[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 132 (Thursday, October 19, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1851]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           HONORING RETIRED WARRANT OFFICER JAMES BLACKSTONE

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. RALPH M. HALL

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 19, 2000

  Mr. HALL of Texas. Mr. Speaker, next month we will again pay tribute 
to our nation's veterans, and today I have the privilege of honoring 
one in particular--James Blackstone of Terrell, TX, a retired Warrant 
Officer of the United States Navy. James enlisted in the Navy in June, 
1934, and retired in 1954. His experiences span the globe--and form 
part of the fabric of our nation's history.
  James volunteered for service in China in 1934 and was granted 
assignment to the USS Sacramento, a seagoing gunboat. His boat rotated 
coastal patrol duty along the China coast from the Gulf of Chihli to 
the South China Sea. In 1938 he was assigned duty on the USS Jacob 
Jones, stationed in Villa Franc, France, and in 1939 he was assigned to 
a new class Destroyer, which was ordered to search and destroy German 
submarines and their bases on our side of the Atlantic. The next two 
years his ship was assigned convoy duty, where James served until 
shortly before the declaration of war in 1941.
  In 1942 James was chosen to spend four months in diesel engine 
school--to train for a new class of diesel-powered ships that 
represented a great departure from traditional steam propulsion. James 
graduated at the top of his class and emerged as a leader. He was 
assigned to the Navy Yard in Vallejo, CA, where a new ship, the USS 
Clamp ARS-33 was under construction. It was a diesel-electric powered 
Auxiliary Rescue and Salvage Vessel. As Chief Motor Machinist Mate, 
Warrant Officer, James sketched in detail every part of the ship's 
engineering plant and oversaw its construction.
  The Clamp at long last went to sea, its destination the Ellice 
Islands. The ship was the flagship of the salvage fleet. James 
participated in the invasion of Tarawa. He remembers being at Midway, 
Kwajalein, Eniwetock, Majuro, Ulithi and the Philippines. His ship 
arrived at Saipan on July 4, 1943, where James and the crew inspected 
and cleared a number of Japanese ships that were sunk during the 
invasion.
  On February 19, 1945, the Clamp was part of the fleet that invaded 
Iwo Jima. ``Even for the battle hardened veterans that thought they had 
seen it all, the battle for the island of Iwo Jima was the most gut 
wrenching of all that had gone before,'' James recalls. ``The sight of 
our flag being raised on that mountain top was the most overwhelming, 
emotional feeling that I have ever experienced in my lifetime.''
  The Clamp departed Iwo Jima some days after the flag raising and 
arrived at Kerama Retto, about 15 miles from Okinawa in preparation for 
the invasion. The following days and nights were the longest in his 
memory, he recalls. Attacks from suicide bombers and suicide boats were 
a constant threat. The memories of specific episodes James would rather 
not dwell on.
  Okinawa and the Atolls of Kerama Retto were virtually secure when the 
Clamp received orders to return to Pearl Harbor in preparation for the 
invasion of Japan. On arrival, they were directed to proceed to a 
shipyard in Portland, Oregon--where James would meet up again with the 
``love of his life,'' Virginia, who was working in a defense plant in 
Seattle.
  James and Virginia quickly married and enjoyed a ``fifty-year love 
life, short of 3 months,'' James says. Virginia died in 1995, and it is 
evident that James misses her greatly. James resigned his commission 
for two months following the War--but was not happy. He reenlisted as a 
chief petty officer and handled responsibilities of an officer until 
his retirement in 1954. In 1956 he applied for work with the General 
Services Administration, Design and Construction Division, Public 
Buildings Service. He started work as a mechanical-electrical engineer 
and retired in 1973.
  James is now in his 80's and has taken the time to record his 
enlisted experiences and to share those with me. He has lived a life of 
integrity and has fought the good fight. He is a man of honor who was 
devoted to his country, to his fellow citizens, and to his wife. In 
short, Mr. Speaker, James Blackstone is a great American and a real 
American hero--and I am proud to call him my friend and to honor him 
today.

                          ____________________