stars and stripes and
saying, “A lot of people died for that flag.”
PFC Jackson was prepared to do just that on
Sept. 18, 1944, when three superiors asked if he
could reach a large bunker near the water’s edge
that was sending heavy fire at Marines.
“I told them that I thought maybe I could,”
Jackson said in a remarkable 2002 interview with
Gayle Alvarez of the Idaho Military Historical
Society.
Jackson reached that pillbox and 11 others,
single-handedly killing 50 Japanese soldiers.
His Medal of Honor citation describes his
“valiant one-man assault” that “contributed
essentially to the complete annihilation of the
enemy in the southern sector of the island.”
Jackson was 19 years old. Three days later, he
was shot in the neck. After his recovery, he
participated in the April 1945 invasion of
Okinawa, where he was again shot, also in the
neck. He later nearly died of malaria. When he
finally sailed home in August 1945, his bunkmate
was baseball Hall of Famer Ted Williams.
The medal citation is full of superlatives.
Jackson was “stouthearted and indomitable
despite the terrific odds,” moved forward while
“courageously defying heavy barrages,” and
“stormed one gun position after another, dealing
death and destruction to the savagely fighting
enemy in his inexorable drive.”
Jackson had the Medal of Honor pinned on him by
President Truman at the White House, rode in a
New York ticker-tape parade, and rubbed elbows
on a Hollywood set with Gene Kelly and Frank
Sinatra.
And while Jackson was thrilled to have met so
many famous people, he simply called himself a
good man who had a lucky day.
“I have never considered myself a hero for doing
any of the action I engaged in on 18 September
1944,” he told Alvarez. “I felt like I was
always a good automatic rifleman….I have also
been very proud to be able to wear the award on
behalf of all those who were killed or severely
wounded during the war.”
Jackson continued to serve, in both the Marines
and Army. In 1970 he joined the Veterans
Administration, carrying on his commitment to
his brothers and sisters in arms. He retired in
1981 as manager of the Veterans Services
Division in Boise.
Like so many American heroes, Jackson always
honored the memory of fallen comrades and
remained an amazingly humble man. Godspeed Art
-- we are honored to have met you and will keep
your memory in our hearts. |
|
Questions or comments about this
article?
Click here to e-mail! |
|
|
|
|
