Biography
Jackson, Bert Edward b. November 22, 1914, New Jersey; African American; Father William Jackson (1874-?), mother Jamie Jackson (1878-?); Attended college; Prior military service in the US Army National Guard, 1932-37 369th Infantry Regiment Rank 2nd Lieutenant (S-2 Intelligence Officer); Single; Artist, Student, and Instructor; American Artist Union, YCL, CP July 1935, Unit Organizer, Spanish CP; Received Passport# 40259 on May 1, 1937 which listed his address as 167-14 109th Avenue, Jamaica, Long Island, New York; Sailed May 15, 1937 aboard the Georgic; Arrived in Spain on June 6, 1937 over the Pyrenees; Attended OTS; Served with the XV BDE, Estado Mayor, Topographical Section; Later 15th Corps EM and XV Brigade Estado Mayor, Topographer, Chief of Section; Rank Sargento, later Teniente; Served at Teruel, The Retreats, and Ebro Offensive; Returned to the US on December 20, 1938 aboard the Ausonia; WWII enlisted in the US Army Air Corps on February 21, 1942, served with the 99th Division Chief of Ordnance, Rank 1st Sergeant; Married Beatrice Leanora Gaillard (1926-1999) on March 10, 1959 in Arlington, VA; d. September 30, 1993, buried in Arlington National Cemetery; Spoke Spanish and English.Siblings: brother Harold Jackson (1910-?), sister Gertrude Jackson (1905-?).
Source: Sail; Scope of Soviet Activity; Cadre; XV BDE; Pay; RGASPI Fond 545, Opis 6, Delo 916, ll. 1-13, 22; African Americans; Ancestry L-W; Find-a-Grave 823962. Code A Box 2, Folder 23, 177_197042 [List of Names] Moscow Fond 545, Opis 5, Delo 197, ll. 42, Oct. 1938. This is a page from Folder 197: Album of 15th International Brigade Presented to the American Communist Volunteers of the 15th Brigade by the Communist Party of Spain. On a two page spread entitle Declaration of the American Negro Comrades eighteen individuals signed the second page.
Biography: Bert Edward Jackson was born on November 22, 1914. He served as a Second Lieutenant in the intelligence unit of the 369th Infantry Regiment of the New York National Guard from 1930 to 1937. An artist by trade, Jackson joined the Communist Party in 1935. Jackson left for Europe aboard the Georgic on June 15,1937. In Spain, Jackson was attached at as topographer to the headquarters of the XVth brigade. In 1938, Jackson was sent to Officers Training School and promoted to the rank of Lieutenant. He taught map reading at Tarazona before rejoining the XVth Brigade shortly before the Ebro Offensive. He returned to the United States aboard the Ausonia, on December 20, 1938. During World War II, Jackson served in the U.S. Army Air Corps as the chief of ordnance for the 99th Division's Air Cobras. After the war Jackson was co-founder, with fellow Lincoln Brigade veteran Walter Garland, of the United Negro and Allied Veterans Association (UNAVA). Jackson took advantage of the GI Bill to attend art school and made a living as a commercial artist. His art appeared in numerous African-American publications. Jackson died on January 3, 1993. ~ Chris Brooks
Photographs: Bert Jackson in Spain, RGASPI Fond 545, Delo 916, ll. 2; and below Delo 916, ll. 5; and mapper for Brigade, December 1937. The 15th International Brigade Photographic Unit Photograph Collection; ALBA Photo 11; ALBA Photo number 11-0667. and; Joseph Taylor and Bert Jackson, mapper for Brigade, December 1937. The 15th International Brigade Photographic Unit Photograph Collection; ALBA Photo 11; ALBA Photo number 11-0667. Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives. Elmer Holmes Bobst Library, 70 Washington Square South, New York, NY 10012, New York University Libraries.
