In Honor of Jacob (Jack) Blanton

Floor Speech

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Mr. BARR. Madam Speaker, I rise to honor the life of a patriotic American, Jacob (Jack) Blanton, on the occasion of his 102nd birthday. His life story exemplifies true American spirit, determination, and love for our country.

Mr. Blanton was born on March 25, 1920, in Brooklyn, New York. His father, Silas Blanton, a native Kentuckian, had been serving in the US coastal defense in New York before WWI where he met a young German immigrant working as a nanny. They married and eventually moved their family to Kentucky when the burgeoning coal mines in Eastern Kentucky began aggressively recruiting miners. Jack grew up during the depression and the tumultuous years of union conflict in Harlan County.

Mr. Blanton was in high school when WWII broke out. He volunteered for the Army Air Corp to become an airplane mechanic. He went to school at Long Beach, CA, for Douglas Aircraft A-20 planes. After his training he was sent to Asia, where he served in the 348th Night Fighters and also worked on Cargo Transport planes C54 and C47 that flew personnel and supplies over the Hump, the Himalayan Mountains. He was promoted to Tech Sergeant and became Crew Chief for the Douglas A-20.

Following the war, Mr. Blanton married his high school sweetheart, who had gone to Washington, D.C., after high school where she worked for the FBI. They went on to raise four children in Lynch, KY where Jack was a Boy Scout master, Sunday School teacher at the Lynch Methodist Church, little league baseball coach, and a member of the Masonic Lodge. He retired from United States Steel as a mine foreman in 1980. He and his wife then moved to London, KY, to be with his elderly mother. He lost the love of his life to a heart attack three days before 9/11.

Mr. Blanton continues to live independently in London where he still raises a garden and takes care of his home and property, even at 102 years old. He takes tremendous pride in having all four of his children pursue college, with two earning advanced degrees. He is a Christian and attended Liberty Baptist Church in London. He is also an unabashed patriot with an undeterred determination to vote in the next Presidential election.

It is my honor to recognize Mr. Blanton, celebrate his 102nd birthday and thank him for his service and sacrifice to our nation during World War II. As a part of The Greatest Generation, Mr. Blanton and his fellow soldiers fought to preserve the freedoms that we enjoy today, and we can never thank them enough. I am forever grateful for Americans like Jack Blanton.

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