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GySgt David R. Marcussen
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Marine Col Jefferson J Deblanc.
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Last Address Lockport
Date of Passing Dec 06, 2007
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After service with VMF-112, served with VMF-422 in Central Pacific and Okinawa campaigns. Following active duty served in the Marine Corps Reserves (1946-1972) attaining the grade of Colonel. Served as CO for MARTG-18 at NAS New Orleans. Principle post-war career involved education, serving as a secondary school physics, electronics and math teacher. Instructed in the Department of Defense (DoD) International Schools system in Brunsum, Holland (1974-1979). Continues education activity with Saint Martinville, LA school system. Military service awards include: Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross, Air Medal, and the Purple Heart. Active in community affairs with many organizations.
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NY Times December 6, 2007 Jefferson DeBlanc, Hero Pilot, Dies at 86 By RICHARD GOLDSTEIN Jefferson J. DeBlanc, a World War II fighter pilot who was awarded the Medal of Honor for shooting down five Japanese planes on a single day while running out of fuel, died Nov. 22 in Lafayette, La. He was 86 and lived St. Martinville, La..
The cause was complications of pneumonia, said his daughter, Barbara DeBlanc Romero.
On Jan. 31, 1943, Mr. DeBlanc, then a lieutenant in the Marines, took off from Guadalcanal in his Wildcat fighter, leading a six-plane section of Marine Fighting Squadron 112. They were assigned to protect dive bombers and torpedo planes attacking Japanese ships off the island of Kolombangara, in the Solomons chain.
Mr. DeBlanc became embroiled in a furious air battle as Japanese planes pounced on the American aircraft. His fighter was using fuel at an unexpectedly rapid rate and he could have returned to his base, but he pressed his attacks.
"We needed all the guns we could get up there to escort those dive bombers," he told The Times-Picayune of New Orleans in a 1999 interview. "I figured if I run out of gas, I run out of gas. I figured I could survive a bailout. You've got to live with your conscience. And my conscience told me to go ahead."
In the span of a few minutes, he shot down five Japanese planes, but soon afterward his fighter was hit by enemy aircraft fire that knocked his watch from his wrist, peppered him with shrapnel and set his plane afire.
He parachuted into the ocean, then swam for some six hours, making it ashore at Japanese-occupied Kolombangara. He hoped to steal a Japanese Zero fighter and fly it to Guadalcanal, but after resting for several days in an abandoned hut, he was seized by a group of tribesmen who poked at his sunburned skin, fascinated at how it turned white when prodded by their sticks.
"I could see myself in the pot," he recalled long afterward.
He was placed in a bamboo cage and heard the beating of drums, seemingly the transmission of messages to tribal elders seeking word on how to deal with him.
The next day, deliverance arrived. Another tribesman was carrying a gift for his captors.
"This guy came in and threw down a 10-pound sack of rice, which he stole from the Japanese," Mr. DeBlanc remembered in a 2000 interview with The Advocate in Baton Rouge, La. "He threw it down at their feet, and they picked it up and let me go. From then on, I felt safe."
His rescuer was affiliated with the coast watchers, mainly Australians and Pacific islanders who spied on Japanese plane and ship movements in the Solomons and helped rescue downed Allied pilots. Mr. DeBlanc was taken to a nearby island by islanders who were sympathetic to the Americans, and a United States Navy patrol plane picked him up.
Mr. DeBlanc, who had shot down three Japanese bombers off Guadalcanal the previous fall, later downed another Japanese plane off Okinawa, giving him nine "kills" in the war.
President Harry S. Truman presented him with the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest award for valor, on Dec. 6, 1946. Recounting Mr. DeBlanc's exploits off Kolombangara, the citation said that he had "remained on the scene despite a rapidly diminishing fuel supply" and had waged "a valiant battle against terrific odds."
Mr. DeBlanc, a native of Lockport, La., left active military service after the war, received a doctorate in education from McNeese State University and taught mathematics and science in St. Martinville. He retired from the Marines in 1972 as a colonel in the Reserves.
In addition to his daughter, he is survived by his sons, Jefferson Jr., of Church Point, La.; Richard, of Coteau Holmes, La.; Frank, of St. Martinville; and Michael, of Parks, La.; seven grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. His wife, Louise, died in 2005.
Examining diaries left behind by coast watchers, Mr. DeBlanc eventually learned the identity of the man who had saved him. He returned to the Solomons in May 2000 to thank the rescuer, Atitao Lodukolo. Mr. Lodukolo was a frail 95 years old by then, getting around with the aid of a walking stick.
Mr. DeBlanc and Mr. Lodukolo posed together for a video camera, and then they exchanged salutes in a final farewell.
"How about that?" Mr. DeBlanc remarked later. "That's full circle."
Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 122 (VMFA-122) is a United States Marine Corps fighter attack squadron flying the F-35B Lightning II. The squadron is based out of Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, AZ and falls under the command of Marine Aircraft Group 13 (MAG-13) and the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing (3rd MAW). In December 2016, VMFA-122 officially became known as the "Flying Lethernecks.” Yet another name change was ordered at this time as their fate to transition to F-35B neared, and paired with it higher visibility and the concern to not offend anyone using the otherwise rich-in-history name “Crusader.” Their traditional radio call sign is "Nickel". On November 14, 2017, VMFA-122 opened a new chapter of their history, transitioning from the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18C Hornet to the Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II and moving from MCAS Beaufort and MAG-31, 2nd MAW to MCAS Yuma and MAG-13, 3rd MAW.
Best Moment MARINE FIGHTER ATTACK SQUADRON 122 ?The Crusaders?
