|
Justin Mark Blacklidge SCC#223087
Member of the Sumter, South Carolina Chapter
July 3, 1988 - March 7, 2009
Justin joined the Southern Cruisers in August 2008 before he even
arrived in Sumter. He was an Air Force technical school student
and found out he had orders to Sumter so he started looking for groups
to ride with before he moved here. We didn't meet Justin till October,
but even as the weather turned cold (for South Carolina) Justin
continued to ride. He rode over 400 miles with the chapter during
his short time with us, but he rode with some other friends and groups
as well. Basically, Justin loved to ride and his enthusiasm was
evident.
On March 7th, Justin had just finished having dinner with a friend and
was heading back to base on his motorcycle when a driver in a Lincoln
Town Car "didn't see him" and pulled out to turn left in front of him.
Justin collided with the car and although he was wearing standard safety
gear, he died on the scene.
Justin
lived a full life in his 20 1/2 years. The son of an Air Force
member, he traveled extensively seeing such sites as the Parthenon in
Greece, Eiffel Tower in France, and the Pyramids of Giza in Cairo.
He also visited Germany, the Netherlands, and other countries. He
was engaged to Natsja Brown who lived in England at the time of his
accident.
There
really aren't any words to explain the sadness the chapter felt over the
loss of this young man. Many of us attended his memorial service
at Shaw AFB the following week and shared in the family's suffering, but
of course our grief didn't really compare. We lost a friend and
riding companion. Others in attendance lost a co-worker, an Airman
who no doubt could have gone on to do great things for the nation, but
the family lost a son, a brother, and a fiancé.
________________________
Personal notes...
Zeke (Eric Fazekas) - State
Officer & Sumter Member
As a member of
the Sumter Chapter, I always hate when members are involved in accidents
that result in injuries to worse. However, Justin's death was a
real shocker to me a my wife. We have a son approximately Justin's
age and both of us are/were Air Force members ourselves.
Experiencing the senseless death of someone that we knew that was so
young really touched us to remember how lucky we are, but also how
fleeting it all can be. Justin has many friends mourning his loss.
It's a testimony to the life of this young man that he touched so many
people and I'm honored to be included in this group. Dana and I
wish the family heals in their own time, but remembers they raised an
extraordinary young man and should be proud for the man he became.
Ken "father" Mulchahey- Sumter 1st Officer (at the time of posting)
Justin's smile and easy going demeanor quickly allowed
you to call him friend.
When
Justin spoke of riding you could hear the excitement in his voice!
He had already planned on going on one of our long rides (Nova
Scotia) well before he even moved to Sumter.
As a young man of 20, Justin had already done more than most his
age.
Supporting his Air
Force father, joining the Air Force to help defend his country, and
developing such a large group of friends!... Justin's contributions
continued even after his passing.
The lessons learned from Justin's accident directly resulted in
saving the life of another SCRC member after an accident.
No doubt Justin is up there, with that endearing smile that goes
from ear to ear keeping watch and riding with us.
His family should be very proud of the extraordinary young man
they raised.
|
