BLACKMAN-GEOFFREY

Excerpts from obituary published in San Diego Union-Tribune on 8/27/2017:

Jeff Blackman, a longtime resident of Point Loma and La Jolla, passed away on August 12, 2017.  He was truly one of the Greatest Generation:  a Naval Aviator active at the Battle of Midway; a successful businessman; and a generous community member.  Jeff was born on June 14, 1920, in New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada, before living in Tucson, Phoenix, Berkeley and then finally settling in Long Beach, California.  It was in Long Beach that Geoffrey graduated from Wilson High School and earned an A.A. degree from Long Beach City College.

He learned to fly in a Civilian Pilot Training Program, sponsored by the government, and became licensed in 1940.  In June 1941, Jeff joined the U.S. Navy as an aviation cadet and went to Pensacola for flight training where he asked to be assigned to seaplanes.  He was designated a Naval Aviator on November 29, 1941, but the commissioning was delayed due to the bombing of Pearl Harbor.  He was officially commissioned as an Ensign on January 9, 1942.  Jeff then traveled to Pearl Harbor to join Patrol Squadron Twenty-Three (VP-23) and to begin long-range patrols that lasted 10 to 12 hours.  He flew to Midway Island on May 29, 1942, and was on the atoll for the famous battle of Midway that changed the course of the war in the Pacific.  On June 4, Jeff’s squadron discovered the Japanese fleet heading for Midway.  He made an open sea landing to rescue a dive-bomber pilot and his rear seat gunner.  Flying back to Midway later that night, he was unaware of the outcome of the battle.  Maintaining radio silence and the blackout, he was literally in the dark.  His PBY circled the island, drawing no enemy fire.  He landed and spent the night in his plane.

For the next two years Jeff flew patrols and was involved in the invasions of Guadalcanal and Bougainville as well as the Battle of Santa Cruz, where he made an open sea rescue of famous aviator Gus Wildhelm after the USS Hornet was sunk.  He was in New Caledonia, Solomon Islands (Tulagi), and Ellis Islands (Funafuti), and made several clandestine flights to pick up information and communicate with the Australian coast watchers.

In late January 1944, he finally took leave and returned to Southern California, where he became engaged to his high school sweetheart.  They were married in Corpus Christi where Jeff was in Special Ops.  It was during this time that Jeff trained pilots from several South American countries including Ecuador, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, and the Free French.  His later orders took him to the Philippines, Long Beach, and Banana River NAS in Florida before he was finally released from active duty after 51/2 years.  Jeff continued to serve in the Naval Reserve from 1947 to 1952 at NAS Alamitos in California.

Jeff entered the insurance business in Long Beach before moving his family to Point Loma in 1952.  Here he was chairman of the National Property Committee for the National Association of Insurance Agents and Brokers, Chairman of the San Diego Fire and Protection Committee, Trustee of the San Diego Hall of Science, Trustee of the San Diego Family Services Association, and Deputy Foreman of the Federal Grand Jury.  Jeff is survived by his two children, two grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.  Following services with full military honors he will be interred at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in San Diego next to his wife, Dorothy, who predeceased him in 2004.

Submitted by CDR Roy A. Mosteller, USNR (Ret)