William+J.+Blackstone

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Bill was a proud member of local 718 Boston Firefighter, BFD Ladder NO. 1, from 1978-2002 when he was injured and had to retire. Bill passed away June 13, 2010. He leaves behind 3 children David, Wesley "Sonny" and Leah and one grandchild, Benjamin. Bill was predeceased by his wife Elizabeth "Betty" who was a __Navy Veteran also in Vietnam__.

I cannot thank you enough for these stories and photos as well as your kind words. This part of my father's life was a mystery to us kids, as dad did not often go into detail about Vietnam. My father was a good guy, after Vietnam he returned home and started a family and became a Boston Firefighter. I appreciate all of the stories and any others you might remember, as they help me to remember the man that is no longer with us. Sadly, my father passed away in July without ever knowing that his old friends had started to reconnect, I am sure he would have loved the chance to see you all again. Thank You, Leah Blackstone

“ A Blackstone Story: (true): One of the first things Blackstone showed me was the electrical service panels and in particular the circuits for the officers quarters. Downstairs the OQ rooms had no air circulation, upstairs we had no A/C but east/west windows and ceiling fans. A mere 1/4 turn of the load side set-screw on the circuits would allow enough current to pass through to power lights and a radio or electric razor but cause intermittent power to the air conditioners in the officers barracks...meaning the air conditioners in the officers rooms wouldn't work...without blowing the fuse (which was obvious). This was a problem that could take DAYS to resolve...until Tobias or Gonzalez-Sanchez would finally come around and realize that making life miserable could work two ways. Thanks Blackstone for your insight and sharing.” – Bob Heske, February 2011


 * Another Bill Blackstone Story**

I recall an incident when Bill demonstrated leadership well above his rank. It was a week or so after the Tet Offensive of 1968. We were much better prepared for action than we were the first night of Tet. After Tet we kept our rifles by our bunks and we had assigned defensive positions. Blackstone's position in the event of trouble was with the M60 machine gun at the sandbagged area at the top of the steps above the office. My position was at a doorway halfway down the bay across from the street that came in on an angle towards the front gate.

We were awakened late one night by the sound of gun fire very close to our compound. We grabbed our weapons and went to our assigned positions. The gun fire had stopped. We were very quite, the lights were out and it was very dark. I stared at the white wall across the street expecting VC to pop up at any minute. Some time went by and then we heard voices. Something about VC. I don't see anyone but the noise is getting louder. Uh, oh here we go. Someone gives the order "open fire!" Then Bill's loud voice, "Don't shoot! Nobody shoots until I tell you to"**.** Half the guys in the room out ranked him but everybody followed his command. Bill could see that the voices were from the people who lived in the neighborhood. They were walking down the street towards our compound and the bridge. They were saying to us and the ARVN soldiers at the bridge where the original shooting came from that there were no VC. They were saying "don't shoot, no VC".

Bill was calm in a very stressful situation. It is not a surprising to learn that he spent his working life as a Boston fireman. Dan Newell 4/9/2011

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