Ben Blount Memorial

Former Laguna Greenbelt Board member Ben Blount passed away in the Spring of 2009; the following is his Eulogy. The Eulogy of Colonel Benjamin F. Blount III AUS(Ret) delivered by Colonel Charles Quilter, USMC(Ret) at the Veterans Memorial, Heisler Park, Laguna Beach on June 12, 2009.

Good morning. My name is Charlie Quilter. I welcome you on behalf of the Blount family, Gigi, and Ben’s children, Ben. Jr., Shash, Mary Anne, Will, and Colette, as we render final honors to this man, husband, father, grandfather, friend, and soldier. Now, some of you know that I am a retired Marine and may be wondering – hey, how come a Marine is standing here? Well, let me tell you, I had plenty of competition for this spot because Ben Blount was a wonderful human being who touched the lives of so many of us. And now I get to tell you just a few bits – all too few -- about him now.

Benjamin Franklin Blount III – yes, he was descended from that Benjamin Franklin was born in San Francisco on January 2nd, 1922. He came from a long line of people who served this nation in time of war. His father, Ben, had been a career soldier who served in five conflicts beginning with the Spanish-American War of 1898. He retired as a sergeant major, the Army’s highest enlisted rank, after serving in the bloody First World War in France. It was only then that Ben’s father settled down, married, and raised a family. So early on, Ben was inculcated with the idea of service to country as he was growing up in San Francisco.

Until Navy Captain Dick Cuciti told me of it, I had not been aware that Ben had attained the highest rank in Boy Scouting, that of Eagle Scout in about 1938. For those that don’t know, in order to become an Eagle Scout, you have to perform some extraordinary deed of public service. Ben did – and would continue his service to scouting long after his retirement. As he did in all of his many deeds of service, he did them in his characteristically quiet manner. And every year, he mentored young men seeking this highest goal of scouting.

Ben graduated from high school in the middle of the Great Depression and then somehow managed to put himself through a couple of years of college. Like many others at the time, the dire economy forced him to give up his dreams of more education, and he had to go to work. He became a purchasing agent for the Department of Justice, which included the federal prison system and the prison on Alcatraz. Then the attack on Pearl Harbor changed everything. America was at war. Now, many of you know that Ben did not talk much about his wartime experiences, so if I may, I’d like to tell you a little about them now.

Photo Location:
Aliso-Wood Canyon Wilderness Park.

The Laguna Greenbelt Fact:
The 22, 000-acre Laguna Greenbelt is the second largest coastal wilderness & open space area in Southern California. Only the Santa Monica Mountains National Refuge is larger.