Capt. Paul V. Jackson, III, Class of 1968, was killed in action on 24 December 1972 while on an operational mission over Laos. He was survived by his mother, Mrs. Opal R. Jackson and his sister, Pauline. Capt. Jackson was named to the Superintendent's Merit List while a cadet. He was a member of the Ski Club. In 1966 he fought in the Cadet Wing Open Boxing Tournament and was crowned the Heavyweight Champion. Following a year at the George Washington University School of Medicine, Capt. Jackson decided that there was an greater calling by going to SEA and fighting alongside his classmates. He attended UPT at Moody AFB. In 1971 he was assigned to the 20 TASS, Danang AB, SVN. Later, he assumed duties with the 56th Special Operations Wing, Udorn AB, Thailand.

Skip Jackson was Raven Two One and stationed at Long Tieng. On December 24, 1972, Christmas Eve, Skip Jackson found substantial stacks of NVA supplies under trees on the PDJ and requested tactical air to destroy those supplies. Four Air Force A-7 aircraft (SLAM Flight) responded. The site under attack possessed both 12.7 and 14.5 weapons and the enemy had no reluctance to use them. After briefing the fighters and marking the target, the Skip sequentially cleared each of the fighters 'in hot', to release bombs on the supplies below. During SLAM Zero Four's pass, the aircraft stuck Skip’s aircraft. The O-1's left wing strut was clipped, the left wing parted. After what a descent with only one wing attached to the airplane, the O-1 came to rest on the ground sitting upright on its main and tail gear. Another FAC, "Raven 20", piloted by Chuck Hines, arrived on-scene from Twenty Alternate a few minutes later. Hines reported that Skip Jackson was dead, based on what he had personally observed from a very low altitude visual check of the crash scene. Returning the evening of 24 Dec 72, he debriefed, reported the facts and strongly recommended an immediate KIA status report for Jackson. The MIA to KIA status change evident in the record reflects administrative processing errors at the clerical level -- and in no way reflects any lingering doubt that Skip was deceased upon impact with the ground.

In September 2011, Carl Janssen was in contact with Skip's sister, Paulette. She would be happy to hear from our classmates in writing, and she hopes to attend a reunion and/or visit the Academy Cemetery in the future. Her mailing address is:
Paulette Jackson Muse
PO Box 162, San Cristobal, NM 87564