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<i>James Blackwell, Jr., </i>joined the Class of 1963 from Evansville, IN, after a year at Rose Polytechnical Institute in Terre Haute. He brought with him a sound background in engineering, a wicked tennis serve, and a great deal of confidence in his ability to meet the challenges of West Point. Because life was too interesting to be wasted on books or little white balls, Jim soon was meeting the routine challenges with minimum effort so that he could devote most of his energy to broadening his horizons. In the restrictive atmosphere of cadet life these attempts were often in conflict with the objectives of the Tactical Department, and Jim’s horizons were limited to familiar paths across Central Area for many weeks.</p>
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He retained his spirited optimism and soon became quite an “operator,” able to achieve his goals in spite of rules unequal to his imagination. A staunch advocate of the Educational Trip Theory of academic development, Jim was a member of every group that went places and was constantly trying to form new organizations to take him to new places. He gained the most from his contributions to the Hop Committee. As Hop Manager on the First Class Trip at Fort Sill he juggled the date list to get the girl he had chosen. That not-so-blind date became his primary interest during all of First Class year, and he and Celinda were married in June of 1963.</p>
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Jim chose Armor as his branch and loved his tanks as much as he loved his sports cars. After the Armored Basic Course and Airborne School in the summer and fall of 1963, Jim joined the 24th Infantry Division in Germany. He spent more than two happy and challenging years in the 1/70th Armored Battalion advancing from tank platoon leader to company executive officer and then to company commander. His performance during this period was rewarded by assignment to positions of greater responsibility with the 24th Support and Transportation Battalion where he was both the SI and the Headquarters Company Commander. While in Germany, Jim proved to himself that he truly belonged in the Army. Before leaving the United States, Jim always told his friends he was going to Germany to be able to practice skiing, one of the sports for which he had developed great enthusiasm as a cadet. Upon arriving at his first duty station, he soon discovered that his work interested him far more than any avocation that had captured his attention in the past. He became a highly competent officer who was extremely dedicated to his mission and the welfare of his men.</p>
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After the tour in Germany, Jim and Celinda returned to Fort Knox where Jim attended the Career Course. In March 1967 their son Michael was born, and Jim’s transition from bachelor to proud father and family man was complete. This happiness was broken a few months later by orders sending Jim to Vietnam.</p>
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After Jungle Warfare School in July, Jim joined the 1st Infantry Division. He was assigned as the S2 of the 2/28th Infantry Battalion to give him an opportunity to become familiar with local operation requirements before assuming command of an Infantry company. While participating in an operation on 17 October 1967, the battalion command group was subjected to extremely heavy ground attack. In the ensuing firefight all but one member of the group was killed. Jim died as he had lived, giving all that he had. He will never be forgotten by those who knew him well.<br />
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