On EWAL, we have an opportunity to bring a piece of Le Mans to you, sharing in the Legend of Le Mans with guests from different eras of over 100 years of racing. We’re delighted to introduce 91-year-old William S. Jackson, one of the co-founders of the Society of Automotive Historians, who isn’t just a veteran of motorsports. From being drafted during the Cold War to racing alongside legends like Carroll Shelby and Sterling Moss, Bill’s journey to Le Mans is a tale of grit, ingenuity, and unexpected grace. On this special Veteran’s Day episode, we’re taking you back to 1958 to a time when racing was raw, personal, and deeply intertwined with the world’s shifting tides. You’ll hear how a flunked college career turned into a military path that led him to Germany, where a chance friendship with a former Luftwaffe pilot changed his view of war, peace and humanity. And you’ll ride shotgun as Bill recounts his time behind the wheel of a 1935 BMW 315 restored with reverence and raced with heart on the hallowed grounds of Le Mans.

Bio

Like most of us, William S. Jackson, became involved with automobiles at an early age. During the early 1950’s, he was a member Penn State University’s hot rod club, and in the mid-50’s he was racing in SCCA events with a Jaguar 120-M and some Morgans. After his military service, he completed his degree at Penn State and began a lifelong career in journalism. His editorship of major vintage car clubs magazines during the 1960’s and 70’s gives Bill credit as one the founders who launched the then-fledgling “old car hobby” turning it into the vibrant community and economic powerhouse that it is today.

Bill is a charter member of the Society of Automotive Historians, founded in October of 1969. And during the Annual SAH Awards Banquet in 2023 in Hershey, Pennsylvania, Bill presented his Auto-Biography to the banquet audience, including his recollections of the early days of the SAH; and the following recording was made by Bill, from that same script, in 2024.