Jean-Louis "John" Blackburn:
CLASS OF 1988
Thomas Jefferson High SchoolClass of 1988
Port arthur, TX
Clay - Battelle High SchoolClass of 2004
Blacksville, WV
Brooks Institute of PhotographyClass of 2003
Santa barbara, CA
Montana State University Class of 1991
Bozeman, MT
Lamar State College - Port ArthurClass of 1990
Port arthur, TX
Jean-Louis "John"'s Story
Life
Greetings to all my class.
After graduation, I moved to Bozeman, Montana to study agriculture and learn how to be a cow-boy at MSU for two years, ran out of cash, came back to PA for a semester. Then read the book Moby Dick and decided sailing was the funnest, most thrilling thing to do in life so I joined the Navy for six years and went around the world. (Yep! It's really round.) They dropped me off in San Diego at the end of the cruise, so I joined the National Guard as a tank turret mechanic for a year, then moved moved to Long Beach and joined the Army Reserve as a combat photographer (which I was sure just had to be fun and thrilling) and went half-way around the world to Thailand and Korea. It's been rad... Totally! (Yeah, I pretty much went "native" in Cali.)
Now I'm going to Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, Cali to get the civilian version. And I'm majoring in -you guessed it: Photo-journalism.
If there's one thing I miss, it's working on the Pilot staff and being able to put our stories in print.
*Bosnia Aug ...Expand for more
2003- Apr 2004. Beautiful country! Too bad so many land mines, but they're getting cleaned up.
*OK, I'm in Iraq now. Uuuuh, not sure how to describe it. I'm at Camp Slayer after a stint at Abu Ghraib. (No, I didn't abuse the detainees.) Say Hi if you're out here!
Well, it finally happened: 10 July 2005 got wounded in left fore-arm by roadside bomb. Now recovering at Ft. Lewis, WA.
* Got released from the fort Lewis hospital care in August 2006 and came back to Santa Barbara, California to finish my degree in Visual Journalism, since that's the closest thing to Combat Visual Documentation.
I'll just tell you, I believe I've made a difference for my country's security with the work I've done, and I'll go back as soon as I can because I love my job.
I think every one should do a tour of a war zone so you can see what our lives are really worth out their.
I should graduate Brooks Institute 22 June 2008, and be at the reunion. Please go, every one who can. I've missed you guys.
you can see some videos of mine on youtube channel: "quabot"
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