A Wounded 16-year-old’s Pledge
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92-year-old Leonard Blake of Whittier, CA appears on episode #678 of Hometown Heroes, airing April 23-26, 2021. Seriously wounded at age 16 aboard the merchant vessel SS Mary Ann Livermore, Blake has never received the Purple Heart. Click here if you would like to sign the petition to secure that medal for this Merchant Marine veteran.
Leonard was just 15 when he signed up for the U.S. Maritime Service. For more photos, visit the Hometown Heroes Facebook page.
You’ll hear Leonard explain how he was adopted as an infant by a Los Angeles police officer, who fueled his own boyhood dreams of a career in law enforcement. Those ambitions were put on hiatus at age 11 when his adoptive father walked out on the family, forcing young Lenny to find whatever jobs he could in order to eat, and also to help support his visually impaired mother. He quit school at age 13, and after watching so many teenagers join the military after the attack on Pearl Harbor, he thought he might be able to fudge his age and make it into the Armed Forces.
“I tried to get into the Marine Corps and the Navy,” you’ll hear him say of his efforts at age 14. “They all kicked me out because I wasn’t smart enough to get a phony I.D. card.”
Click the image to sign the petition to secure a Purple Heart for Leonard Blake
While the military wouldn’t take him, the 14-year-old still found a way to contribute to the war effort. From the El Sereno neighborhood in east Los Angeles, he hitchhiked his way to San Francisco and landed a job as a “chipper” at the Kaiser Shipyards in Richmond. His pursuit of underage enlistment continued to be denied, but eventually he found a sympathetic recruiter with the United States Maritime Service. The minimum age was 16.5, but you’ll hear Leonard explain how he embarked on his merchant seaman journey at age 15. He served aboard the Liberty Ship SS John Constantine, sailing all the way to India, while being exposed to some of the inherent dangers of the Merchant Marine. You’ll hear him remember the flash of light he saw on the horizon, and what that meant for the doomed Liberty Ship that had sailed a day ahead of them along the same route. Nearly 9,500 members of the Merchant Marine were killed during World War II, representing 1 out of every 26 who served, the highest fatality rate for any arm of the American military.
Leonard served aboard the SS Mary Ann Livermore.
You’ll hear Leonard recall some misadventures with some crewmates from the SS John Constantine, and explain how he ended up aboard a second ship, the SS Mary Ann Livermore. It was on that vessel that he would experience a life-altering moment off of Okinawa on May 28th, 1945. He was only 16 years old at the time. Watch the video below for a summary of the injuries he suffered when a Japanese plane crashed into the Livermore.
I heard that Mr. Blake had been Coast Guard as well as a merchant seaman,
I do recall reading that many merchant mariners were Coast Guard reserve,
and officers were often U.S. Navy Reserve though on merchant ships. If correct, Mr. Blake is owed by Purple Heart by the Coast Guard for having been enlisted at the time of his injuries. I took a Coast Guard physical at the U.S. Public Health Service Hospital in San Francisco, 1962, and I understood that the PHS hospitals were tasked with providing services to both the C.G. and Merchant Marine just as Army and Navy hospitals did for those branches.
Russell I have been working to get Leonard Blake his Purple Heart since 2016 when I first met him. I volunteer for the Americana Merchant Marine Veterans of WWII org. AMMV.us I have spoken with his Congresswoman Linda Sanchez, who sent his paperwork to the US Coast Guard. All Merchant Seaman received their Honorable Discharge from the USCG and even today, that is who these men contact if they never applied for the DD214. Leoonard received a letter from the US Coast Guard denying him the PH because he receieved the equivalent of the PH called the Mariners Medal. Martime Administration also could not help. Mr. blake wants to be burieed in the PH section of his local military ceemetery and they refused him. MARAD was to send a letter to them explaining that they are the equivalent but they did not do so. If there is anyone that can help, please reach out to us. We will nojt give up!
Russell I have been working to get Leonard Blake his Purple Heart since 2016 when I first met him. I volunteer for the Americana Merchant Marine Veterans of WWII org. AMMV.us I have spoken with his Congresswoman Linda Sanchez, who sent his paperwork to the US Coast Guard. All Merchant Seaman received their Honorable Discharge from the USCG and even today, that is who these men contact if they never applied for the DD214. Leoonard received a letter from the US Coast Guard denying him the PH because he receieved the equivalent of the PH called the Mariners Medal. Martime Administration also could not help. Mr. blake wants to be burieed in the PH section of his local military ceemetery and they refused him. MARAD was to send a letter to them explaining that they are the equivalent but they did not do so. If there is anyone that can help, please reach out to us. We will nojt give up! Proud Daughter of a WWII USMM & Army Korean War Veteran.
Something is wrong with this website. Each time I attempted to sign the petition for Mr. Blake to receive a Purple Heart medal, the entire website would disappear.
John,
Make sure this site has permission to redirect and or accept pop-ups.