A Tribute to Robert Jackson by his nephew.

• Author: Adams, Harold Jackson
• Position: Testimonial

In the courtroom or out of it, Robert Jackson was a remarkable man. This judgment, however, is not entirely objective since he was my uncle. From an early age, he was his own man. Although his father insisted that he become a doctor, he was determined instead to become a lawyer. When his father refused financial assistance, young Robert borrowed money from his uncle and headed for Albany Law School where he completed the course in a single year.

It might seem that at the time he would have been far too busy studying to have much of a social life. He somehow managed, however, to meet a bright and most attractive young lady named Irene Gerhardt, who a few years later became Mrs. Robert Jackson. And this she did despite her mother's stern pronouncement that "he's too skinny, and he's never going to amount to anything!"

Upon his father's death, the twenty-three-year-old attorney assumed responsibility for his mother and the younger of his two sisters, eleven-year-old Helen, to whom he became guardian. In 1927, it was my good fortune to become the son of Helen Jackson Adams and thereby the nephew of Robert Jackson. Having been close to my mother for so many years, he became closer to me than he otherwise might have.

Early in 1945, my Frewsburg (New York) High School principal asked me to invite Justice Jackson to speak at the graduation ceremony in June. The Justice readily accepted. But in May he wrote to tell me that he would be unable to come, having received "orders from just a little higher source." The higher source, of course, was President Truman, and the "orders" were for the Justice to serve as Chief Prosecutor of the Nazi war criminals.

In September of the following year, I was in the Army and stationed near Munich when unexpectedly I was ordered to report to Justice Jackson in Nuremberg. He had arranged this so that I could be there to witness the sentencing of the convicted Nazis. At the time, there was little opportunity to talk with him in private, but it was my feeling that he was well pleased with the outcome of the trial. I am sure he realized that Nuremberg was to be his crowning achievement.

Perhaps nothing better characterizes Bob Jackson than the old saying that you can take the boy out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the boy. Whether facing the bench or sitting on it, this country lawyer brought common sense and practicality to every case...