Stewart Jackson
Stewart Jackson was drafted into the Army in January 1968 and served for the next twenty months. He was deployed to Vietnam with the 9th Infantry Division.
On February 28th, 1969, Jackson’s platoon was split in half and set up ambush positions on either side of a thickly wooded jungle area where it was suspected there was Viet Cong activity. After an uneventful night, Jackson’s half of the platoon was ordered to join up with the rest of the platoon by traversing dense vegetation via a path with a branch across the opening. From previous experience, the platoon strongly suspected that the branch was booby trapped. After closely inspecting the branch, Jackson instructed the squad member who carried a grenade launcher to fire a round at the branch, but he overshot the branch. The squad then fired several M16 rounds at the branch before Jackson gave the point man the order to proceed with caution. The booby trap exploded immediately, badly injuring his point man and hitting Jackson with two pieces of shrapnel in the abdomen. Several other soldiers received minor leg wounds. The squad called a medivac helicopter for the point man. By that time, Jackson realized that his injuries were more serious than he first thought, so he was put on the chopper with the point man and flown back to their basecamp, Dong Tam.
Along with his Purple Heart, SGT Jackson was awarded numerous medals and commendations during his service, including the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Campaign Ribbon, the Vietnam Service Medal, the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Army Commendation Medal with “V” device, and more.
Married and the proud father of one and grandfather of two as well as two stepdaughters and two step-granddaughters, Stew enjoys amateur radio, furniture making, carpentry, traveling to National Parks, and auto repair. He continues to serve his fellow veterans as a life member of the Disabled American Veterans (DAV), the Patriot Guard Riders, the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and the Military Order of the Purple Heart (MOPH). He often serves as a bugler for local events, holiday parades, and funerals.