Wilbur Lee Jackson was born in Temple, Texas in December 1919. Life was great for him prior to the war. He played golf, caddied, and work for theaters. The Depression [Annotator's Note: the Great Depression was a global economic depression that lasted from 1929 through 1939 in the United States] had little impact on Jackson because others were going through the same problems. Everyone was hurting. Before leaving for the Navy, he drew 14 dollars a week for 40 hours managing a theater. He had a better job than many married men with families to support. Some worked for a buck [Annotator’s Note: a slang term for a dollar] a day. He adjusted to what came his way and managed to do all right. Some men standing in line for groceries could be seen crying because they were ashamed of themselves. That memory stuck with Jackson. He graduated from high school in 1937 and became a manager of a theater. He had held jobs while in high school. When England entered the war [Annotator’s Note: when Germany invaded Poland in September 1939, England declared war on the Germans], Jackson felt the United States would be caught up in the fighting in due time. Jackson decided to enter the military and learn to survive before then. When Pearl Harbor occurred [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941], he was headed that way after sailing through the Panama Canal on a cruiser [Annotator’s Note: he was a crewman aboard the USS Milwaukee (CL-5)]. The ship was ordered back to Panama as it was anticipated to be the next enemy target. The cruiser would provide more firepower. Jackson entered the Navy to learn a trade because he hated the job he had. He thought he better learn to survive before the war started. It was nearly two years after his enlistment before the war came to the United States. He learned a good trade. He chose the Navy because he was a rebel. His father and brothers were in the Army, but Jackson felt he could learn more in the Navy.

Wilbur Lee Jackson did his Navy boot camp training in San Diego [Annotator’s Note: San Diego, California]. He had to learn to go with the flow. Afterward, he went directly to the ship [Annotator’s Note: his first ship was the cruiser USS Milwaukee (CL-5)]. He felt his efforts were nonproductive and decided to get with the black gangs [Annotator’s Note: black gangs worked the engine room and got their slang title because of years prior when coal had to be shoveled into the boilers and black coal dust covered the men] in the fire and engine rooms. Chipping paint was monotonous for Jackson. It would not provide training for any subsequent work, so he needed a change to the black gang. After the engine room assignment, Jackson went to the auxiliaries [Annotator’s Note: auxiliaries on a ship include other equipment not directly involved with propulsion of the ship]. When the call came for enlisted men to sign up for pilot training, Jackson was interested. Talking to his division officer, Jackson was denied the opportunity. Jackson was told that he was badly needed where he was then assigned. He was first assigned to the USS Milwaukee in 1940. She was an old four piper cruiser [Annotator’s Note: four stacks vented exhaust from the boiler rooms of the ship]. Jackson had little regard for its offensive capability. It was built right after the First World War [Annotator's Note: World War 1, global war originating in Europe; 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918]. The ship performed a lot of convoy duty prior to the war. Jackson had more than his share of convoy duty against German submarines. The United States was in the war before it officially entered the war after Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. He stayed aboard the Milwaukee until 1942. His time on the ship was not happy. During that time, he was still learning what the Navy was all about. It is questionable whether the cruiser sank any submarines during the convoy escort voyages. It did kill a lot of fish [Annotator’s Note: resulting from explosions with its depth charges, anti-submarine explosive munitions each resembling a metal barrel or drum,]. He next serviced on a PC [Annotator’s Note: patrol craft] which he disliked intensely. He called it the Donald Duck Navy and felt like it was not really a part of the US Navy. Jackson served in the engine room on the PC. He suffered with a seasick chief and had to perform the superior’s work. Jackson was constantly trying to learn, but it was the worst ship in the world. The crew had a bunch of feather merchant draftees who were largely incompetent. Jackson did not confront them because they were bigger than he was. [Annotator’s Note: He laughs.] On a return trip after escorting a convoy to Spain, the ship ran through a hurricane for 12 to 13 days. The vessel rolled so badly that saltwater entered the exhaust stack. Most of the crew was seasick. That was a lot of fun. Jackson had to stand one eight-hour watch after another. He manned the engine room with only one other man. The engine shuddered through the strain. Jackson did not mind being at sea, but he surely enjoyed getting back to the beach.

