Offspring of veteran Harley Eugene Blackwell, tormented by revelations that their late father was a child abuser, are seeking to have his body exhumed and removed from Fort Logan National Cemetery.
But the unusual crusade appears to be stalled, and perhaps doomed, by military regulations.
“Gene” Blackwell, an Air Force mechanic who died Sept. 1, 2005, was buried at Fort Logan with military honors because he received an honorable discharge from the Air Force in 1963.
His service record is unblemished even though he pleaded guilty in 1957 to a charge of cruelty to children – reduced from second-degree homicide – after confessing he slapped his crying 6-month old daughter to the point of unconsciousness on Aug. 4 of that year. The baby died from several injuries, and Blackwell’s wife, Patricia, pleaded guilty to assault, insisting that she was responsible for dropping Alice June on the pavement.
Both sentences were suspended, and the Blackwells were each placed on probation.
Darrell Blackwell, who now lives in Oldsmar, Fla., said his parents always maintained that the baby died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
About a year after Gene Blackwell died, his son said he “sat down at the computer and started hacking away to try to find out some information,” convinced he could not possibly be the biological offspring of a man he describes as a mean, abusive drunk.
Although his hopes for discovering a different lineage failed, Darrell Blackwell discovered stories from the Washington Post about his sibling’s death. The clips detailed accounts of his parents’ involvement.
“He had blatantly admitted to the police officers that he beat the baby to death … slapped her until she was unconscious,” Darrell Blackwell told 9News recently.
Darrell showed the files to his sister, who cried, then joined him in the quest to have the military change their father’s discharge status to less than honorable.
They hoped to then get his remains dug up and moved, but they were turned down.
In a letter dated March 12, 2007, Blackwell was told military records can only be changed in a ” manner favorable to a member.”
Likewise, a review of the case by the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, D.C., earned the Blackwell children sympathy, but no legal recourse.
The Blackwells appealed to U.S. Rep. Mark Udall, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, for help in reversing the Air Force decision.
“This is where the rub is. Mr. Blackwell is not convicted of a capital crime,” Udall told 9News.
Patricia Blackwell, who now lives in the Denver area still asserts that she harmed the baby, even though she concedes her husband beat the children, including Alice June.
“He was not responsible for that girl’s death. I was,” she told 9News. “I dropped her.”
Although his attempt to exhume his father may not succeed, Blackwell said there is something positive about examining his father’s hidden legacy.
“Now, since he’s dead, maybe we have a chance to rebuild and make something of our family,” he said.
