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Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Unit of Service: Company B, 409th Infantry Regiment, 103rd Infantry Division
  • Location of Service: Louisiana; Texas; European Theater
  • Highest Rank: Sergeant

View full service history

"Some of the guys preferred a smoke to something to eat." (Video interview)

Infantryman Orville Jackson was in France for barely six weeks before his days as a combatant were ended. Trapped in a village by German forces and wounded by shrapnel, he was captured on December 2, 1944. He bravely endured his wounds for several weeks while being transported to Ulm, Germany, where he was admitted to a hospital for two months. Transportation to a prison camp proved unnerving; he was trapped in a locked boxcar for four days, and a passenger train he was riding was strafed by American planes. In prison this nonsmoker welcomed Red Cross packages with their supply of cigarettes, which he could use to barter for food.

Transcript: XML

More Resources

View 18 images in sequence.
[ Photo Album ]
View 2 images in sequence.
[ Western Union Telegram informing parents that Jackson is a POW of the German Government, April 3rd, 1945. ]
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[ Certificate awarding him the Bronze Star. ]
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[ Honorable Discharge certificate, 5 October 1945. ]
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[ Orville Jackson, enlisted record and report of separation. ]
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[ Chronology and "record" of Orville Jackson. ]

Show more resources (7)

View Enlarged Image
[ Letter of transmittal submitting the Unit History for the 409th Infantry Regiment for the month of December 1944. ]
View 2 images in sequence.
[ Index, 409th Infantry Regiment, December 1944. Includes Casualty Report. ]
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[ Letter from Adjutant General to Orville Jackson's father, 31 December 1944. ]
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[ Telegram from Adjutant general to Orville Jackson's father, reporting Jackson MIA, December 26, 1944. ]
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[ Letter awarding him the POW medal, May 19, 1988. ]
View 6 images in sequence.
[ Handwritten memoirs. ]
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[ Orville Jackson, map of POW prison camps. ]

About this Item

Title

  • Orville Joseph Jackson Collection

Names

  • Evans, Mary
  • Jackson, Orville Joseph
  • Herbert Hoover Presidential Library
  • Marie L. Strickland
  • National Court Reporters Association (NCRA)
  • McGaughy, Richard

State of Birth

  • IA

Home State

  • IA

Headings

  • -  Jackson, Orville Joseph
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.
  • -  Prisoner of War -- United States

Repository

  • Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Gender

  • Male

Status

  • Veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Unit of Service: Company B, 409th Infantry Regiment, 103rd Infantry Division
    • Location of Service: Louisiana; Texas; European Theater
    • Highest Rank: Sergeant
    • Dates of Service: 1942-1945
    • Prisoner of War: Yes
    • Military Status: Veteran

Materials

  • Manuscript: Clippings [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 11/10/2001)
  • Video: VHS [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 11/26/2002)
  • Photograph: Photocopy of Photographic Print [18 items] -- Photograph (collected 1942 - 2002)
  • Manuscript: Military papers (orders, personnel/201 files, etc) [8 items] -- Typewritten document (collected 1944 - 1989)
  • Manuscript: Memoirs [1 item] -- Handwritten document (collected 1944 - 1945)
  • Manuscript: Maps [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected unknown)
  • Video: Digital Betacam [1 item] -- Digitized Copy (collected 11/26/2002)
  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Transcription of video recording (collected 12/08/2014)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/2989

Cite as

  • Orville Joseph Jackson Collection (AFC/2001/001/2989), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • image
  • online text
  • video

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

Using VHP Material in Publication or Exhibition

The Veterans History Project (VHP) at the Library of Congress collects, preserves and makes accessible the firsthand recollections of U.S. military veterans who served from World War I through more recent conflicts and peacekeeping missions, so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand what they saw, did and felt during their service. The Veterans History Project Collection includes oral histories along with documentary materials such as original letters, diaries, photographs, and memoirs.

Veterans and interviewers contribute these materials to the Library for scholarly and educational purposes, retaining any copyright they may hold. Therefore, permission must be obtained before using the interview or other materials in exhibition or publication. Researchers or others who would like to make further use of these materials should contact the Veterans History Project for assistance.

As a publicly supported institution, the Library generally does not own rights to material in its collections. Therefore, it does not charge permission fees for use of such material and cannot give or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute material in its collections. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item from the Library’s collections and for securing any necessary permissions rests with persons desiring to use the item.

Please contact us with questions.

Obtaining Copies of VHP Materials

In order for VHP materials to be duplicated, we must receive written permission from the interviewee for you to obtain a copy of the recording unless the proposed use is limited to personal use, research, or other uses permissible by copyright law. If the interviewee is deceased, their next-of-kin may grant written permission.

Please contact VHP for assistance if you need to contact a veteran for permission to use their materials in exhibition or publication, or if you have received permission from the veteran and need access to high-resolution copies of VHP collection materials.

Citing VHP Materials

Please use the following formats when citing Veterans History Project materials (substituting the appropriate name and collection ID number).

Materials as a whole:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Manuscript material:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Memoirs (MS02), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Transcript (MS04), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Correspondence (MS01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Recording:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Audio recording (SR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Video recording (MV01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Photograph:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Photographs (PH01), photographer unknown, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Photographs (PH03-PH14), Ralph Williams photographer, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Computer file:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Computer file (CF01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Artifact:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Artifact (AR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Evans, Mary, Orville Joseph Jackson, Herbert Hoover Presidential Library, Marie L. Strickland, National Court Reporters Association, and Richard McGaughy. Orville Joseph Jackson Collection. 1942. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.02989/.

APA citation style:

Evans, M., Jackson, O. J., Herbert Hoover Presidential Library, Marie L. Strickland, National Court Reporters Association & McGaughy, R. (1942) Orville Joseph Jackson Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.02989/.

MLA citation style:

Evans, Mary, et al. Orville Joseph Jackson Collection. 1942. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.02989/>.