Harvey J. "Jabo" Jablonsky (January 10, 1909 – April 4, 1989) was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

major general, business executive and

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

player. He served in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

and the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

. He was also elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1978.

Early life

Jablonsky was born January 10, 1909, in Missouri, US, to mother Eugenia from England, and father Arthur from Germany. His parents did not have their own home; instead they lived along with Arthur's parents (Jablonsky's grandparents) in their home in St. Louis County. Missouri. In 1927, he attended

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...

, and in 1929 he was made captain of the football team. He was also on the

College Football All-America Team The College Football All-America Team is an honor given annually to the best college football players in the United States at their respective positions. The original use of the term '' All-America'' seems to have been to the 1889 College Footbal ...

. After graduating from Washington University, he enrolled in the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

at West Point, New York, where he continued to play football as a

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

from 1931 to 1933, and became Army's captain in 1933; that year Army had a record of 9-1 and outscores its opponents 227–26. He graduated from the academy in 1934, but remained at West Point as an assistant coach for nine years. He was also married to his first wife Dorothy Jablonsky during these years, and the 1940 census shows he has had his first children, daughter Jean, born 1937 in Virginia, and son David Jablonsky, born 1939 in Panama.

Military career

On May 31, 1943, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel and appointed executive officer of 515th Parachute Infantry Regiment ("Jumping Wolves") at Fort Benning, Georgia. He remained the executive officer until November 1943, when the 515th PIR moved to Camp Mackall, North Carolina. On March 7, 1944, the "Jumping Wolves" became a part of the 13th Airborne Division at Camp Mackall. On January 25, 1945, the 13th Airborne Division received their overseas orders and embarked for Europe. They arrived at Le Havre, France, on February 8. On February 12 or 13, Colonel Harvey J Jablonsky, (who had already been deployed to France) assumed command of the "Jumping Wolves". Although the unit did prepare for combat in Operation Comet (or Operation Market Garden), the strength of the Allied forces continually negated the need for airborne operations. Redeployment began on July 18, 1945, for the fighting in the Pacific, but by the time the unit reached New York, the war in the Pacific was over. The 515th Parachute Infantry Regiment was deactivated at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, on February 25, 1946. In 1946, he returned to West Point to serve as assistant coach. Jablonsky is listed as a commander of the 87th Infantry Regiment (United States)from July 1948 to June 1950. In February and March 1950, he participated in

Exercise Swarmer Exercise SWARMER (also known as Operation SWARMER) was a large-scale military exercise conducted in the spring of 1950 by the United States Air Force, United States Army, and United States Navy in the area of Fort Bragg, North Carolina in the sout ...

, the largest peacetime airborne maneuvers ever conducted. The 187th airborne received the highest performance scores in this exercise, which was directly related to their being chosen to deploy to Korea as an airborne regimental combat team. ("...credit for the superior performance of the Regiment must go to its commander at that time ... Lieutenant Colonel Harvey J. Jablonsky.") In September 1950, elements of the 187th were attached to the 1st Marine Division to participate in the amphibious landings at Inchon. Jablonsky served on the Joint Airborne Troop Board. Harvey commanded the 1st Armored Division at Fort Hood, Texas, during 1963. Harvey also served in the Vietnam War. Jablonsky was sent to Tehran, Iran during 1964–65, and he became chief military adviser from 1965 to 1968. As chief military adviser, Major General Jablonsky's position was "Chief, ARMISH/MAAG, Tehran, August 1965–July 1968". Jablonsky retired from service in 1968 in Killeen, Texas, where he had previously served as the commanding general of the 1st Armored Division. For his actions in the Vietnam War, he was awarded the Legion of Merit (for the period May 1963-February 1965) on August 13, 1965, and the Army Distinguished Service Medal (for the period August 1965-July 1968) on August 22, 1968.

Later life and death

He went on to become vice president of the

Northrop Corporation Northrop Corporation was an American aircraft manufacturer from its formation in 1939 until its 1994 merger with Grumman to form Northrop Grumman. The company is known for its development of the flying wing design, most successfully the B-2 Sp ...

, where he furthered his career within the private defense sector. He was sent back to Iran in 1970 by Northrop to work on an "advanced $225 million telecommunications system". He died of congestive heart failure on April 4, 1989, at the Nursing Center of the Army Residence in San Antonio, Texas. He was aged 80 and was survived by his wife Virgie (died November 3, 2012), three daughters, son Colonel David Jablonsky and a stepson.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jablonsky, Harvey 1909 births 1989 deaths American football guards Army Black Knights football coaches Army Black Knights football players Washington University Bears football players College Football Hall of Fame inductees Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Army generals United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army personnel of the Korean War United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War People from St. Louis County, Missouri Coaches of American football from Missouri Players of American football from Missouri Military personnel from Missouri American people of German descent Washington University in St. Louis alumni