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<em>Whitfield Jack</em>—trial lawyer, soldier, gentleman—was born in Shreveport, Louisiana on 10 July 1906, one of five children. He was fondly called “Whit.” Whit’s mother, Emily Roberta Pegues, was a native of Mansfield, and his father, George Whitfield Jack, was a native of Natchitoches. They were married in Mansfield, but they lived all their adult lives in Shreveport, where Whit’s father practiced law and later served until his death as judge of the United States District Court.</p>
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His father’s father, Colonel William H. Jack, was a soldier and thereafter a lawyer. A favorite uncle, Robert Foster, attended the United States Military Academy and made the Army his career. As a child, Whit said that, if he had any heroes, they were his father and his uncle Robert, and that when he grew up he wanted to be a lawyer and a soldier. He became both and he followed both professions with distinction.</p>
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In preparation for the pursuit of his dual ambitions, Whitfield Jack graduated from Shreveport High School and then attended Centenary College for two years, where he was a member of the Kappa Alpha Order. In 1924 he was accepted at the United States Military Academy at West Point. Following his West Point graduation in 1928 with a bachelor’s degree and commission as second lieutenant, he spent a year in the 9th Infantry Regiment at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. He resigned from the Regular Army to attend law school. His first year was at Yale University, his second year at Tulane University where he took the Louisiana courses, and his final year was back at Yale from which he received his LLB degree in 1932.</p>
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Also in 1932, the Louisiana Supreme Court admitted Whitfield Jack to the practice of law—and he started off running doing just that, with exceeding skill and constant devotion to his clients’ interests, never swerving from the high standards he set for himself. Except for time out for active military duty, he practiced law continuously until his retirement in 1979.</p>
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Whit’s legal career began in practice with his brother, Wellborn Jack, in the firm of Jack and Jack. He worked for a short time as Assistant US Attorney and, at the same time, carried on a private practice. He was a sole practitioner for a period before World War II. Upon his return from active duty he became a partner in the firm of Booth, Lockard and Jack, later Booth, Lockard, Jack and Pleasant and still later Booth, Lockard, Jack, Pleasant and LeSage.</p>
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Whit loved to try lawsuits, civil and criminal. His colleagues at the local bar honored him by electing him to the presidency of the Shreveport Bar Association. His peers in the trial bar honored him by selecting him as a member of the American College of Trial Lawyers. He was also a member of the Louisiana State Bar Association and the American Bar Association.</p>
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Whit was a lifelong member of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, where he formerly served as a member of the Vestry.</p>
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Since 1929, except for a short period when he served in the Louisiana National Guard, Whit continuously held a commission in the Army Reserve and the Army of the United States until his retirement from the military in 1966.</p>
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In November 1940, Whit was called to active duty as a captain, serving in various capacities until he was assigned, in early 1942, as a company commander in the newly activated 82nd Infantry Division. When that unit was redesignated as the 82nd Airborne Division, he was promoted to major and then lieutenant colonel.</p>
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When the 82nd Airborne Division shipped overseas to North Africa in the spring of 1943, Whit went along as a battalion commander. He landed in North Africa in 1943. He parachuted into Italy ahead of the main assault forces to “soften up” enemy resistance. He served in Sicily, England and through the Normandy Campaign. He served the 82nd in other positions as well as a battalion commander.</p>
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Shortly after the Normandy Campaign, General Matthew B. Ridgway, the division commander of the 82nd Airborne Division, assumed command of the XVIIIth Airborne Corps. Whit accompanied him as Corps G-2. In this position, with the rank of colonel, he finished the war in the European Theater of Operations, participating in the Holland Airborne Operation, the Ardennes Campaign, the Rhine River Airborne Operation, the Ruhr Pocket Closure, the Elba River Crossing Operation, and thence to the North Sea. His decorations include the Legion of Merit with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Bronze Star, the European Theatre of Operations Medal with six campaign stars, the French Croix de Guerre and the Belgium Croix de Guerre with palms.</p>
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In January 1946, Whit was released from active duty and returned to Shreveport, continuing his law practice and his Army Reserve activities. In April 1948, he was promoted to the rank of brigadier general, Army of the United States. During the next few years he first served as division commander of the 95th Infantry Division (Reserve) with units in Louisiana, Arkansas and Oklahoma, and later as division commander of the 75th Infantry Division (Reserve). In May 1955, Whit was promoted to major general, Army of the United States. Two years later, he assumed command of the 75th Maneuver Area Command with headquarters in Houston, Texas, and its Umpire Group component in Shreveport, Louisiana.</p>
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Whit had served as president of the Shreveport Chapter of the Reserve Officers Association of the United States and the Louisiana Department of that organization. He belonged to the American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Military Order of World Wars.</p>
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Whit was first married to Frances Rand of Alexandria, Louisiana on 4 March 1936. Of this marriage three sons were born: Whitfield Jack, Jr., a manufacturing jeweler in Key West, Florida; Rand F. Jack, a lawyer and college professor at Bellingham, Washington; and Robert B. Jack, a lawyer in Palo Alto, California, where he is a partner in the firm of Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati. In all of these sons he was well pleased.</p>
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Frances Rand Jack was a loyal, loving and understanding wife and mother. She loved her family. She understood that a trial or legal emergency might change the family plans for a dinner party or social engagement. She was always by Whit’s side. Frances died 20 May 1974.</p>
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On 11 November 1977, Whit married Betty Montgomery. She was also an understanding and loving wife who made Whitfield Jack her first interest in life and made his welfare her first priority.</p>
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Whitfield Jack died on 23 April 1989, and is survived by his wife, Betty; his three sons; the son and daughter of his son, Rand; the two daughters of his son, Robert; and by his brother, Wellborn.</p>
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In addition to his family, Whitfield Jack is survived by friends and colleagues who learned from the example which he set and who benefited from observing his devotion to his adopted creed of Duty, Honor, Country. This committee is privileged to offer the following resolution:</p>
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Be it resolved that the Shreveport Bar Association does hereby direct that the admiration and respect in which Whitfield Jack was held by his fellow lawyers, his fellow soldiers, and his fellow citizens be made a permanent part of the records of The First Judicial District Court and that a copy of this attempt to express this admiration and respect be sent, with the sympathy of this committee, to his family.</p>
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Respectfully submitted this 30th day of October 1989.</p>
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<em>Charles L. Mayer; James A. Van Hook; and James E. Bolin, Jr., Chairman</em></p>
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