William S. Jackson killed by I.E.D.

A soldier who grew up in Thomaston was killed in Iraq on Veterans Day by a roadside bomb.

Army Sgt. William Samuel Jackson II, 29, died Saturday in the attack in Ramadi. Known as "Jack," he had been in Iraq since the beginning of the year, although he had come home in April to visit his family in Michigan after the birth of his first daughter.

Jackson is survived by his wife, Katy, and four children. The couple met while attending Northland Baptist Bible College in Wisconsin.

"He loved his kids and he loved his wife, but he also loved being a soldier," said Michael Reed, who was principal of the now-closed Calvary Family School of Ministry in Warren when Jackson graduated in 1995.

Reed remembered Jackson as "a quiet person who almost always had a smile. He was serious, yet had a good sense of humor."

Family members and friends said Jackson had previously served in Afghanistan with the Marines. They said his faith and love of country sustained him during his deployments.

He is the son of William and Carolyn Jackson, who lived in Thomaston until recently. The couple could not be reached Monday because they were in the Dominican Republican on a business trip.

"Jack knew what he was fighting for. He was determined to do that, to be in the front line," said his aunt, Flora Sawyer of Warren. "His desire ever since he was a child was to be in the service and to serve his country. He was not afraid to die."

Members of Maine's congressional delegation, as well as Gov. John Baldacci, issued statements mourning Jackson's death.

"That this soldier died on Veterans Day should serve to remind us how precious are the lives of all of those who are sacrificing for their country, and to keep in our thoughts always the valiant heroes that are our veterans," Baldacci said.

Jackson's parents were notified over the weekend, and the family's pastor, Scott Townsend of Calvary Baptist Church in Warren, broke the news to the congregation at the Sunday morning service.

A photograph of Jackson, in military uniform, was posted on a church bulletin board. Members of the church had been praying for his safe return for months. "It was a shock when we broke the news. Many of our folks had grown up with him," Townsend said.

The family has attended Calvary Baptist Church for years. Jackson's parents "had a real heart for the Lord," traveling to Venezuela on a number of missions to help a former church pastor with his work in that country.

Townsend said he spoke with the Jacksons about their son's death. "They are quite confident that God is in control even in the midst of this trial," he said.

The fallen soldier's uncle, Malcolm Jackson of South Thomaston, said his nephew "liked the military. He was doing what he wanted to do."

He said his nephew joined the Army after completing his service obligation with the Marines.

A World War II veteran, Malcolm Jackson said his family has a long record of military service.

"But this is the first time we have lost anyone since the Civil War," he said.

From the Press Harold