thedrifter
09-18-06, 07:03 AM
Marines to honor fallen one
Reserve site to bear Blecksmith's name
By Janette Williams Staff Writer
Pasadena Star-News
PASADENA - This Veterans Day, two years to the day after 2nd Lt. James "JP" Blecksmith's family heard he'd been killed in action in Iraq, the Marines will pay permanent tribute to one of their own.
At 10 a.m. Nov. 11, Pasadena's Marine Corps Reserve Center will be renamed in his memory.
"It keeps him alive. Every time we drive by we'll see `Blecksmith Hall,"' said his father, Ed Blecksmith. "JP went to Iraq with his eyes wide open, knowing full well he was going to be in harm's way. ... This is a wonderful vehicle to honor our son, honor his memory and honor what he was doing. It's a tribute to his heroism and leadership."
JP Blecksmith, 24, died in the Fallujah area when a bullet, possibly fired by a sniper, hit outside the left shoulder of his flak jacket. Either the bullet or a shard of bone punctured his heart, the family was told.
It was Bill Creedon, former president of the Pasadena Council of the Navy League, who first suggested dedicating the unnamed depot to JP Blecksmith.
"Bill Creedon called me, ran it by me, I was flabbergasted - we both ended up crying and he said, let me call you tomorrow," Ed Blecksmith said. "It was very touching."
Creedon called JP Blecksmith "an exceptional young man" deserving of the honor.
"He was the first member of his class at the U.S. Naval Academy to give his life" in Iraq, Creedon said. "He had deep roots in the community; he died leading Marines in combat; it was a heroic death. ... Any death is tragic, but it's appropriate that his be memorialized."
Blecksmith's family wants to ensure their son's sacrifice is not the only one remembered, said Todd Moore, president of the Navy Council in Pasadena.
"We're planning a memorial to all Marines from our area killed in Iraq and Afghanistan in the grounds of the Marine center," paid for by the JP Blecksmith Foundation, Moore said. "The family wanted a fitting tribute to all of them ... It's the only active \ in the San Gabriel Valley and we wanted to reach out to the whole area."
Nine Marines from the San Gabriel Valley, including Blecksmith, have been killed in Iraq.
For now, plans are to put a plaque with JP Blecksmith's picture in bronze and his name on the building, Moore said.
Lt. Col. Mike Lee, battalion inspector-instructor at the Marine Corps Reserve Center in Pasadena, served in Iraq; although he never knew JP Blecksmith, Lee said he knows the honor is deserved.
"I left before he arrived, but we were part of the same regular combat team, so I have an affinity for these units," Lee said. "I think we need our heroes too, and JP is the epitome of that.
"Today, \ are not recognized like in past wars. It was common in World War II, even in Vietnam, to read about these actions on the front page. This is a nameless, faceless war except for the casualty list.
"But all those on the list are more than names and numbers. They made a commitment and they lived up to it, and that's a pretty heroic thing."
janette.williams@sgvn.com
(626) 578-6300, Ext. 4482
Ellie
Reserve site to bear Blecksmith's name
By Janette Williams Staff Writer
Pasadena Star-News
PASADENA - This Veterans Day, two years to the day after 2nd Lt. James "JP" Blecksmith's family heard he'd been killed in action in Iraq, the Marines will pay permanent tribute to one of their own.
At 10 a.m. Nov. 11, Pasadena's Marine Corps Reserve Center will be renamed in his memory.
"It keeps him alive. Every time we drive by we'll see `Blecksmith Hall,"' said his father, Ed Blecksmith. "JP went to Iraq with his eyes wide open, knowing full well he was going to be in harm's way. ... This is a wonderful vehicle to honor our son, honor his memory and honor what he was doing. It's a tribute to his heroism and leadership."
JP Blecksmith, 24, died in the Fallujah area when a bullet, possibly fired by a sniper, hit outside the left shoulder of his flak jacket. Either the bullet or a shard of bone punctured his heart, the family was told.
It was Bill Creedon, former president of the Pasadena Council of the Navy League, who first suggested dedicating the unnamed depot to JP Blecksmith.
"Bill Creedon called me, ran it by me, I was flabbergasted - we both ended up crying and he said, let me call you tomorrow," Ed Blecksmith said. "It was very touching."
Creedon called JP Blecksmith "an exceptional young man" deserving of the honor.
"He was the first member of his class at the U.S. Naval Academy to give his life" in Iraq, Creedon said. "He had deep roots in the community; he died leading Marines in combat; it was a heroic death. ... Any death is tragic, but it's appropriate that his be memorialized."
Blecksmith's family wants to ensure their son's sacrifice is not the only one remembered, said Todd Moore, president of the Navy Council in Pasadena.
"We're planning a memorial to all Marines from our area killed in Iraq and Afghanistan in the grounds of the Marine center," paid for by the JP Blecksmith Foundation, Moore said. "The family wanted a fitting tribute to all of them ... It's the only active \ in the San Gabriel Valley and we wanted to reach out to the whole area."
Nine Marines from the San Gabriel Valley, including Blecksmith, have been killed in Iraq.
For now, plans are to put a plaque with JP Blecksmith's picture in bronze and his name on the building, Moore said.
Lt. Col. Mike Lee, battalion inspector-instructor at the Marine Corps Reserve Center in Pasadena, served in Iraq; although he never knew JP Blecksmith, Lee said he knows the honor is deserved.
"I left before he arrived, but we were part of the same regular combat team, so I have an affinity for these units," Lee said. "I think we need our heroes too, and JP is the epitome of that.
"Today, \ are not recognized like in past wars. It was common in World War II, even in Vietnam, to read about these actions on the front page. This is a nameless, faceless war except for the casualty list.
"But all those on the list are more than names and numbers. They made a commitment and they lived up to it, and that's a pretty heroic thing."
janette.williams@sgvn.com
(626) 578-6300, Ext. 4482
Ellie