"Some of the guys preferred a smoke to something to eat." (Video interview)

Orville J. Jackson

Orville Jackson [detail] War: World War II, 1939-1946 Branch: Army Unit: Company B, 409th Infantry Regiment, 103rd Infantry Division Service Location: Louisiana; Texas; European Theater Highest Rank: Sergeant POW: Yes Place of Birth: Preston, IA

Infantryman Orville Jackson was in France for barely six weeks before his days as a combatant were ended. Trapped in a village by German forces and wounded by shrapnel, he was captured on December 2, 1944. He bravely endured his wounds for several weeks while being transported to Ulm, Germany, where he was admitted to a hospital for two months. Transportation to a prison camp proved unnerving; he was trapped in a locked boxcar for four days, and a passenger train he was riding was strafed by American planes. In prison this nonsmoker welcomed Red Cross packages with their supply of cigarettes, which he could use to barter for food.