Blake’s Story
From a very early age Blake’s personality could be defined as gregarious, he was very outgoing and had one of those smiles that really did light up the room. He was a very caring person, there are many examples of Blake doing for others; however, one example truly gives a picture of his wanting to do for others. As a young boy attending elementary school, Blake had the opportunity to attend a sold out concert; “The
Back Street Boys”. He had an additional ticket and rather than invite one of his buddies, