From left: daughter Kathy, daughter Betty, Jack’s great grandson, daughter Debbie, Jack’s granddaughter, and Jack McDermott. Photo courtesy: Tayler S. Calder/Idaho State Journal
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The BLET National Division extends happy birthday wishes to retied General Chairman Jack McDermott, who will turn 106 years old on Sunday, January 18. He is likely BLET’s oldest living General Chairman, if not the oldest living member.
A member of Division 228 in Pocatello, Idaho, Brother McDermott served as General Chairman of the BLET’s Union Pacific-Utah/Idaho Seniority District General Committee of Adjustment (predecessor of today’s UP-Western Region GCA) from the early 1970s until his retirement in 1982. Some of the agreements he negotiated as General Chairman are the basis of contracts still in effect today.
McDermott hired out with the Union Pacific in 1941 as a fireman, and was one of the last locomotive engineers qualified to operate steam locomotives on the Utah-Idaho Seniority District. During World War II, McDermott operated steam locomotives for the U.S. Army as part of the 746th Railway Battalion. During his time in the European Theater, he ran trains over the Rhine and into Germany. McDermott was involved in the Battle of the Ruhr where Allied Forces captured a staggering number of Nazi soldiers.
McDermott is a third-generation locomotive engineer, following in the footsteps of his father Peter James McDermott Jr. and grandfather Peter James McDermott Sr. Both men were BLET members, and his Grandfather was a founding member of Division 228 when it was chartered on August 6, 1883.
Retired UP-WR General Chairman Tim Donnigan said McDermott “remains vibrant with a sharp mind and incredible memory. He’s had a few health challenges, but he’s still sharp as ever.”
Brother McDermott was the focus of a feature story recently published by the Idaho State Journal. More information about Brother McDermott, including anecdotes of his military career, can be found here.
