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Jack's grandfather, Colonel William H. Jack, was a soldier and lawyer; an uncle, Robert Foster, was a career Army officer. In November 1940, following in their paths, Jack was named a captain and then a company commander, major, and lieutenant colonel in the redesigned 82nd Airborne Division. He became a battalion commander when the 82nd was dispatched to North Africa in 1943 as part of the [[Mediterranean]] Theater of Operations. He [[parachute]]d into [[Italy]] in the campaign to "soften up" the [[Fascist]] resistance. He also fought in [[Sicily]], [[England]], and [[Normandy]], [[France]],<ref name=bio/> in which he had been part of the glider assault that preceded the main invasion.<ref name=jackfindagrave/>

Jack's grandfather, Colonel William H. Jack, was a soldier and lawyer; an uncle, Robert Foster, was a career Army officer. In November 1940, following in their paths, Jack was named a captain and then a company commander, major, and lieutenant colonel in the redesigned 82nd Airborne Division. He became a battalion commander when the 82nd was dispatched to North Africa in 1943 as part of the [[Mediterranean]] Theater of Operations. He [[parachute]]d into [[Italy]] in the campaign to "soften up" the [[Fascist]] resistance. He also fought in [[Sicily]], [[England]], and [[Normandy]], [[France]],<ref name=bio/> in which he had been part of the glider assault that preceded the main invasion.<ref name=jackfindagrave/>

After Normandy, General Ridgway assumed command of the XVIII Airborne Co [[Battlrps, which moved into the European Theater of Operations. By then a colonel, Jack fought in thee of the Bulge]] and proceeded to the [[North Sea]]. In April 1945, Ridgway selected Jack to deliver under a flag of truce an ultimatum of surrender to German Field Marshal Walter Model, whose army was trapped in the Ruhr Valley. Ridgway compared Model's situation to that of [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] General [[Robert E. Lee]] in 1865, when Lee surrendered to [[U.S. Grant]]. Unlike Lee, Model refused to surrender out of personal honor but instead discharged his troops and made then civilian prisoners of war and refugees before he took his own life. Jack returned to bring to notify General Ridgway that Model refusal to surrender.<ref name=jackfindagrave>{{cite web|url=http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Jack&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSst=20&GScnty=1117&GScntry=4&GSob=n&GRid=24992428&df=all&

After Normandy, General Ridgway assumed command of the XVIII Airborne Corps, which was dispatched to the European Theater of Operations. By then a colonel, Jack fought in the [[Battle of the Bulge]] in [[Belgium]] and proceeded to the [[North Sea]]. In April 1945, Ridgway selected Jack to deliver under a flag of truce an ultimatum of surrender to German Field Marshal Walter Model, whose army was trapped in the Ruhr Valley. Ridgway compared Model's situation to that of [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] General [[Robert E. Lee]] in 1865, when Lee surrendered to [[U.S. Grant]]. Unlike Lee, Model refused to surrender out of personal honor but instead discharged his troops and made then civilian prisoners of war and refugees before he took his own life. Jack returned to bring to notify General Ridgway that Model refusal to surrender.<ref name=jackfindagrave>{{cite web|url=http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Jack&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSst=20&GScnty=1117&GScntry=4&GSob=n&GRid=24992428&df=all&

|title=Gen. Whitfield Jack|author=John Andrew Prime |date=March 2, 2008|publisher=Findagrave.com|accessdate=March 25, 2015}}</ref>

|title=Gen. Whitfield Jack|author=John Andrew Prime |date=March 2, 2008|publisher=Findagrave.com|accessdate=March 25, 2015}}</ref>