Doc Blanchard

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Family

American pro athelete, a football player. While he was at West Point, he was the first junior to win the coveted Heisman Trophy (1945). The son of a physician called "Doc" who had played college football, "Doc Jr." was given his first football at an early age. In 1942 as a freshman at University of North Carolina, he was on the starting team. His college career was interrupted by WWII and he enlisted in the Army in 1943. He was recruited to West Point where his stellar record earned him star status and a Heisman. When his dad died, he dropped the Jr. from his name and became known simply as Doc. He played himself in the 1947 movie "The Spirit of West Point." After graduation, he coached at West Point and joined the Air Force where he was a fighter pilot. In 1959 he earned a commendation for landing a plane that had erupted into flames without causing harm to anyone on the ground. He saw action in 1969 when he flew fighter bombers over Vietnam. He retired from the Air Force in 1971 as a colonel. His and his wife, who died in the 1990s, had three children. He died of pneumonia at age 84 on April 19, 2009 at his home in Bulverde, TX. Link to Wikipedia biography