Jefferson W. Speck
| Jefferson W. Speck | |
|---|---|
| Born |
December 24, 1916 Mississippi County Arkansas, USA |
| Died | January 30, 1993 (aged 76) Kerrville, Kerr County Texas |
| Residence |
(1) Frenchman's Bayou |
| Occupation | Planter; Businessman |
| Political party | Republican gubernatorial nominee, 1950 and 1952 |
| Spouse(s) | Kilene Davies Speck |
| Children |
Jefferson D. Speck |
(1) Frenchman's Bayou
Mississippi County
Arkansas
(2) Satellite Beach
Brevard County
Florida
Jefferson D. Speck
Russell M. Speck
Jefferson W. Speck (December 24, 1916 – January 30, 1993) was a planter and businessman from Mississippi County, Arkansas, who was the Republican gubernatorial nominee in 1950 and again in 1952. He was a leader in the Dwight D. Eisenhower faction of the Arkansas party during the early 1950s.
Speck was from Frenchman's Bayou, located near the Mississippi River in eastern Arkansas. He graduated in 1939 from Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia, with degrees in electrical, mechanical, and civil engineering. He later completed his Master's degree in Electrical Engineering at Purdue University.
In the fall of 1944, as a 27-year-old United States Army captain during World War II, Speck was among more than 1,600 prisoners captured and taken aboard the Japanese passenger ship Oryoku Maru, a Hell ship. At that time, he had been a POW for about 3 years. The men as a whole suffered from dysentery and other tropical diseases as well as hunger from the meager rations provided by their captors. The thirst and hunger caused many to undergo fits of insanity. Some even bit the fingers of other prisoners for a taste of blood to satisfy thirst. The men were forced to swim from the Oryoku Maru to the POW camp at Olongapo Naval Base, where they endured the last months of the war.
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