Robert Elmer Jackson, 95, 20-year police officer

ONE DAY when Bob Jackson was a soldier in the South Pacific during World War II, he got a summons to see his commanding officer.

"Uh-oh," Bob thought. "What have I done now?"

But when he reported, he was told he had a visitor. It turned out to be his brother Harold, who was serving with another outfit in the same theater of operations.

"You can imagine how thrilled he was," said his daughter Eileen Frierson.

But Bob was not thrilled with his duties as the war in the Solomon Islands raged about him. He was assigned to an anti-aircraft unit, but, being a black man, he was not allowed in combat.

"He was very angry," his daughter said. "He wanted action. He used to say he served 40 months in the South Pacific and wasn't allowed to fight."

Maybe Bob didn't see enough action in the Army, but he got plenty when he came back home and joined the Police Department.

For 20 years, he worked in vice, conducted undercover investigations under the command of the legendary Frank Rizzo, then a captain, and was a member of the equally legendary Dick Anderson Squad, a band of tough African-American cops who battled crime with sometimes ruthless efficiency for nine years.

Robert Elmer Jackson, who began his service to the city as a prison guard, attained the rank of sergeant as a cop, later served as an investigator for the Public Defenders Office and rounded out his career as a volunteer dispatcher for Lankenau Hospital, died Oct. 31. He was 95 and lived in Center City.

Bob Jackson, was born in Staten Island, N.Y., the oldest of the four sons of Robert St. Clair Jackson and the former Augusta Bush. He attended Bayonne High School before entering the Army in 1941. He was discharged in 1945.

He came to Philadelphia after his military service and became the city's first African-American prison guard, assigned to Holmesburg Prison.

He joined the police force in 1951. He started as a patrol officer and was quickly promoted to detective in the 12th District at 65th Street and Woodland Avenue.

Bob worked undercover, ferreting out moral offenses committed by both adults and juveniles. He worked under Rizzo, later police commissioner and mayor, and often in conjunction with the FBI.

The Dick Anderson Squad started in 1943, a time when black police officers were often discriminated against. The crack 60-member outfit was beloved of citizens and businesspeople, mostly in black neighborhoods and along South Street, because it struck fear in the hearts of evildoers. It disbanded in 1952.

After retiring from the police force in 1971, Bob worked with the public defenders until 1988, then volunteered in the transport department at Lankenau Hospital.

He transported patients throughout the hospital, then, when he developed trouble walking, became the dispatcher, directing underlings with a commanding voice. He worked there until 2011.

"He loved Lankenau," his daughter said, "and he was very popular there."

Bob married the former Isma Dickson in 1945, and they had two daughters. She died in 1997. He then married Alicene Lewis, who died in 2006.

Bob was very family-oriented, and always looked after his three younger brothers, two of whom, Harold and Maitland, are deceased.

"Throughout his life, he would be a guiding force of support, love and caring to his girls and their children," his family said.

Besides his daughter, he is survived by another daughter, Melodie Jackson; a brother, Karyl Jackson; and two grandchildren. 

Services: 11 a.m. today at St. Matthew African Methodist Episcopal Church, 215 N. 57th St. Friends may call at 9 a.m. Burial will be in Washington Crossing National Cemetery, 830 Highland Road, Newtown.