(article is
from the news section of the Jamestown Post Journal)
10/4/2004 - By ALPHA HUSTED
A tribute inscribed on the simple monument marking his grave in the Maple Grove
Cemetery in Frewsburg, reads: ''He kept the ancient landmarks and built the
new.''
On Sunday, 50 years after the death of Supreme Court Justice Robert H. Jackson,
the community, officials of the Robert H. Jackson Center, special guests and
the congregation gathered at St. Luke's Episcopal Church to reaffirm those words
on Jackson's headstone and to pay homage to one of Jamestown's most revered
and honored citizens.
The 50th anniversary tribute to the Chief American Prosecutor for the International
Military Tribunal at Nuremberg, Germany, following World War II was planned
as a celebration of the anniversary of Jackson's funeral at St. Luke's on Oct.
13, 1954. The local service was conducted shortly after services at the Washington
National Cathedral, and was attended by all of Jackson's fellow Supreme Court
justices.
The memorial event on Sunday ended a weekend of programs commemorating the justice,
including an appearance of Nuremberg Prosecutor Whitney Harris, who reviewed
his book, The Tragedy of War at the Jackson Center on Friday. Stricken with
a heart attack, Jackson died Oct. 9, 1954 at the age of 62, after his return
to the Supreme Court bench. Largely, a self-made man, he was born in 1892 in
Spring Creek Township, Warren County, and grew up in Frewsburg. Although he
did not attend college, he was a law student at the Albany Law School, and became
a member of the bar in 1913 at the age of 21. After establishing a law office
in Jamestown, he played a prominent role in the merger of the community's three
banks.
Later, he was appointed solicitor general, attorney general and United States
Supreme Court Justice, before serving as Chief American Prosecutor before the
International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg. Jackson's performance set a worldwide
standard in international law - a standard that remains, today. Sharing glimpses
of Jackson at the Sunday morning anniversary service was the Rev. Father Moritz
Fuchs of Fulton, who as a 20-year-old United States infantryman was Jackson's
bodyguard during his stint in Nuremberg, and John Q. Barrett, of Jamaica, N.Y.,
an Elizabeth Lenna Fellow and Jackson Center historian, and law professor at
St. John's University.
In a masterful weave of memories and sermon, Father Fuchs described Jackson
as a ''friend and adviser to Presidents Roosevelt and Truman... a man of exemplary
character. For me, most notably, Justice Jackson rose to new prominence as chief
prosecutor at the Nuremberg Trial. His role was to be the chief organizer, prosecutor
and spokesman for our nation, in close cooperation with leaders from England,
France, and the Soviet Union.
''The clairty of thought and perception, evidenced in his measured prosecution
of the evil that was planned and performed by the Nazis, seems to me to come
from Mr. Jackson's basic perception of right and wrong, a clear vision of what
true righteousness is all about.''
At Jackson's opening statement before the Tribunal on Nov. 21, 1945, Father
Fuchs said, ''Justice Jackson stood with remarkably confident poise addressing
the judges and the world. His background of law and history was easily evident
as he eloquently presented the charges against Nazi defendants, Goering, Hess
von Ribbontrop, and company.
''From him I learned how even one person can have considerable influence for
good in the world. His character, combined with his familiarity with culture,
made him to be - as they say - a class act.'' His time with Jackson, Father
Fuchs said, ''may have been unknowingly for me at that time, a contributing
factor in my perception during that year, that I would consider being called
by God to ministry in the church.''
Earlier, there was a ripple of smiles throughout the church, when the Roman
Catholic priest recalled that at a hunting party including army officers and
Jackson, the young bodyguard was the ''only one to shoot a deer,'' an acheivement
that assurred Jackson that his body guard could shoot accurately.
Barrett referred to segments of an essay on Jackson he plans to have published,
soon. The law professsor said Jackson was a ''thinker,'' a member of St. Luke's,
who had lived and worked in Jamestown for 20 years. ''He was very much of this
place,'' Barrett said, pointing out that Jackson came from a family of farmers,
a family ''not religious in the organized sense,'' but people with sound values.
Noting Jackson's passion for writing, Barrett read the following from a paper
the justice had penned in later years reflecting memories of earlier times:
''There were several Bibles in the house, but few books on religious doctrines.
None in the family were intellectually or emotionally committed to any denomination
or dogma. While we lived apart from religious elements of the community, we
had no hostility to it. ... I cannot recall that I was ever sent or urged to
go, but along with those of my age, I attended the Baptist Sunday School, namely
because it's teachers included some I admired, and so did it's choir.
''I was reared in an atmosphere of perfect respect for the personal right to
have any religion one preferred...I never knew any of (the family) to try to
arouse doubts in the minds of another, or to unsettle his faith. On the contrary,
as a mere youngster, I was soundly spanked for denouncing Catholicism to an
Irish hired girl, although Mother knew I was only repeating what I had heard
a violent, anti-Catholic say. I never joined any formal religious organization
until I was well along in years.''
Others taking part ceremonies were Charles Price, Esq., one of the pallbearers
in the 1954 funeral, and president of the Jamestown Bar Association at that
time, Whitney Harris, Jackson Center Executive Director Roland E. Kidder and
Jackson family members Harold Adams and Thomas Loftus III. The last four participants
offered prayers and scripture that also were presented during the 1954 service.
For Loftus, Adams, and Karen Ingeman, the memorial service spurred memories
of funeral rites 50 years ago. Ms. Ingeman, of Liverpool, N.Y., a grand niece
of the justice, recalled she was 12 years old when she attended the 1954 service.
''I was quite young,'' she said, ''but I have many photos that have refreshed
my memory over the years...I remember it was raining during 1954 service. Fifty
years later, we have sunshine as we look back on our memories.''
Loftus, Jackson's grandson, who lives in Vienna, Va., said he did not attend
the O54 rites. ''I was only eight when my grandfather died, but I have many
memories. He was a central figure in my life... we all loved him very much.''
Adams, a Falconer resident and a nephew of Jackson, said he could not ''relate
too well to the ceremonies in 1954. The family was seated in the chapel,'' he
said. ''And, so we could see nothing. Today's service was just wonderful...something
we all will remember.'' Retired Chautauqua County Supreme Court Justice Joseph
Gerace said the memorial tribute was a ''very moving event...I couldn't help
but be moved, especially by some of the very personal touches and writings,
presented by Barrett.''
Gregory L. Peterson, Jackson Center Board president, who operated a video camera
throughout the service, said the memorial tribute, ''is something the community
will remember for a long, long time...It was truly a very memorable occasion.''