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Pasco County News | Breaking News

Vets’ duty, honor memorialized in letters home

Posted May 30, 2011 by Tom Jackson

Updated May 30, 2011 at 09:15 PM

I’m thinking about my dad this Memorial Day, a World War II veteran from a small town in west Tennessee who spent more than two years in Northern Africa, Italy, France and Germany as part of the Third Infantry Division.

Wounded twice and awarded the Silver Star for gallantry during the Allies’ smashing of the legendary Siegfried Line, my father was among the fortunate ones. He did his duty, helping to end fascist rule in Italy and crush the Third Reich, then came home to make a life and build a family while accommodating memories of horrific experiences and an ache for the boys who made their final resting place in foreign soil.

His wife and my mom—the preternaturally organized and historically alert Dee Jackson—preserved each of his letters to her, and some to other relatives and friends. I have drawn from them to present a sliver of one infantry grunt’s legacy in the last good war.

From the World War II letters of Pfc. David P. Jackson

(To his wife, Dee Crouse Jackson)

March 1, 1944 (on Anzio beachhead)

I noticed in the Stars and Stripes that some woman’s club in New York wanted the government not to bomb or shoot up Rome. I would like to see the city saved, too, if there was any other way, but the Germans just don’t walk out of a place.

I wonder how in the hell they think we are going to get them out. They are in New York and we are over here being shot at and they don’t want Rome shot up. That is a laugh. I would be willing to be that the women who make up that club don’t have very many sons over here.

March 27, 1944

There isn’t any news that I can write about, but wanted you to know that I am all right. My outfit is getting relieved so we will get a few weeks rest that we have been needing. Maybe we will get something to eat besides “C” rations, and a good bath.

I have Ernie Pyle beat in the length of time that he went without a bath. I am two months without one now, but it isn’t so bad. I can think of some things that are lots worse.

April 8, 1944

Did I tell you that your letters saved me from getting a very bad wound? That day and the day before I had received several letters from you. We were up pretty close to the front at the time and the night I got hit we were going to move back so when I was getting my things ready I put all my letters in my left hip pocket. Before we moved I was called out on a little mission and that was when I got hit.

The shrapnel went through all the letters and into my fanny about an inch and a half or two inches. If it had not been for the letters it really would have gone in.

April 21, 1944

How do you like Ernie Pyle’s stuff? I think he is pretty good and read him every chance I get. I think he is doing more for the G.I. than any other person. He is the one that is trying to get the boys who are up front more money. He is the only who has ever tried to get the boys in the trenches more money or anything. We don’t give a damn about the money so much, it is the breaks that we want.

May 4, 1944

I read the other day that Mrs. Roosevelt said the boys overseas weren’t fit to come home to the American girls. She said after they were put in a camp for six months (after we got back to the States), and were made to take a bath several times a day and went before a doctor once a day for a check-up, she thought we might do to turn loose if we didn’t have anything wrong with us.

I will grant her there are some that will need treating, but as a whole they won’t. I think she should keep her mouth shut about the men and start on the WACs. She helped promote the headache of the Army. I can’t see why the President doesn’t lock her up. She has cost him more votes now than he will ever know and he is going to need all he can get this time.

Sept. 19, 1944

I am really seeing a beautiful part of France. I can’t believe northern France is anything to compare with this part. I know it has all the large cities and I would like very much to see Paris, but for beauty this part of France can’t be beaten.

I think it will take me some time to learn to speak French and we are moving so fast I think it would be a waste of time because it won’t be long until I will have to learn to speak another language, so I am going to wait.

This war won’t be over until we get to Berlin. Everyone thought the Germans would give up when the Americans went on German soil, but we are 10 to 12 miles inside Germany now in places and they haven’t quit and won’t.

Oct. 11, 1944

I know you are anxious to know the extent of my wound after getting the V-mail. As I told you, I’m not hurt very bad. I was walking down the road when a sniper got me in the neck and then once in the right arm. It is good to get out of the rain and cold of the mountains for a while and I hope we are out of them when I go back. That’s about all I can tell you about my being hurt because there isn’t any more to it.

Oct. 12, 1944

I noticed not long ago in the Stars and Stripes that the government was getting rid of 30,000 trucks and jeeps and we still walk. I think someone should have his head examined.

Oct. 30, 1944

The Purple Heart is very pretty, isn’t it? The Combat Badge is very nice, too, but we have to go through too much hell for either one of them. I will have a bronze star to go on the Purple Heart now. That is what we get every time we are wounded after we get the Heart.

Try not to be afraid of answering the telephone. It is no good to be afraid all the time of something you can’t control. I know. I have been the same way. I’m not saying I’m not afraid any more, but I never let myself think about what is up there because there is nothing I can do about it.

Nov. 8, 1944

After I was hit I walked a little over two miles back to the aid station. I don’t know how long that took, but I was pretty weak when I got there. I didn’t lose too much blood, but I lost enough to make me pretty weak and shaky.

When I got to the aid station they bandaged me up, gave me a shot, and sent me right to the field hospital. I wasn’t there long until I didn’t know anything until the next morning.

Nov. 11, 1944

I know now why I was so long in getting most of this mail. It was sent to the hospital about the time I left, getting ready to go to France. It has been every place I have been and finally got back to my outfit. Then they sent it on over here to me. Your oldest letter was dated July 30th.

The death of a hometown boy really brings the war close to home, doesn’t it? You were telling me about Donnell Gravette being killed. I wonder how they would feel if they saw lots of the boys lying out in a field or along the side of a road. I’ll be they wouldn’t like it and if enough of them could see that, then there wouldn’t be any more (domestic labor union) strikes.

