

Bill Jackson, the ship's chief engineer emeritus whose nautical knowledge and experiences from more than six decades at sea were matched by the colorful and insightful stories he could tell, died Oct. 28 in San Leandro. Jackson, who grew up in Berkeley, was 94.

His mother was Frances Albrier, the first woman elected to the Alameda County Democratic Central Committee (in 1935) and a longtime activist for equality.

Jackson's family held a memorial service for him Nov. 10 on board the World War II-era cargo ship in Richmond, where he was a longtime volunteer.



From 1935 with the Merchant Marine through the first Gulf War in 1990 with the U.S. Navy, Jackson traveled the globe, experiencing its many cultures while witnessing history and expanding his encyclopedic knowledge about the workings of ships.

His remarkable career included being on ships that were torpedoed and sunk crossing the Atlantic during World War II, even though the U.S. Navy and Merchant Marine rejected him for all but menial jobs as a steward when he tried to enlist because he was black.


Jackson persisted and prevailed.


"Bill broke the color line for the East Coast Seamans Union and, therefore, of the Merchant Marine," said Craig Brammer, a teacher who had Jackson speak to his classes at Vacaville High School. "He knew, in retrospect, what he had done but he was never a braggart. On that first voyage, hated by the chief engineer and the captain, he would spend upwards of 18 hours daily in the filthy bilges but earned the respect and affection of most of the remaining crew."





When the SS Red Oak Victory was pulled out of the Mothball Fleet in 1996 and brought home to Richmond, where it was built at the Kaiser shipyards, Jackson came aboard as a volunteer.





Read Bill Jackson's oral history at