Colonel Donald Blakeslee

Guest Entry: Today, I invited my good friend Howard Brandt to blog about his former Commanding Officer.


In March of 1951 I was called to active duty with the 131st Fighter Wing Missouri Air National Guard. We were sent to Bergstrom Air Force Base in Austin Texas... I was assigned as an Aircraft Records Clerk with the 110th Fighter Squadron. Two other Squadrons made up our fighter wing, the 170th from Springfield Illinois and the 92nd from Reno Nevada.
Our fighter aircraft were P 51s. My job was to keep track of when the parts needed to be changed. It was said that we would be headed to Korea for close ground support for the troops. Apparently the P51s could fly slower than the Jets and stay on target longer.
Shortly after our arrival at Bergstrom another wing showed up, The 27th Fighter Wing, just back from Korea. They immediately put up a sign. “THE 27TH FIGHTER WING JUST FAMOUS” They were equipped with F 84 Republic Thunderstreaks, the Wing Commander Was Col. Donald Blakeslee.
Now everybody had heard about Blakeslee, a Spitfire pilot with the Eagle Squadron, at least a triple Ace in WWII, flying P 47s and P51 and two Distinguished Flying Crosses.
Shortly after the 27th arrived we were all sent to George Air Force Base in Victorville California. Even though my desk was in the hangar only about 50 feet from Blakeslee’s office, he never spoke a word to me. I was only a corporal at the time and not very far up the chain of command, but it became apparent that Blakeslee was the guy in charge.
The scuttlebutt had it that Blakeslee was a two fisted guy literally and if he had used a little more discretion in his relations with other officers he would have probably been a general. The Fighter pilots in those days were not noted for using discretion. My counterpart in the 170th said that he heard that Blakeslee had an altercation with a former Marine Pilot in the 170th (Probably after some libations at the officers club.) Apparently Blakeslee was not an officer to hold a grudge and as far as I know the other pilot suffered no chastisement of any kind.
I must point out that there were a number of fist fights among these fighter pilots so Blakeslee was not alone. It might be said that it was a trait of the profession at the time.We never did go to Korea. About the time when we were deemed combat ready (Air Combat that is.) the stalemate was reached at the 38th Parallel.

Arthur S. Lawrence

Guest Entry: Today, I invited my wife Suzanne to blog about her grandfather.

Today when we visited my parents I found out that my dad’s father, my Grandpa Lawrence, was in the army in the 1930’s. Though my dad swore I knew this already, I don’t remember ever having been told this. Regardless, it came as a surprise to me to find out that he served in Hawaii for some of that time. My surprise came from the fact that a couple years ago I read From Here to Eternity by James Jones, the book that the famous movie was based on. Contained in that book are descriptions, often very explicit, about the life of a common infantry soldier in Hawaii before the outbreak of WWII. I didn’t know at the time that I was reading about my grandpa!
Before the war, the lot of the soldier was especially harsh. Many of the men that enlisted, including my grandpa, were desperate for food, shelter, & clothes. The army gave them all that, but in return it exacted a harsh price—brutal beatings, harsh punishments, & complete obedience. Obviously, my grandpa made it through to meet & marry my grandma & live the American Dream, complete with building a business from the ground up & watching it flourish. But knowing this now, & knowing what it entails, I feel as though I know my grandpa like I never would have been able to when he was alive.