page_title: John Francis Jackson
section_title: Legacy
hierarchical_section_title: John Francis Jackson / Legacy
caption_attribution_description: English: Jacksons International Airport, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. 2008
context_page_description: John Francis Jackson, DFC was an Australian fighter ace and squadron commander of World War II. He was credited with eight aerial victories, and led No. 75 Squadron during the Battle of Port Moresby in 1942. Born in Brisbane, he was a grazier and businessman, who also operated his own private plane, when he joined the Royal Australian Air Force Reserve in 1936. Called up for active service following the outbreak of war in 1939, Jackson served with No. 23 Squadron in Australia before he was posted to the Middle East in November 1940. As a fighter pilot with No. 3 Squadron he flew Gloster Gladiators, Hawker Hurricanes and P-40 Tomahawks during the North African and Syria–Lebanon campaigns.
  Jackson was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and mentioned in despatches for his actions in the Middle East. Posted to the South West Pacific theatre, he was promoted to squadron leader in March 1942 and given command of No. 75 Squadron, operating P-40 Kittyhawks, at Port Moresby in Papua. Described as "rugged, simple" and "true as steel", Jackson was nicknamed "Old John" in affectionate tribute to his thirty-four years.
context_section_description: Les Jackson took over command of No. 75 Squadron the day after his brother was killed. Although the squadron was no longer an effective fighting unit, it had checked Japan's attempts to overpower Port Moresby by air attack, and the town continued to function as an important Allied base. John Jackson was survived by his wife and children, and interred in Moresby's Bomana War Cemetery. His estate was sworn for probate at a value of £29,780 ($1,870,800 in 2011).  His name appears on panel 104 of the Commemorative Area at the Australian War Memorial (AWM), Canberra.  Jackson was a keen amateur film maker, and a four-minute reel of 16 mm footage that he shot in Port Moresby is held by the AWM. Moresby's Seven Mile Aerodrome was renamed Jackson's Strip in his honour; it later became Jacksons International Airport. In a 1989 interview, fellow No. 75 Squadron member Flight Lieutenant Albert Tucker commented, "I would say that had John F. Jackson not existed, the squadron would not have been effective in that defence role for as long as it was ... So the whole spirit of John F's leadership, and I suppose his final sacrifice, was the thing that made 75 Squadron." In March 2003, the St George township erected a monument to Jackson and another local RAAF identity, Aboriginal fighter pilot Len Waters.
caption: Jacksons International Airport, Port Moresby
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