TEXAS RANGER LAW ENFORCEMENT ASSOCIATION

Legendary Texas Ranger Joaquin Jackson dies after battling cancer
ALPINE, TX – Legendary former Texas Ranger Joaquin Jackson, 80 died Wednesday, June 15, 2016 at his home in Alpine, Texas after a short but courageous battle with cancer.
Jackson served 27 years as a Ranger in Uvalde and Alpine, Texas. When he retired in 2003, he was the senior member of the elite force. Established in 1823, the Texas Rangers are the oldest statewide law enforcement agency in the United States.
“Joaquin Jackson was a legendary lawman and one of the most famous Texas Rangers of the twentieth century,” said Jackson friend, actor Robert Duvall. Duvall played Ranger Captain Augustus McCrae in the classic series Lonesome Dove.
In 2005, Jackson published his memoir, One Ranger. The book became a bestseller and for the next 10 years he had a successful career as a public speaker.
Over the years, Jackson appeared in numerous motion pictures, including The Good Ol’ Boys with fellow Texan Tommy Lee Jones. Jackson was also the model for Nick Nolte’s character in the motion picture Extreme Prejudice. Jeff Bridges also modeled his Texas Ranger character in the upcoming movie, Hell or High Water on Jackson.
Joaquin Jackson was born in 1935 in Anton, Texas. He attended Texas Tech University and was a graduate of Sul Ross State University in Alpine, Texas. He served in the United States Marine Corps prior to embarking on a career in law enforcement.
Jackson was a longtime director of the National Rifle Association, a member of the Screen Actors Guild, numerous law enforcement organizations, and he was a member of the Masonic Lodge. He is survived by his wife Jewel, three grown children and four grandchildren. His son, Lance Jackson followed his father into law enforcement and currently serves in the United States Border Patrol.
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, June 25, 2016 at 1:00 p.m. at the Pete P. Gallego Center at Sul Ross State University in Alpine, Texas. The family has requested that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to Sul Ross State University or the Former Texas Rangers Foundation.

The 1836 Battle of the Alamo

On February 23, 1836, the arrival of General Antonio López de Santa Anna's army outside San Antonio nearly caught them by surprise. Undaunted, the Texians and Tejanos prepared to defend the Alamo together. The defenders held out for 13 days against Santa Anna's army.

William B. Travis, the commander of the Alamo sent forth couriers carrying pleas for help to communities in Texas. On the eighth day of the siege, a band of 32 volunteers from Gonzales arrived, bringing the number of defenders to nearly two hundred. Legend holds that with the possibility of additional help fading, Colonel Travis drew a line on the ground and asked any man willing to stay and fight to step over — all except one did.

As the defenders saw it, the Alamo was the key to the defense of Texas, and they were ready to give their lives rather than surrender their position to General Santa Anna. Among the Alamo's garrison were Jim Bowie, renowned knife fighter, and David Crockett, famed frontiersman and former congressman from Tennessee.

The final assault came before daybreak on the morning of March 6, 1836, as columns of Mexican soldiers emerged from the predawn darkness and headed for the Alamo's walls. Cannon and small arms fire from inside the Alamo beat back several attacks. Regrouping, the Mexicans scaled the walls and rushed into the compound.

Once inside, they turned a captured cannon on the Long Barrack and church, blasting open the barricaded doors. The desperate struggle continued until the defenders were overwhelmed. By sunrise, the battle had ended and Santa Anna entered the Alamo compound to survey the scene of his victory.

While the facts surrounding the siege of the Alamo continue to be debated, there is no doubt about what the battle has come to symbolize. People worldwide continue to remember the Alamo as a heroic struggle against impossible odds — a place where men made the ultimate sacrifice for freedom. For this reason, the Alamo remains hallowed ground and the Shrine of Texas Liberty.