A Greenville museum will honor a World War Two veteran in a ceremony Monday morning. The ceremony for veteran DeWitt Jackson begins at 11:30 this morning at the Upcountry History Museum in Greenville. Jackson served as a rifleman in the 92nd Division, which consisted entirely of African-American troops. Jackson and his regiment were deployed to Italy in October of 1944.
Jackson was in Italy for a year before he accidentally stepped on a trip wire for a mine and was sent flying through the air. The wound nearly cost him his leg and he received the Purple Heart before being shipped home in December 1945 and given an honorable discharge the following January.
Jackson lost records of his service in a veterans office fire, but 64 years later a former journalist Bern Mebane and a Congressional staffer were able to uncover records of Jackson’s decorations. Today will be the culmination of their work, as Jackson is recognized for his service to the united States.