The collection consists of certificates, clippings, correspondence, diaries, obituaries, photographs, a poem, postcards, programs, a recollection, a scrapbook, sheet music, telegrams, and other items. The material covers the period 1905-2013, with the majority of the items dating from 1934 to 1945.

The material in the collection document aspects of Jackson’s life and those of his wife, Virginia; his children, Tracy Jr. and Beverley; his parents, H. O. S. and Emily Evans Jackson; his wife’s parents, Major A. and Ola Grubbs Abbott; and his wife’s sister Dorothy “Dot” Abbott. There is also some information on Edward L. Stanley, a math professor at Clemson University whom Virginia Jackson married after Jackson’s death as well as some material relating to Clemson College.

Most of the 1936-1938 correspondence is between Dorothy and her father Major, who operated the canteen at Clemson College. It relates family news and events occurring at the College and the local area. Correspondence during 1941-1943 is mainly from Jackson to Virginia, although there are a few letters to and from other members of the family. This correspondence mainly describes his daily activities, exercises and missions undertaken and training undergone. He also gives his opinions of his superiors and peers, provides thumbnail sketches of his companions, and discusses both family (e.g., the death of his father in 1943) and war news. The 1945 correspondence from Dorothy to her mother Ola and the scrapbook in the collection document Dorothy’s activities (primarily social) in Hawaii while working for the Red Cross during the war.

One of the diaries in the collection is by Jackson; most of the entries relate to his April 30-May 19, 1943 flight from the U.S. to his overseas posting at Oujda, Morocco and discuss flight conditions and his opinions of the people and places he encounters along the way. Other entries discuss exercises, missions, training, and war news. The other three diaries—from 1934 and 1943-1944—are written by his wife Virginia and focus on daily activities and family news, local events in Clemson and Greenwood, SC, and war news. The 1934 diary discusses the family’s move from Clemson to Philadelphia, PA and back again, while the wartime diaries include her reaction to the news that Jackson is missing in action and an entry concerning the invasion of France on D-Day.

Photographs in the collection depict members of the Abbott and Jackson families, singly or together in Clemson, Florence, and Greenwood, SC and in Hawaii and North Carolina; Edward L. Stanley; scenes around Clemson College, including the Barracks, the Old Stone Church and ruins of the Engineering Building after a fire in 1926; and the 1939 Worlds’ Fair in New York, NY. Other items of interest in the collection include Beverley Jackson’s recollections of her family, growing up in Clemson, SC and being one of the first female students at Clemson University; two 1942 versions of “The Glider Song (Hymn of the Winged Commandos),” music by Conway E. King and lyrics co-written by Jackson and James F. Sunderman; and clippings and information collected by Dutch historian Jan Bos relating to the “friendly fire” incident that took Jackson’s life.