[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 53 (Thursday, March 24, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E297]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    IN HONOR OF JACOB (JACK) BLANTON

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. ANDY BARR

                              of kentucky

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 24, 2022

  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.

                          ____________________