Jackson's Actions

All human actions have one or more of these seven causes: chance, nature, compulsion, habit, reason, passion, and desire. --Aristotle (384 BC - 322 BC) <

No, this is not going to be a rant -- "The Big Bitch" was the name of the B-17 in which my father was a tailgunner in World War II. The Flying Fortress was based in England. On October 21, 1942, they made a raid on Lorient, France, were shot down and took two Nazi fighter planes (Focke-Wolf 190's) with them.


The crew of the Big Bitch. My father, Andrew Lexington Jackson, on the far right, enclosed in red.




Beverly Ann and her daddy.

I was four years old at the time. This is the only photograph I have of myself with my father. I don't remember him at all -- except in all those ways that people remember everything.



Doris and Lex on the lake where he dearly loved to fish. It is said my mother was pregnant with me when this picture was taken.

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After Lex's death, my mother remarried. I was not allowed to see my grandparents or relatives on the Jackson side of the family. (my stepfather was nuts). So until my grandmother died, (I was in high school) I never saw any of these pictures. Now I have A treasure trove of letters, photos and memorabilia, including my dad's Air Medal and Purple Heart. He is a big, empty hole in my heart.

I never learned much about him though...I had no idea where he was buried, for one thing. But the decades passed so quickly and I put it behind me as children do.

The other day, I told a writer friend, Vanessa Gebbie, about my dad. She began to ask me questions about him, and I poured out the little I knew. The next thing I knew, she sent me an email with the following information from the website of the American Battle Monuments Commission - The World War II Honor Roll.

Andrew L. Jackson
Sergeant, U.S. Army Air Forces
Service #18045030
341st Bomber Squadron, 97th Bomber Group, Heavy

Entered the service from: Arizona
Died: 21-Oct-42
Buried at: Plot 1 Row 10 Grave 6
Brittany American Cemetery
St. James, France

Awards: Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, Purple Heart.

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You might imagine my reaction. I haven't gotten over it yet. (thank you, thank you, Vanessa. I never dreamed I'd ever know this information. It never occurred to me that it would turn up on the internet!)


One mile S.E. of St. James, Manche, France, on the edge of Brittany. (about 201 miles from Paris via train.


So, my highest priority and largest goal at the moment is to save enough money to make a trip to France and visit his grave site. Before I die, before I am too old to travel, this is a MUST.

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