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Blackburn, John Thomas, CAPT.
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Contact Info
Home Town District of Columbia
Last Address Jacksonville, Florida
Date of Passing Jun 01, 1994
Location of Interment Arlington National Cemetery (VLM) - Arlington, Virginia
John Thomas Blackburn, 81, decorated World War II fighter pilot and air squadron Commander, died of cancer March 21, 1994 in Jacksonville, Florida. The son and younger brother of Naval officers, he was born and grew up in the District.
He attended the old Western High School and graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1933. In 1943, took command of fighter squadron VF-17, the first to fly an F-4U Corsair fighter plane in combat. Known as the Jolly Rogers, squadron was among the most famous of the war. Under his command, the squadron downed 155 Japanese airplanes in 76 days and produced 13 aces in the process. He himself shot down 13 enemy planes. He was awarded the Navy Cross and the Distinguished Flying Cross for his war service.
He served at Pentagon after the war and commanded the aircraft carrier Midway in 1958 and 1959. He retired from the Navy in 1962.
In 1989, he published "The Jolly Rogers," an account of his squadron's exploits during its campaign in the Solomon Islands.
His marriage to Rosalie Reed of the District ended in divorce. Survivors include his wife, Jane Brashears of Jacksonville; a daughter, a son, and 5 grandchildren. Services will be held at Arlington National Cemetery.
Other Comments:
To view award citations, click on the ribbons in the Ribbon Bar.
Treasury-Bougainville Operation/Battle of Empress Augusta Bay
From Month/Year
November / 1943
To Month/Year
November / 1943
Description The Battle of Empress Augusta Bay, on 1–2 November 1943—also known as the Battle of Gazelle Bay, Operation Cherry Blossom, and in Japanese sources as the Sea Battle off Bougainville Island was a naval battle fought near the island of Bougainville. The naval battle was a result of Allied landings on nearby Bougainville in the first action in the Bougainville campaign of World War II and may also be seen as part of the Solomons and New Guinea campaigns. The battle was significant as part of a broader Allied strategy—known as Operation Cartwheel—aimed at isolating and surrounding the major Imperial base at Rabaul. The intention was to establish a beachhead on Bougainville, within which an airfield would be built.
On 1 November 1943, the U.S. 3rd Marine Division landed at Cape Torokina in Empress Augusta Bay. The bay had been chosen because it was at the outer limit of Allied fighter plane range, and because the numerically-superior Japanese 17th Army was concentrated at other, more strategic sites in the north and the south. The Marines were backed by Task Force 39, composed of cruisers and destroyers, commanded by Rear Admiral Aaron S. "Tip" Merrill.
My Participation in This Battle or Operation
From Month/Year
November / 1943
To Month/Year
November / 1943
Last Updated: Mar 16, 2020
Personal Memories
Memories Nov. 11 - Battle of the Solomon Sea, Reunion on Bunker Hill On the 9th Blackburn and Duke Henning flew to Munda for a ComAirSols briefing. While the Rabaul raid of the 5th had crippled several Jap naval vessels, the brass still feared an enemy surface attack against the Torokina beachhead. Another strike was proposed for the 11th, this time with five carriers. Once again AirSols would be tasked with providing fighter protection for the carriers, because the carrier fighters would be escorting the strike. To provide maximum fighter protection while the carrier aircraft were away, twelve land-based fighters would refuel and re-arm on each of three carriers (24 Corsairs of VF-17 and 12 Segi-based Hellcats). Blackburn enthusiastically confirmed that his Corsair pilots could still make carrier landings, noting that they had qualified on tiny jeep carriers. "An Essex-class with plenty of wind would be a piece of cake." Once back at Ondongo, the ground crews re-installed the tailhooks and checked out the landing gear. The night was clear and pitch-black for the 0420 take-off. On schedule, they arrived over the carriers. As dawn broke, the fliers saw the beautiful sight of three carriers with their long white wakes trailing behind and with nine destroyers deployed around them in a two-mile circle. After an hour's circling, the Hogs were directed to intercept a single bogey coming in from the northwest. It was a single Ki-61 Tony; Blackburn's flight intercepted and he flamed it. More circling, then the carriers below turned into the wind and launched their strike planes. At length some Marine F4Us arrive to relieve VF-17, which could land on the carriers.
It was an exciting moment for Blackburn as Bunker Hill signalled "P C" ("Prep Charlie," meaning 'prepare to land'), then a single "C" - "Land!" At 0830, his flight executed perfect touch-downs, as did Hedrick's flight on Essex. While the Corsairs were serviced, the VF-17 pilots enjoyed a brief reunion with their shipmates as well as a delicious Navy breakfast: good coffee, fresh grapefruit, real eggs, steaks, more of anything, all served courteously on white tablecloths. In two hours, they were back in the air.
His radio transmitter promptly crapped out and he turned over command of his flight to Chuck Pillsbury. Three other planes had engine troubles and Chuck sent them home. At 1300, Essex's radar picked up bogies - only 30 miles out and closing fast. The Corsairs went after them; Blackburn heard "Tallyho! Thirty Zekes. Twenty-fivXevalXs. Eleven o'clock." Those were the last intelligible transmissions he heard; soon the fighter channel was jammed with rebel yells, war whoops, "Look at that flamer!" "Wow!" and other junk transmissions. (Lack of radio discipline was one of Blackburn's pet peeves.) Another confusing, wild, twisting, gut-wrenching dogfight ensued. Suddenly six Tonys were all over Blackburn, who jumped into the nearest cloud. He circled inside it long enough to get his heart rate and blood pressure down, then nosed out of it. BAM! BAM! BAM! He was hit! An agonized Rog Hedrick pulled up alongside to see how badly he had shot up his boss. He and his plane were okay but by now all were low on fuel. They headed for the barn.
The other pilots continued the fight and when the day was over VF-17 scored 18.5 confirmed kills; Ike Kepford had an especially exciting and rewarding day. Overall, the U.S. raid on Rabaul of Nov. 11 was decisive; the Japs lost 137 warplanes and suffered further damage to their ships in Rabaul's Simpson Harbor. They never again based large warships there.
Through the end of November, the Jolly Rogers kept flying from their base at Ondongo. During this time Lts. Halford and Kleinman, the weary Guadalcanal veterans, were sent home, Brad Baker and Chuck Pillsbury were MIA (presumed dead), and Butch Davenport skillfully managed the rescue of Lt. Anderson.
Starting on December 2nd, Fighting-17 enjoyed two weeks of R&R in Australia. Bacchus and Eros were well-honored. On the 15th, they went to Espiritu Santo for re-fit and re-organize. They welcomed Bobby Mims and Oc Chenoweth, while Lem Cooke and Jack Chasnoff departed. It was also announced that they would set up shop at a new forward base on Bougainville.
Toward the end of their stay at Espiritu Santo, they realized they had a problem - 148 cases of beer they had acquired. Transport by ship was out of the question; it would be a 100% loss. Finally Hal Jackson, the scrounger, figured that the roomy ammunition cans inside the F4Us could hold a lot of beer. A little arithmetic indicated that if each of the Corsairs carried one-third of its ammo capacity, the beer could fit in the remaining space. Blackburn confirmed that 24 Corsairs, thus armed, could deal with any possible Jap opposition. When they arrived at Bougainville, each pilot gave his plane captain a can opener and invited him to have a cold one.