This Military Service Page was created/owned by
Lee Braswell (SBTS Writer)-Historian
to remember
Blackburn, John Thomas, F1c.
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Casualty Info
Home Town Columbus
Last Address Columbus, OH
Casualty Date Dec 07, 1941
Cause KIA-Body Not Recovered
Reason Torpedoed
Location Hawaii
Conflict World War II
Location of Interment Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial - Honolulu, Hawaii
Fireman/1c John T. Blackburn was Killed in Action on December 7, 1941, during the attack on Pearl Harbor. He was stationed aboard the USS Utah AG-16.
Comments/Citation:
John Thomas “Jack” Blackburn was born 7 January 1920 in Columbus, Ohio to Thomas Clyde and Jessie Eylor (Rose) Blackburn. He had one brother and one sister; he was the youngest child. His father was a railroad brakeman. Jack enlisted in the Navy on 6 October 1939 and was aboard the USS Utah by December of that year as a Fireman First Class.
Shortly after 8 am on 7 December 1941, a torpedo struck the port side of the USS Utah (AG-16) while moored at Berth FOX-11 in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The Utah, a former battleship, had been converted to a target ship to train gunners on various anti-aircraft guns.
Just before the first torpedo hit, the crew on board the USS Utah had sighted incoming aircraft and presumed them to be the American planes expected for training exercises. When the crew realized they were enemy aircraft, orders were given for all personnel to move to bombing quarters. The first torpedo strike caused serious flooding and the ship began to list to port. When a second torpedo hit in the same area, the list grew more severe. Then the ship’s officers ordered all personnel to the starboard side, awaiting imminent capsize. Those who made it to the upper decks abandoned ship under orders and had to deal with aerial bombardment from aircraft. At 8:12 am, the USS Utah had completely capsized as personnel swam to Ford Island. When it was all over, 58 of the USS Utah’s crew lost their lives and 461 survived.
F1c John Thomas Blackburn (Service Number 3812894) is listed as Missing as Action and remains unaccounted for. He is memorialized by a cenotaph on his parent’s grave marker at the Otterbein Cemetery in Westerville, Franklin County, Ohio. F1c Blackburn is also memorialized at the USS Utah Memorial in Pearl Harbor and his name is inscribed on a wall within the Courts of the Missing in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, located in Honolulu, Hawaii. He received a Purple Heart, the Combat Action Ribbon, the American Defense Service Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, and the WW II Victory Medal for his service.
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Lee Braswell - Contributing Author, Stories Behind the Stars
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