BLAKELEY, ROY JAMES
Major, U.S. Air Force
Fisher County, Texas

Picture:

Medals:

Purple Heart, National Defense Service Medal, Republic of Vietnam Service Medal and Republic of Vietnam Campaign Ribbon.

Biography:

Roy James Blakeley, "Blake" as he was called by family and friends, was born December 10th, 1928, in Wink Texas. A graduate of the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas, he loved boating, camping, and fishing.

Roy was a very devoted husband and father. His family was the most important thing in his life and everyone knew this about him. All of his free time was spent with us doing things we could all enjoy as a family. He loved life and was a happy person with a bit of a smile on his face most of the time.

He loved flying and took a lot of teasing in the squadron about being a "time hog". He seldom turned down an opportunity to gain extra flying hours. As a "gag gift", some of the pilots in the squadron made a large pencil out of a broomstick by cutting it about 12" long, painted and sharpened it to look like a pencil and labeled it "Time Hog" for him to log all of his flying hours. It was presented to him at a squadron party. As a small boy when asked what he wanted to be when he grew up, his answer was always "a pilot". He took his job seriously and was a very skilled pilot. The wing commander and general on base called him on numerous occasions when they needed to be flown somewhere. They had confidence in him as a pilot and trusted him to get them safely to their next destination and back. Major Roy J. Blackely, a F-104 fighter pilot with the Tactical Air Command, was killed trying to land his disabled plane at Chu Lai air field during an aerial operation on July 22, 1965.