Wilbur Lee Jackson was assigned to the Bowfin [Annotator’s Note: USS Bowfin (SS-287)] in the auxiliaries gang [Annotator’s Note: auxiliaries on a ship include other equipment not directly involved with propulsion of the ship]. He was in charge of four men on the submarine. They had responsibility for the boat’s air conditioning, refrigeration, high pressure air, low pressure air, hydraulics, bilge pumps, and the trim pumps. It kept them busy, so time went by quickly. Jackson was assigned to the Bowfin as part of a relief crew when the vessel was looking for an air conditioning man [Annotator’s Note: he had been trained in auxiliaries aboard USS Milwaukee (CL-5) and, later, a patrol craft]. There was a good crew on the ship, but Jackson did have a confrontation with an officer who was not familiar with the equipment on the submarine. He challenged Jackson prior to an inspection. Jackson held his ground and tossed a wrench in the direction of the officer. Jackson felt he may have been court-martialed as a result. As time passed, the officer was transferred off the Bowfin by the skipper. Jackson felt relief that he would not have to go to Mare Island [Annotator’s Note: Naval brig or prison in Mare Island, California], and that he did not have to work with that dangerous officer. Jackson’s first war patrol on the Bowfin was out of Pearl Harbor [Annotator’s Note: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii] about the time of Iwo Jima [Annotator's Note: Battle of Iwo Jima; 19 February to 26 March 1945; Iwo Jima, Japan]. The boat ended up near Iwo Jima for a 50 to 60-day patrol. The Bowfin returned to Guam for a refit. It tied up to a tender and a relief crew worked the boat while the remainder of the crew went to a rest camp. It was great. Each return for refit resulted in 10 to 20 percent transfer of veteran crewmen to new construction and replacement by relief crewmen. There was constant retraining going on, which was scary. New men at the controls meant questionable efficiency. That was worse than some of the runs [Annotator’s Note: war patrols]. Each of Jackson’s three war patrols netted two enemy ships sunk. There was a total of six sunk for the three runs Jackson manned on the Bowfin [Annotator’s Note: he crewed 7th, 8th and 9th patrols for Bowfin before the war ended]. The submarine stalked a ship for as long as three days before getting into position to attack it. There was stress and then relief with success. It was not personal. Jackson did not want to kill anyone, but it was the enemy after all. After hitting an enemy ship, the destroyers would pursue the submarine. Depth charge [Annotator's Note: also called a depth bomb; an anti-submarine explosive munition resembling a metal barrel or drum] attacks were like placing a washtub over your head with someone beating it with a baseball bat. Unlike surface ships, submarine personnel could take the stress. Jackson liked being on a submarine because of the lack of formality he found in the surface Navy. Most officers left their men alone. Unlike on surface crafts, there were no fights on submarines. The crew got along. Submarine school in New London, Connecticut was intensive training. There were few excuses accepted for not showing up for the instructions. Jackson committed to finishing the difficult requirements. He sometimes had to go to the Blue Room for punishment for screwing up. The smallest infractions could result in being sent to the Blue Room. The food, cooks and bakers on the submarine were the best in the Navy. Everyone appreciated them. One baker took good care of the men and was a great cartoonist. Jackson liked working the third shift because that was when the action normally occurred. He would rather not be asleep and roused out of his bunk when called to battle stations. Steaks were served to the officers and crew by the cooks. Points were made with the crew that way. The skipper was a smart man. Food was good at any meal. Jackson knew never to complain to the cook because he would call a submariner’s hand. Jackson’s favorite breakfast was cornbread and baked beans. The crew could have pretty much what they wanted on the submarine.

Wilbur Lee Jackson knew the deck gun [Annotator’s Note: five inch, 25 caliber naval gun aboard the USS Bowfin (SS-287)] was used on the seventh patrol [Annotator’s Note: Jackson manned Bowfin for her seventh, eighth, and ninth war patrols before the war ended]. Crew and gun suffered injury with the enemy’s return fire. Jackson did not like fighting surface ships because there were more opposing ships with greater firepower. Two aviators were rescued by the Bowfin while Jackson was aboard. The aviators were aboard during a depth charge [Annotator’s Note: also called a depth bomb; an anti-submarine explosive munition resembling a metal barrel or drum] attack. One of the two aviators wanted to return to his rubber raft when he heard all the commotion. [Annotator’s Note: Jackson laughs.] Jackson’s battle station was in the control room on the high-pressure air manifolds. He witnessed a lot of action that other men on the boat did not. Submarines saved a lot of plane crews. Rescue patrol was not particularly liked because the submarine had to stay on the surface in shallow water for what was referred to as lifeguard duty. It was perilous. Returning to the beach and rest camp was enjoyable. There was beer available for purchase for a dime. If a sailor was broke, a buddy would buy the beer for him. Sports and fishing were available to kill time. A man could take stock of the tension he went through on the previous patrol. The atmosphere and dress were very informal. The last patrol for the submarine was to be in the Sea of Japan, but the war ended [Annotator’s Note 15 August 1945]. The submarine turned around and returned to Guam and then Pearl Harbor [Annotator’s Note: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii]. There was little celebration on the submarine. After a month and a half at Pearl Harbor, the Bowfin went through the Panama Canal and up to New York City [Annotator’s Note: New York City, New York]. Jackson enjoyed New York City. There were special considerations for submariners, and it made a difference to him. Returning home was great. He met up with his father, brothers and sister. The executive officer asked Jackson to reenlist when his time was up. Jackson refused the offer even though jobs were said to be hard to find [Annotator’s Note: Jackson later reveals that his air conditioning experience in the Navy resulted in obtaining a job fairly quickly]. The officer finally gave up. Jackson liked the Navy, but never wanted to make a career of it.

Wilbur Lee Jackson was discharged, but had to sign up for the draft afterward. There was concern about the war not being over. After he signed up for the draft, he went to the employment office next door to check on a job. When the interviewer found out that Jackson had air conditioning experience in the Navy, he hired him immediately. If Jackson returned to service, he would have preferred to go back into the submarines. The skipper [Annotator’s Note: on the USS Bowfin (SS-287)] was not a spit and polish officer. Jackson was interviewed at the World War II Museum [Annotator's Note: The National WWII Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana]. He sees the campus as monstrous. There is so much going on around the complex. It is important to continue teaching the history of the war. The concern Jackson voiced was with the admission price. There may be an inability of working people to afford a visit with their family. Perhaps the price to enter could be reduced so that more people could come inside the Museum. Putting money in a museum only to make money is wrong. World War Two helped Jackson grow up and learn a trade. He got what he wanted out of it. His main comment to future generations is for them to be happy in their own skin. Without that, riches will not make a person happy. History repeats itself. Jackson hated history in high school. [Annotator’s Note: the interview abruptly ends in Jackson’s mid-sentence.]