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OMAHA WORLD-HERALD
SUNDAY, JUNE 4, 2017 •
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Here in time of need PACKAGES OF HOPE
Lifelong Nebraskan, 95, credits his POW camp survival to the Red Cross By Maggie O’Brien
SPECIAL FOR THE AMERICAN RED CROSS
For about a year between 1944 and 1945, U.S. Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Harley Jackson’s life was in the hands of Nazi soldiers in a German POW camp about 100 miles from Berlin. A diary, carefully preserved in a memory box all these years, tells of his time there. Instead of expressing his fear or describing how poorly the Nazis treated him, Jackson wrote about the meals he and the other men received in care packages put together by American Red Cross volunteers. “Christmas fare, 1944. Christmas Eve, 8:30 p.m. One half a can of Spam, mashed potatoes and gravy, Boston baked beans, two slices of jam toast and coffee, chocolate pie, whipped cream and nuts. “Very, very güt,” Jackson wrote, using the German word for “good.” Jackson, of Beatrice, was a navigator with the 484th Bomb Group, on a “milk run” to hit an airfield in Szolnok, Hungary. (Jackson’s crew had already flown 21 of its requisite 30 missions.) He was fiddling with his navigational maps and cracking jokes over the intercom of the B-24. Just then a bombardier in one of the squadrons flying above prematurely dropped his bombs, and one of them ripped through an engine on Jackson’s plane. The 38,000-pound bomber began to spin, jerk and tumble, and the crew scrambled for their lives. Some of them made it; others did not. Those who did had to pray they were not hit by one of the other bombers in their formation, would be able operate a parachute with little to no previous training and would survive the landing. “The point comes that if you want to keep breathing, you have got to jump,” Jackson said. “My chute opened OK, and I fluttered down.” Jackson, who was born in rural Jefferson County in 1921, landed in a farm field, injuring his lower back as he hit the ground. Soon after, an angry Hungarian farmer put a pitchfork to his head and shouted words Jackson couldn’t understand. “It was a bad day,” Jackson said. The farmer immediately turned Jackson and his fellow flyboys over to the Nazis. There were interrogations. Eventually he was interned in Eastern Germany in Stalag Luft III with roughly 20,000 other Allied prisoners of war. The camp was the site of “The Great Escape,” the infamous March 1944 breakout immortalized in the 1963 film of the same name. Now 95, Jackson credits his survival to the Red Cross and its team
CHRIS CHRISTEN/THE WORLD-HERALD
Harley Jackson kept a meticulous journal as a WWII Nazi POW. He credits his life to care packages from the American Red Cross during an uncertain year in the camp. A memory box from that time includes photos, like the one above, flight logs, letters from home and his diaries. Below, Jackson, in 1944, and today, at home in Beatrice.
JACE ANDERSON
on the ground in Europe. For a little less than a year, Jackson lived in doubt about his survival. But through it all, the Red Cross was a familiar symbol of comfort, reassurance — and the source of care packages. The food, clothing and essentials the Red Cross provided saw him through until the Americans liberated the compound. “(Gen.) George Patton’s tanks may have busted down our gates, but it was the Red Cross that saved my life,” Jackson said in a video interview with the organization. “Without them, many of us would never have
made it.” The Red Cross played a crucial humanitarian role in World War II. The organization enlisted more than 104,000 nurses for military service, shipped 300,000 tons of supplies and prepared 27 million care packages for American and Allied POWs — packages like the ones Jackson and his comrades enjoyed, according to the Red Cross. “Red Cross packages delivered to prison camps were oftentimes the only link to home that a service member had,” said Richard Dinsdale, a regional communicator for American Red Cross humanitarian
services. “Red Cross parcels containing food items, tobacco and personal hygiene items were the lifeline that helped keep hope alive for those not knowing what the next days of the war would bring.” The Red Cross packages were a lifesaver, Jackson said. “We got good food to eat, we got decent clothes to wear.” The packages stimulated much conversation about home-cooked meals, and every day they would pool the food items from the packages, and come up with ways they could be used to prepare a meal to share. During the interview, Jackson said he loves to eat, and that candy bars are his favorite snack. At one point during his time at Stalag Luft III, he and other prisoners even tried to name all of the candy bars they could think of. There are about 80 of them on a list in his diary. Candy bars in Red Cross packages were a welcome treat during a difficult and frightening time. After the camp was liberated, Red Cross nurses provided medical care and more. “(The Red Cross nurses) talked to us, told us what they were going to do for us, brought us food and new clothing,” Jackson recalled. Jackson said that because the men had lost so much weight — he dropped 50 pounds while a prisoner — they had to follow a strict protocol
on what to eat and how to eat until their bodies again adjusted to food. One of his fellow prisoners did not follow the regimen and died. After the war, the Red Cross started the national civilian blood drive program it’s best known for today. “The U.S. military asked the Red Cross to start a blood-collection program that ended up collecting over 13 million pints,” Dinsdale told The World-Herald. “This initiative enabled the Red Cross to develop a process and infrastructure that could be brought back to the civilian world after the war. Today, because of these roots, we supply more than 40 percent of the blood and blood products in the country.” For his part, Jackson left Europe and returned home to Nebraska, where his wife was waiting. The couple raised two children, both girls. For 30 years, Jackson worked for the U.S. Postal Service as a mail carrier. To this day, Jackson supports the efforts of the Red Cross and encourages people to give blood, volunteer, or support financially. He said he will be grateful to the organization for the rest of his life. He hopes to live at least another five years so he can continue telling the story of his part — and the Red Cross’ role — in the Second World War. “I’m going for 100,” Jackson said. “But only the good Lord knows when I’m ready to go.”
MORE ON OMAHA.COM: SEE BONUS PHOTOS, STORIES CELEBRATING THE AMERICAN RED CROSS IN OUR REGION.
Congratulations to 100 years, American Red Cross Nebraska.
One hundred and HDR. A century of pushing the boundaries of what’s possible. A future of collaborating and creating the only way we know how. Together.
Creighton University congratulates the American Red Cross Nebraska on a century of service and charity. We proudly support the Omaha-Metro Chapter and its mission to serve millions of people regionally. Creighton is a dedicated partner and hosts several blood drives each year to support the Red Cross’ many humanitarian services and programs. hdr100.com
Congratulations, Red Cross, on a century of service to our community. We’re proud to share a birthday with you!
creighton.edu 2030798-01
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WE ARE ALL THE AMERICAN RED CROSS — SLEEVES UP. HEARTS OPEN. ALL IN.
For well over 100 years, the Red Cross has been a symbol of assistance, providing comfort and hope in times of tragedy and terror. In a mission to protect life and health, aid takes many forms across our state, nation and world. Humanitarian care to soldiers and civilians in war zones, as well as their families back home; relief services to communities whose livelihoods have been cut off or destroyed by fire, flood, tornado or worse; vaccinations against deadly epidemics; collection and distribution of 40 percent of the nation’s blood supply; courses in CPR, water safety, swimming and more. • Behind each effort is a set of fundamental principles set forth by Red Cross founder Clara Barton to ensure respect for the human being through mutual understanding, friendship, cooperation and peace. As the Nebraska Red Cross marks its 100th year, we celebrate a caring community of volunteers, donors and employees dedicated to serving those in need in our own backyard.