Retired U.S. Army Col. Benjamin F. Blount III died Tuesday, four days shy of the 65th anniversary of the day he landed in Normandy with Allied troops. He was 87.
“Ben was one of Tom Brokaw’s ‘Greatest Generation,’” said Councilwoman Toni Iseman. “He always cared about this community and the people who live here. He had great warmth and presence and he never had to raise his voice.”
The soft-spoken 6-foot, 3 1/2 -inch Blount stood tall in stature and in deed.
His death will be mourned by a broad spectrum of the community, from veterans to environmentalists, but his life will be celebrated at a memorial service tentatively scheduled for 10 a.m. June 12, at Monument Point in Heisler Park, the site of Memorial Day ceremonies, in which he participated for so long as an officer of the Laguna Beach Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5868.
A reception will be from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Laguna Beach Woman’s Club on St. Ann’s Drive.
“Ben was commander of the Laguna Beach post for six consecutive years and a total of eight years before he opted to pass the gavel to me two years ago,” Cmdr. Bill Kremmer said. “He was a great gentleman and a loyal individual — you could always count on Ben.
“He was a one-of-a-kind guy. What he went through the past couple of years was unbelievable — all those operations —but he always bounced back.
“The post is saddened, but he is in a better place.”
Blount was always a courageous man. He had fought cancer as valiantly as he fought the enemies of his country.
He joined the army in February 1943 as a buck private and worked his way up through the ranks with field commissions.
After getting basic and advanced training in Wyoming and Virginia, he was sent to England where he joined the 1st Engineer Special Brigade serving in amphibious logistical operations.
On his last leave before embarking for the Allied assault of Omaha Beach, the young soldier had the dubious distinction of being under one of history’s first cruise missile attacks when three Nazi V-1 “buzz bombs” exploded near him.
The Allied advance across France brought Blount to Belgium. He was sent to the newly liberated city of Charleroi in the southern part of the country, where the U.S Army established a large logistics base.
