 In retirement, Jackson resided in Pearl City, Hawaii, where, on December 7, 1941, he observed the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor from his front doorstep.His eyewitness account was enclosed in the official after action report sent to the Navy Department by Admiral Chester W. Nimitz on February 15, 1942.In July 1942, Jackson was advanced to admiral on the retired list by a new law that allowed each officer to retire in the highest rank in which he had served.