James Thomas Jackson was born in July 1926 in Ponchatoula [Annotator's Note: Ponchatoula, Louisiana] with an older brother, Alvin Sneed Jackson; a younger brother, Robert Leslie Jackson; and a younger sister, Jane Sharon Jackson Eames. His father was named Leslie Sneed Jackson, and his mother was Gussie Belle Sneed Jackson. His father was a pharmacist who graduated from Tulane or Loyola [Annotator's Note: Tulane University or Loyola University in New Orleans, Louisiana]. His mother worked with her father in the insurance business and went to business school in New Orleans. When Jackson's grandfather died, his mother inherited the business and ran the business until she died, when she turned it over to one of Jackson's brothers. The business was eventually sold. Growing up, Jackson walked to school in Ponchatoula. What he remembers about growing up during the Depression [Annotator's Note: the Great Depression was a global economic depression that lasted from 1929 through 1939 in the United States] was hobos [Annotator's Note: slang for a homeless person or vagrant] that would come in on freight trains looking for work. His family was very fortunate. They had a Black [Annotator's Note: African-American] family that worked for them cooking and washing clothes. The mother of that family was a great person. One of her sons worked for Jackson's father in the drugstore. Jackson got his master's degree in biochemistry from LSU [Annotator's Note: Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana]. He worked for the United States Department of Agriculture at the National Agriculture Research Center in Beltsville, Maryland, then transferred to New Orleans to the Southern Region Research Laboratory [Annotator's Note: Southern Regional Research Center] and worked there for a few years, resigning in 1964 after working for the government since 1952. After resigning, he went to pharmacy school in Northeast Louisiana while his wife taught school in Ponchatoula. He finished school in 1968 and took over his father's drugstore in Ponchatoula until he retired in 1998, though he continued working at the drugstore part-time until 2015.

James Thomas Jackson was 15 years old and in high school when Pearl Harbor was attacked [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. He was overwhelmed. He knew that he would probably be called on to go [Annotator's Note: into the service], and he wanted to. He graduated at age 16 and went to LSU [Annotator's Note: Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana] and waited for the draft. He was in the ROTC [Annotator's Note: Reserve Officer Training Corps]. When he was finally drafted, he took a train from New Orleans [Annotator's Note: New Orleans, Louisiana] to basic training at Camp Joseph T. Robinson outside of Little Rock [Annotator's Note: Little Rock, Arkansas]. He worked hard and at the end of basic, he was selected to go to OCS [Annotator's Note: officer candidate school] while the rest of the men he trained with were being sent overseas as replacements in the Battle of the Bulge [Annotator's Note: Battle of the Bulge or German Ardennes Counter Offensive, 16 December 1944 to 25 January 1945]. When he got to OCS, he went through three months and became a 90 Day Wonder [Annotator's Note: derogatory slang for a newly commissioned graduate of a three month, or 90 day, officer candidate or midshipman school] and should have been commissioned. His scores were outstanding, but the commanding officer said he was too immature and sent him back in for another 90 days. He graduated with honors and was sent to Fort McClellan, Alabama then Fort Ord, California and finally on to the Philippines. He was in the middle of the Pacific Ocean when the war ended in 1945 [Annotator's Note: Victory Over Japan Day, 15 August 1945]. Jackson went on to serve for a year in the Philippines, with the 311th Medical Battalion, 86th Infantry Division. He was responsible for a little unit that had 12 to 18 Japanese prisoners of war. At that time, people were getting out of the military on a points system [Annotator's Note: a point system was devised based on a number of factors that determined when American servicemen serving overseas could return home]. He got out but stayed in the Reserves, and was called up for the Korean War while at LSU. He got orders to report in the middle of the semester, so requested a delay to be able to finish his schooling. By the time that was complete, there was no need for him to serve. He stayed in active reserves for several years until the mid-1950s. He retired as a Second Lieutenant, a Reserve commission.

James Thomas Jackson [Annotator's Note: arrived in the Philippines after the Japanese surrendered in August 1945, serving with the 311th Medical Battalion, 86th Infantry Division] was responsible for a small unit that worked with several Japanese prisoners of war, who were a fun-loving group of people. He got along great with the Japanese, even though he never thought he would like them, he could not help it. He knew that they did what they were told to do [Annotator’s Note: in fighting the war], like he did. Jackson occasionally went into Manila [Annotator’s Note: Manila, capital city of the Philippines]. The city was bombed by the Japanese and the Americans, there were really only pieces of buildings still standing. He got the Philippine Independence Medal [Annotator’s Note: a military award of the Republic of the Philippines which to recognize members of the military who had participated in Philippine military operations during World War 2]. The Filipino people were good artisans. He was able to travel a little while serving there. He was scared to death of being ambushed while on the road, but that never happened. However, a fellow serviceman had his jeep stolen once when he went into town.

James Thomas Jackson left the service after the Korean War [Annotator's Note: Korean War, 25 June 1950 to 27 July 1953] because he never had the desire to be a career military man. He wanted to graduate from college, get a job, and provide for his growing family. His daughter was born in 1952, and his son in 1954 when he was working in Beltsville [Annotator's Note: for the United States Department of Agriculture at the Beltsville Agriculture Research Center in Beltsville, Maryland]. He had a master's degree in biochemistry [Annotator's Note: from Louisiana State University, or LSU, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana]. He got married in 1947, and now has two children and nine grandchildren. His family does not ask him about his service. He was drafted, but he wanted to go into the service. He would have been disappointed if he had not gone. He wanted to do his part for his country. Many of the men he went to basic training with were killed in France as replacements. He has a sense of regret that he never saw combat. After discharge, Jackson went to LSU on the G.I. Bill [Annotator's Note: the G.I. Bill, or Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, was enacted by the United States Congress to aid United States veterans of World War 2 in transitioning back to civilian life and included financial aid for education, mortgages, business starts and unemployment]. Before going to Officer Candidate School [Annotator's Note: generally referred to by the initials OCS], Jackson was very timid and had low self-esteem. When he was born in 1926, he was raised on pablum [Annotator’s Note: a processed cereal for infants] which lacked many nutrients. He lost all of his natural teeth and wore dentures even as a child. He was not popular with the ladies. The service brought him out of his low self-esteem. If he could accomplish going through OCS, there must be something in him worthwhile. Now, he has a great sense of self-worth. He is a deacon in his church [Annotator’s Note: Westside Baptist Church in Ponchatoula, Louisiana] and a leader in the community. After World War 2, Korea, and Vietnam he did not think the United States would ever commit ground troops again. He never really considered himself a veteran since he did not see combat and has no war wounds, he did not consider himself deserving of being called a veteran. He would have been glad to go into combat if the war had continued. Our young people today need to know the sacrifices of those who did go through terrible things.