John Jackson, "JJ" to his friends, reported on graduation to RANGER at Norfolk. Sailing in September, 1940, for Guantanamo, the Junior Division Officer had his fill of amphibious landings as a TAD boat officer in BARNETT at Culebra. In December, he was ordered to EDISON (DD-439) for commissioning in Bayonne. Twenty months in this ship included freezing Atlantic convoy runs before Pearl Harbor and much depth charging but no kills. An abiding belief in Florida sunshine came to him from those cold, cold seas. In 1942, he was ordered to commissioning of WALLER (DD-466). After shakedown, he was sent to SAVANNAH (CL-42) as a Division Officer and sailed in her for a South Atlantic patrol and to the Med for the landings at Sicily, Palermo, and Salerno. A glider bomb blew her bottom out at Salerno and the ship barely made it to Malta for drydocking for three months, then home to Philadelphia for Christmas, 1943. By February, 1944, John was ordered to flight training and was in night fighter training in Texas when the war ended. He then went to Vero Beach and Key West for more training. He married Margery Lucy Usher of Cincinnati, in Miami on March 22, 1946, while stationed at Key West.

In April, 1946, JJ was assigned as VF-8A Exec and moved to Quonset Point with his new bride. The newly commissioned LEYTE (CV- 32) came up for Carquals and on the third pass at the ship on September 11, near Bermuda, he splashed an F-8F on its back outboard of #2 elevator. After a hospital month, John tried again; but discretion proved the better part and he stopped flying in February, 1947. For his WW II duty, John was awarded the Navy Commendation Medal.

A seventeen-month stretch with three Mediterranean tours as Flag Secretary to ComCruDiv 8 followed, and he was driven to OpNav in 1948. On 22 June, 1949, Geraldine Helen was born and on 26 October, 1950, Margery Judith checked in to make the total two girls. JJ dug up an OpNav relief in December, 1951, and flew to Naples to join PRESTON (DD-795) as Exec. A year later John had his command, CROSS (DE-448). After two-and-a-half years of cruising Naval Reservists, he was given the Naval Reserve Training Center in St. Petersburg, Florida, in 1955. In 1960, JJ took his twenty, and joined Goodbody & Co., and Merrill Lynch for 24 years.

Both daughters graduated from Florida State University and on March 22, 1971, on their 25th wedding anniversary, JJ and Margery gave the girls away in a double wedding. This emptied their house so they moved to an apartment at 1365 Snell Isle Boulevard, St. Petersburg, where they enjoyed many pleasant years together until JJ's sudden death of a massive cerebral stroke on 20 April, 1989.

Bob was one of several '40 ensigns ordered to NEVADA. Saturday night, December 6, 1941, Bob had gone ashore to stay overnight with classmate Vic Schrager of TENNESSEE. Bob and Vic were up and dressed Sunday morning, listening to the radio, and hearing noises in the distance. Suddenly, the radio announced that "the island is under enemy attack - this is not a drill!" They commandeered a car, raced to Pearl Harbor and jumped into the first launch they could find heading for battleship line. As the small boats shuttled in the channel, Japanese planes were strafing them. Bob got to NEVADA about 30 minutes after she had first been hit. He was a turret officer, so he hurried to his turret. Minutes later, a torpedo hit, ripping open the lower powder magazine, opening it up to daylight, but fortunately, it did not explode. Bob took those of his turret crew who were not injured (which was most) and went topside to man an antiaircraft battery; an anti-personnel bomb had hit the AA gun crew and put most of them out of action, so Bob's crew took over. His and other AA guns shot down seven Japanese planes.

NEVADA managed to get away from its berth just astern of ARIZONA before the latter exploded; this undoubtedly saved many lives in NEVADA, although she did lose 400, having taken two torpedoes and seven bombs. Bob later discovered that a bomb dropped early in the attack went right through the bunk in which he would have been sleeping had he been on board early that Sunday morning.

Bob went on to serve in the cruiser SANTA FE, then to Albuquerque for duty in the Ordnance Unit and subsequently in the University ROTC. He found time on May 18, 1942, to marry Hannah McIntyre in Seattle. Leaving Albuquerque, he served as X.O. of STICKELL and MADDOX and in 1951 as C.O., KIDD.

After his tour in KIDD, Bob was sent to the Naval Academy as Instructor in Ordnance and Gunnery, from 1952 to 1955. Next came duty on the staff of CINCAFMED in Malta for two years, before becoming Commander LSTRON 4 in Norfolk and then duty with CINCLANTFLT as U.S. Liaison Officer to SACLANT.

In 1960, after promotion to Captain, Bob returned to the destroyer Navy as COMDESDIV 362. After a tour at SACLANT ASW RESEARCH CENTER in La Spezia, Italy, and two years as PNS & T at the University of South Carolina, Bob retired on 1 July 1965.

They settled in Randolph, VT, where Bob was an enthusiastic participant in local affairs. At the time of his death of a heart attack on 18 October 1971, Bob was president of the board of trustees of Gifford Memorial Hospital and member of the board of directors of the Vermont Heart Association. Bob was past president of the Montague Golf Club and was zoning administrator for several years. Hannah remains in Randolph. There are two daughters, Nan Gwin of Lexington, SC, and Cindy Southworth of State College, PA; a brother, Jerry, and at least two grandchildren.