“He believed in leading by example, leading from the front and that’s how he died,” said Therrell Goswick, former Calhoun City Police Chief and retired Command Sergeant Major. His voice broke as he called Blair his “adopted son” and spoke about his work with the Georgia Army National Guard’s Counter Drug Unit.
Goswick said Blair, who enlisted in the Kentucky Army National Guard in 1989 and later transferred to the Georgia Army National Guard, “had a yearning to lead troops” and the highly deco-rated soldier and former Gordon County Sheriff’s Deputy “had one speed –wide open, and one direction –straight ahead.”
“He was a true American hero, a self-made American hero. God must have had a pretty serious mission to need him,” he said.
Major General William T. Nesbit, Adjutant General for Georgia, who had worked with Blair be-fore a trip to Iraq last year, recalled him as a “soldier’s soldier.” He said Blair’s death hit especially close to home as he’d known Blair’s wife, Donna, for years. He also read a statement from Matt Smith, Blair’s commander in Afghanistan. “He was the real deal, practiced tough love and was respected because of it.”
He credited Blair for applying for the First Sergeants job with A/1-121 Infantry unit knowing they would soon deploy to Afghanistan. Blair was killed at Mado Zayi, Afghanistan, when a rocke-propelled grenade struck his vehicle.
“He died with his finger on the trigger,” Nesbitt said.
Detective Shane Parrott said that Blair became a mentor and teacher when he started at the Gordon County Sheriff’s Office and through the years became close friends.
“You look at the program and you see generals and leaders, I’m none of those things, but I was his friend and he loved me,” Parrott said.
During his emotional eulogy, Parrott said that Blair asked him to do two things if anything hap-pened to him – to do his funeral and to take care of his family.
“I’m doing the best I can,” he said. “I learned to appreciate my family from him.”
“If there are more soldiers like John Blair, we’re going to be okay. I’ve met some of them and I know, we are going to okay,” he said.
The funeral procession went through downtown Calhoun where a giant American flag hung be-tween two fire trucks in front of the courthouse. People lined the street, hands over hearts as the funeral procession, more than a mile long, went by on its way to the Georgia National Cemetery in Canton, where Blair was interred.
A caisson (horse-drawn carriage) flanked by military personnel carried his casket onto the ceme-tery grounds late in the afternoon.
The interment ceremony incorporated a number of military rituals including the presentation of the American flag that draped Blair’s casket to his wife, Donna. Dozens of civilians and members of the military gathered on the cemetery lawn looked on as folded flags were presented to several other close family members.
A 21-gun salute honored Blair’s passing and three helicopters flew overhead with one banking sharply to the right, away from the others. A riderless horse with boots turned backward in the stirrups on its saddle was led across the amphitheater that housed the ceremony, and a bugler played Taps as family and friends said their last goodbyes.
Army Chaplain Donald McDaniel read a Bible passage from the book of John and echoed the sentiments expressed at the funeral, saying Blair embodied “selfless service” and “courage.”
Blair did not hesitate to undertake the same challenging tasks he asked of the soldiers under his command, McDaniel said.
He said Blair was always a leader and would likely encourage others to follow his example of sacrifice and bravery, were he still alive, with the words “follow me, follow me.”
In his absence, McDaniel said Blair would want to his loved ones to forge ahead.
Elizabeth Crumbly contributed to this article.
-Soldierswife