Avenue of Heroes: Gerald B. Blanton

Prepared by: Jim Callaway (friend)

Captain Gerald B. “Jerry” Blanton was born in Dallas in 1951, the third child of Sankey and Shirley Blanton. He graduated from Captain Shreve High School in Shreveport, Louisiana, and attended the U.S. Naval Academy, graduating in 1973.

Ensign Blanton entered the Navy’s Nuclear Power Program and served two tours on USS Enterprise (CVN-65), a tour on USS Bainbridge (CGN-25), and earned a master’s degree from the Naval Postgraduate School in 1980.

In 1984, he transferred to the Navy’s Engineering Duty Officer community. His first assignments included serving as the maintenance officer for surface ships in Hawaii and completing two shipyard tours, where he served as a nuclear ship superintendent, assistant repair officer, Nuclear Repair Officer at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, and Nuclear Production Manager at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard.

In 1990, Commander Blanton transferred to the OPNAV staff at the Pentagon for two and a half years. He then received orders as the Production Resources Officer at Norfolk Naval Shipyard (NNSY) in early 1993, where his department included several thousand personnel, including technicians, facilities management, crane maintenance, engineering operations, and administrative staff.

In mid-1995, Captain Blanton reported to North Island Naval Air Station as the Carrier Maintenance Officer for COMNAVAIRPAC. In late 1996, he co-founded Carrier Team One (CT1), a grassroots initiative aimed at improving carrier maintenance execution. He served as the CT1 Executive Steering Committee chairman from its first meeting in February 1997 until his retirement from the Navy in July 1998. Blanton’s awards include the Legion of Merit and three Meritorious Service Medals.

After retiring, Jerry worked as a senior manager for defense contractors, providing technical and engineering support for naval ship maintenance and modernization. He also consulted for CT1 for over a decade — an initiative that remains active today.

Jerry and his wife, Janice, married in 1977 and have two children, Jennifer and Chris, both graduates of Coronado High School. In 2006, Jerry earned a doctorate from the University of San Diego. Janice, Jennifer, and Jerry live in San Diego, while Chris lives in Coronado.

The Avenue of Heroes military service recognition program is sponsored by the City of Coronado. Introduced in 2014, the program has honored 277 hometown heroes to date. On November 2, 2024, another 16 were honored. City staff and volunteers from the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2422, the Coronado Historical Association and Third and Fourth  Streets Neighborhood Association oversee its operation.

In 2011, the program was inspired spontaneously with the movement of two Navy SEALs to their final resting place. News spread quickly and the local Rotary Club passed out American flags. People lined Fourth Street to honor the fallen service members. As the procession approached the Coronado Bridge, a lone Navy SEAL stood at attention, saluting as he waited for the passage of his comrades. That moment made clear that Third and Fourth streets were already an Avenue of Heroes.

That spontaneous beginning launched the program in May 2015 with 18 banners. The Avenue of Heroes is a reminder that Coronado has a rich history and legacy of service to the country.