Dec. 9, 1944

I am to have my tonsils out this afternoon.

Feb. 24, 1945 (out of Naples hospital, in replacement camp)

Last night was beautiful and very cold. The moon was so bright. You have been reading about all the bombers that have been attacking Germany. Well, I could see them go over last night, it was so bright. There were so many it took them about thirty minutes to pass over. I can’t for my life see how and why Germany keeps fighting.

Feb. (censored), 1945

As I write this I am on one of the Seven Seas. It is too cold to be up on deck so everyone is down in the hold. Some of the boys are sleeping, some are playing cards, and others are writing.

I used to think making a trip like this would be fun, but I changed my mind long ago. There isn’t anything pleasant about this Army. …

I tried to read a little while ago, but my mind is going around in circles and I couldn’t get interested in it. After being in the hospital for almost five months and then start back to the front, it is almost like going up for the first time. The only difference is I know what is up there and the first time I didn’t know what to expect.

From a citation issued in the spring of 1945

On 18 March 1945, near Zweibrucken, Germany, Pfc. Jackson twice exposed himself to the fire of four enemy machine guns at 150 yards range, in order to reorganize his machine gun section and regain contact with the rifle company which he was supporting.

Despite hostile shellfire that fell as close as 20 yards to him, he moved 1,000 yards each trip searching entrenchments, pill-boxes and shell craters until he found over 30 soldiers and directed them to the company for a continuation of the attack.

He also administered first aid to three casualties and marked their position for the aid men.

(For gallantry in action, Pfc. Jackson was awarded the Silver Star.)

April 5, 1945

I don’t know how much I can tell you about the Siegfried Line, but I lay two days and nights there scared to death. The line where we went through was twelve miles of trenches and pill-boxes. The trenches are from six to seven feet deep and they run from one pill-box to another.

The pill-boxes hold about fifty men and have a bunk for each man. I don’t know how deep the pill-boxes go in the ground, but they are three floors deep. The top is just above the ground with two machine funs in each of them and everything is electrically operated.

The top is about 18 to 20 inches thick and made of steel. I saw one of our tanks put some fifty-odd shells into one pill-box and when we finally took it you couldn’t tell a shell had ever hit it.

The infantry finally got in the trenches and that is the way we took the Siegfried Line. The tanks kept the machine gun fire off us until we got in the trenches. One pill-box covers another and I have counted as high as fifty-two or fifty-three pill-boxes. That is all I could see without moving.

I’m not telling you this to scare you. I just want you to know the Line is everything they say it is. That is all behind us, thank God.

April 11, 1945

I found something the other day that is hard to believe. It is a small medal, made like the Iron Cross, only it is given to girls who gave birth to babies for Hitler. …

I can see what we are fighting for now. Every farm is covered up with International Harvester implements. We don’t go in a town or city but the first thing we see is a nice service station with Standard or Texaco gas or some other American gas company. Nearly every home has a Singer sewing machine.

You can see what I mean when I say I can see what we are fighting for. These are only a few of the big companies that are over here.

There is a stage show out in the field. I guess I had better go out and see an American girl again. It has been some time since I have seen one. …

… Well, I am just back from seeing Marlene Dietrich and her show. I thought it was pretty good, but I can’t see how she ever got in pictures.

May 3, 1945

For the first time in over a week the news really sounded good this morning. We heard last night that Hitler was dead, but that was from Germany’s radio. This morning we heard that he was dead by the Allied radio, so maybe he is. I hope so. All the German people seem to think he is.

May 6, 1945

We had a field day two days ago. The roads are jammed with German soldiers coming to give up. They are coming in every way you can think of – walking, in their own cars and trucks, wagons and teams, and every other way. We have so many prisoners we can’t handle them all.

We also went into Berchtesgaden two days ago. I thought they would fight for this place if they were to go fight at all, but we went in in trucks an there wasn’t a shot fired.

Hitler’s home is outside Berchtesgaden on the side of a mountain. That is, it was until the planes did away with it. …

I would like to see the papers at home. I know everyone of them has big headlines. There is lots of excitement going on over here and I know it is at home, too. The war isn’t over, but everyone expects it to be at any moment now.

I think the hardest fight has been won now. I am very happy that it is as close to being over as it is, but I can’t get out and rejoice like most of the boys are doing. I keep thinking about all of those thousands of boys who gave their lives that this might come about.

May 8, 1945 (V-E Day, in Nancy, France)

I wish I could describe France last night and tonight to you, but I haven’t the schooling to do that. Once can’t walk down the streets because of the large crowds. The streets are jammed with people dancing, shouting and just standing talking.

It is really dangerous to be on the streets. The people are wild with joy, firing pistols, flares and anything else they can get their hands on. Outside of town the big guns are firing and all the search lights are on.

It is even worse than the front lines. …

I am afraid to go back on the street. I haven’t been kissed on both sides of the cheek less than a thousand times in the few bars where I have stopped – by old men and old women and girls.

Five months later, having served as a restless member of the Allied occupation forces in Salzberg, Austria, and various locations in Germany, David Jackson rode the Queen Mary into New York harbor. It was October 1945, and he had endured to honor 32 additional Memorial Days until his death in 1988, at the age of 75.

Reader Comments

Por (JanaStar) on May 31, 2011 (Suggest removal)

Tom, this is one of the best things I’ve seen that has anything to do with Memorial Day. Thanks so much for sharing these wonderful glimpses into life on the front. Your dad was a fabulous writer, too.

Suggest removal

Por (Tom Jackson) on May 31, 2011 (Suggest removal)

Thank you, Jana. His prose was spare, efficient and direct. I am lucky to have this treasure, this representation of the man he was, and the world he endured.