Submitted in July 1998 by Dr. James F. White
Second Lieutenant Alexander Anderson Blackhall, Jr., and his identical twin brother, First Lieutenant William Melvin Blackhall were born in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, on 14 November 1930 of Scottish immigrant parents. The boys were farmers and were very active in 4-H Clubs and F.F.A. They were honor graduates, in animal science, of the University of Maryland where they also got their reserve commissions in Air Force Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC).
Second Lieutenant Alexander “Sandy” Anderson Blackhall died in a jet plane training accident at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona. First Lieutenant William “Bill” Melvin Blackhall died in an automobile accident near Clovis, New Mexico, fourteen months after his brother’s death.
They were inseparable and indistinguishable. The Air Force used them as models in publicity type photos. They are buried side by side in Arlington National Cemetery.
Alexander Anderson Blackhall, Jr.
Date of birth: 14 November 1930
Date of death: 09 December 1952
Died on active duty
Section 3 No. 4139-A
William Melvin Blackhall
Date of birth: 14 November 1930
Date of death: 22 February 1954
Died on active duty Section 3 No. 4139-B
BLACKHALL, ALEXANDER ANDERSON JR
- 3600TH FLYING TRN. W
- DATE OF BIRTH: 11/14/1930
- DATE OF DEATH: 12/09/1952
- BURIED AT: SECTION 3 SITE 4139-A
- ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY
BLACKHALL, WILLIAM MELVIN
- 388 FIGHTER BOMBER W
- DATE OF BIRTH: 11/14/1930
- DATE OF DEATH: 02/22/1954
- BURIED AT: SECTION 3 SITE 4139-B
- ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY
Michael Robert Patterson was born in Arlington and is the son of a former officer of the US Army. So it was no wonder that sooner or later his interests drew him to American history and especially to American military history. Many of his articles can be found on renowned portals like the New York Times, Washingtonpost or Wikipedia.
Reviewed by: Michael Howard