Tom Blackburn aka Big Hog

[Jack Cook]

LCDR J.T. Blackburn CO VF-17 1944

Basil "Duke" Henning, Tom Blackburn & Ike Kepford Bouganville Feb. 1944

[SaxMan]

Thanks Jack. It's great to put a face to the name. Blackburn's book "The Jolly Rogers" remains one of my favorite books. Not only is it a wonderfully detailed history of VF-17, but it also is a primer for small-business management. Blackburn's way of running a squadron translates into the civilian world even 60 years later.

Just as an aside, my father once attended a management seminar where they showed "12 O'Clock High".

[Jack Cook]

I used to visit Capt TB occasionally when my step-dad was stationed at NAS Jax. He was a straight shoot'in kind of guy. Very Crusty. He gave me a lot of VF-17 related material. We were on a first name basis of course! I called him Capt. or Sir and he called me Jack