THE WALL OF FACES

CAPTAIN


JAMES LISMAN BLACKWELL JR.


WAS A DISTINGUISHED GRADUATE OF THE

UNITED STATES MILITARY ACADEMY

AT WEST POINT, NEW YORK

IN THE CLASS OF 1963


WHO WAS SERVING WITH THE

2nd BATTALION

28th INFANTRY

1st INFANTRY DIVISION


" THE BIG RED ONE "


AT THE TIME OF

HIS UNTIMELY DEATH

ON 17 OCTOBER 1967


HE WAS A POSTHUMOUS RECIPIENT OF THE

BRONZE STAR MEDAL with ' V ' for VALOR device

BRONZE STAR MEDAL

PURPLE HEART




~~~ DUTY - HONOR - COUNTRY ~~~





~~~ THE LONG GRAY LINE ~~~





YOU ARE NOT FORGOTTEN

NOR SHALL YOU EVER BE

From our first meeting during "Beast Barracks" or Plebe Summer Training, I noticed that Jim Blackwell was an unusual guy, not the run-of-the-mill Cadet. The "Snake" as his close friends called him was busy all the time. Academics did not come easy to him, but rather than spending extra time with the textbooks, he found a greater satisfaction pursuing his many extra-curricular activities, like Sunday School Teacher, Dialectic Society, and helping assemble our "Howitzer" yearbook, and those hobbies demanded almost as much time as studying. During our harsh winters, his happiness was directly proportional to the thickness of snow on the ski slopes. He always liked being with people, making new friends and just being one of the gang. No matter what problems were encountered, he solved them all his way and on Graduation Day, there he was, receiving his diploma with the rest of us. By just doing his thing, Snake gained an education and became a professional soldier while having a blast for 4 full years. I never saw him again after Graduation Day as I had to return to the Philippines and serve in a different Army. We were both stationed in Vietnam at the same time, but our paths never crossed. I never learned about his death until many, many years later. I lost only a friend and classmate but America lost a fine officer and a true hero.