Marine Fighter Squadron 122 was commissioned on 1 March 1942 at Camp Kearny, California. Originally the ?Candystripers?, the squadron was organized and trained under its FIRST Commanding Officer, Major I. I. Brackett.
Outfitted with the F4F ?Wildcat,? the squadron embarked on its FIRST combat tour in October 1942. Throughout 1942-43, the squadron conducted combat operations on Espiritu Santo, at Henderson Field, Guadacanal, and during the Rendova and Munda campaigns.
During April 1943, under the command of Major ?Pappy? Boyington, VMF-122 transitioned to the F4U-1 ?Corsair?, and accounted for 35½ kills. The squadron ended its first combat tour, returning to Miramar, California in August 1943.
Embarking on the USS HOLLANDIA for its second combat deployment during July 1944, the squadron was outfitted with new Goodyear F4G-1A aircraft. The ?Candystripers? operated from Peleliu Air Facility, conducting combat operations over Yap, Palau Islands, Pulo Anna, Eomegan, and Abappaomegan. Their last combat mission of the war was a strike on Korror on 1 Aug 1945.
The squadron remained at Peleliu until reporting to MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina in February 1946.
Deactivated between July and October 1946, VMF-122 was reactivated and received the FH-1 ?Phantom? in November 1947, becoming the FIRST Marine Squadron to employ jet-propelled aircraft. Using the FH-1 the squadron formed the Marine?s FIRST and ONLY aerial demonstration team, the Marine Phantoms? or ?Flying Leathernecks?. This group toured the country for almost two years, and disbanded with the introduction of F2H-2 ?Banshee?. Assigned to USS ORISKANY, VMF-122 became the FIRST Marine jet squadron to be both day and night qualified for carrier operations.
In July 1952, the squadron transitioned to the F9F-4 ?Panther?. Later equipped with the more powerful F9F-5 the deployed aboard the USS CORAL SEA. Following the Mediterranean Sea cruise in 1953, the squadron was assigned to MAG-24 at MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina.
In January 1954, VMF-122 was the FIRST Marine Squadron equipped with the FJ-2 ?Fury?. With a change of aircraft, the squadron adopted the distinctive Candystriper insignia and tail markings. VMF-122 became the FIRST Navy or Marine squadron to carrier qualify in the ?Fury? while preparing for another cruise aboard the USS CORAL SEA. Upon completion of the cruise, the squadron returned to Cherry Point and reequipped with the FJ-3. From September 1955 through December 1956 the squadron took part in several mini-deployments aboard the USS FORRESTAL and USS SARATOGA.
VMF-122 relocated to MCAS Beaufort, SC in September 1957. In December 1957 the squadron became the fastest squadron in the Marine Corps with delivery of the FIRST F8U-1?s (F-8A) ?Crusader? by Chance-Vought. A new patch was designed to go with the new aircraft and VMF-122 officially became know as the ?Crusaders?. In September 1959,VMF-122 became the FIRST Marine F8U squadron to qualify aboard a carrier, the USS INDEPENDENCE. In December 1959, while searching ?second hand? shops in lower Manhattan, Lieutenant Desmond F. Browne procured the most famous ?Crusader?, Mach-Altus I.
In October 1962, the ?Crusaders received the F-8E aircraft, and was designated All Weather (AW) capable. The squadron deployed to Key West, Florida during the Cuban missile crisis, setting strip alert and flying combat air patrols until December 1962.
During 1964, the Crusaders deployed to Atsugi, Japan for one year, returning to MCAS El Toro, California in January 1965. At El Toro, VMF(AW) 122 transitioned to the F-4B ?Phantom? and was designated Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 122. VMFA-122 deployed to the Republic of Vietnam in August 1967, operating from Da Nang Air Base. The ?Crusaders? flew their FIRST combat sorties on 1 September 1967. For the next five months the squadron flew 2540 sorties and delivered 4800 tons of ordnance. In February 1968, supporting the Khe Sahn siege, the squadron accrued 745 flight hours during 629 combat sorties and dropped 1300 tons of ordnance. VMFA-122 rotated to MCAS Iwakuni, Japan in September 1968, returning to Vietnam in the summer of 1969, at Marine Air Base Chu Lai.
Following a distinguished combat record, the ?Crusaders? were assigned to MCAS Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii in September 1970. The ?Crusaders? were then ordered to MCAS Iwakuni, Japan as a Joint Chiefs of Staff directive to counter a North Vietnamese offensive against South Vietnam. The squadron returned to Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii on 27 December 1972.
On 14 August 1974, VMFA-122 was placed in a CADRE status in anticipation of becoming the Marine Corps? FIRST F-14A squadron. With the decision not to accept the ?Tomcat? into the Marine Corps inventory, VMFA-122 was reactivated at MCAS Beaufort, South Carolina and refitted with the F-4J. On 25 September 1985, VMFA-122 flew its last F-4 sortie, completing 20 years of service as a F-4 ?Phantom? squadron.
On 22 January 1986, the ?Crusaders? began a new era withthe acceptance of its first F/A-18A ?Hornet?.
Throughout the 1980?s, 1990?s, and into the 2000?s VMFA-122 conducted multiple training deployments to Europe and throughout the United States. In October 2001, the ?Crusaders? increased their combat capabilities by transitioning to the F/A18C. The squadron participated in the Unit Deployment Program (UDP), completing eleven deployments to the Western Pacific. In January 2005 the ?Crusaders? continued the UDP rotation, deploying to Iwakuni, Japan, an adventure which this cruisebook hopes to record.
