Frank E. Blazey
- Army
Frank Earl Blazey, Jr. passed away on June 19th, 2017 at the Life Care Center in Hendersonville, North Carolina.
He was born on October 3rd, 1924 in Fairfield Illinois, the son of Frank and Ann Burgess Blazey. Frank grew up in Fairfield, Tiskilwa, and Springfield Illinois with his sister, Ann. While at the University of Illinois, the bombing in Pearl Harbor occurred, which greatly impacted his passion to defend this country. He was accepted into United States Military Academy at West Point in June of 1943 and commissioned a Second Lieutenant in June 1946.
Before Frank deployed to Germany as an Infantry Officer, he proposed to Joy Drew, who sailed off to marry him in Munich, Germany in September 1947. They were happily married for 65 years with three children, Gay, Drew, and Frank III.
He had a sterling 29-year Army career, retiring as a Brigadier General in 1975. As a company commander during the Korean War, he received a battlefield promotion to major, the first in his West Point class to reach that grade. In 1968 during the Vietnam Tet Offensive, he served as a Brigade Commander in the 1st Division, was wounded and recovered at Walter Reed Hospital. On his second Vietnam tour, BG Blazey's helicopter was shot down and he earned a second silver star in 1971. Heroically, often under heavy fire, he earned three purple hearts, four bronze stars, and two silver stars during his military combat service.
As a leader in the Army, at the Pentagon, he was an instrumental advisor to the Army's Chief of Staff and Secretary of the Army. To support this role, he completed an executive Management Degree from the Harvard Business School. He thoroughly enjoyed serving as the Assistant Division Commander of the 82nd Airborne Division and the ROTC commander while at Fort Bragg, NC. He concluded his Army career where he began, in Germany, as the Inspector General for the US European Command in 1975.Both his sons joined the service; Drew retired as an Air Force Colonel and Frank III as a USMC Major who currently serves as a Program Analyst at VA Headquarters in Washington, DC.
The soldier did not fade away in retirement in Hendersonville. His second career was in Human
Before Frank deployed to Germany as an Infantry Officer, he proposed to Joy Drew, who sailed off to marry him in Munich, Germany in September 1947. They were happily married for 65 years with three children, Gay, Drew, and Frank III.
He had a sterling 29-year Army career, retiring as a Brigadier General in 1975. As a company commander during the Korean War, he received a battlefield promotion to major, the first in his West Point class to reach that grade. In 1968 during the Vietnam Tet Offensive, he served as a Brigade Commander in the 1st Division, was wounded and recovered at Walter Reed Hospital. On his second Vietnam tour, BG Blazey's helicopter was shot down and he earned a second silver star in 1971. Heroically, often under heavy fire, he earned three purple hearts, four bronze stars, and two silver stars during his military combat service.
As a leader in the Army, at the Pentagon, he was an instrumental advisor to the Army's Chief of Staff and Secretary of the Army. To support this role, he completed an executive Management Degree from the Harvard Business School. He thoroughly enjoyed serving as the Assistant Division Commander of the 82nd Airborne Division and the ROTC commander while at Fort Bragg, NC. He concluded his Army career where he began, in Germany, as the Inspector General for the US European Command in 1975.Both his sons joined the service; Drew retired as an Air Force Colonel and Frank III as a USMC Major who currently serves as a Program Analyst at VA Headquarters in Washington, DC.
The soldier did not fade away in retirement in Hendersonville. His second career was in Human
