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Medal of Honor: Jefferson J. DeBlanc

Every weekday for 110 straight days we will feature a different living recipient of the Medal of Honor. These are the men who have received their nation's highest military honor. Brian is a board member of the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation. The words and photos are courtesy of Artisan Books, publishers of "Medal of Honor: Portraits of Valor Beyond the Call of Duty by Peter Collier with photographs by Nick Del Calzo.

JEFFERSON J. DeBLANC
Captain, U.S. Marine Corps Reserve  Marine Fighter Squadron 112

In 1938 Jefferson DeBlanc was working as a bench chemist in the sugarcane industry to earn enough money to attend college. The Civilian Pilot Training program, which the federal government had initiated in universities, seemed perfect for him—he had been fascinated by aviation ever since a U.S. Mail pilot had made a forced landing near his home and allowed him to get into the cockpit. He signed up for the program and learned to fly in Piper Cubs, then entered the Naval Aviation Cadet Reserve program and became a Marine fighter pilot. At the time he was sent to the Pacific in the fall of 1942, he had only ten hours in a Grumman F4F-3 Wildcat fighter.

On Jan. 31, 1943, DeBlanc already had three kills in air combat when his section took off to escort
a strike force of dive-bombers and torpedo planes whose mission was to attack Japanese ships lying off Kolombangara Island in the Solomons. Two of the planes had to turn back because of mechanical failure. DeBlanc’s own auxiliary fuel tank malfunctioned; he knew if he completed the mission, he wouldn’t have enough fuel to return to base, but he radioed the other pilots that he was proceeding.
As the American planes reached the rendezvous point, a large number of Japanese Zeros appeared. DeBlanc’s section instantly engaged, driving them away from the American bombers. Then, seeing that Japanese float planes had intercepted U.S. dive-bombers beginning their attack, DeBlanc descended and quickly shot down two of them. As the U.S. attack force completed its run and turned for home, twelve Zeros came out of the setting sun and pounced on the four Wildcats. The Americans tried desperately to get altitude to defend themselves. DeBlanc shot down one Zero, then lined up another head-on, firing steadily. The Zero exploded; DeBlanc flew through its debris. With still another enemy plane on his tail, he chopped the throttle and dropped his flaps. As his plane slowed suddenly, the Zero pilot, overanxious for the kill, flew by, and DeBlanc shot him down.
Just then, bullets shattered his cockpit—one came so close that it sheared off his wristwatch. As his instrument panel caught fire, he bailed out. After releasing from his parachute early, DeBlanc hit the water hard. Using his life jacket for support, he swam many hours to reach the shore of Kolombangara. He had heard of U.S. airmen captured by natives being handed over to the Japanese for execution, but he felt he had a good chance of surviving because he had grown up in the Cajun swamps of Louisiana.
He slept in a tree the first night. The next day he wandered until he came upon a native hut in a clearing. Hearing birds singing, he knew from his time in bayou country that this probably meant there were no people around. He spent the second night in the hut; when he awoke the next morning, there were no birds singing. Outside there were five natives, armed with machetes. The natives traded him for a ten-pound sack of rice to an islander who was working with the Australian coast watchers. The coast watchers returned him to the U.S. military.
With eight kills, DeBlanc was an ace. After spending six months back home working as a flight instructor, he returned to the Pacific. He shot down one more enemy plane, a kamikaze, during the Battle of Okinawa.
Captain DeBlanc was awarded the Medal of Honor at the White House by President Harry Truman on Dec. 6, 1946.

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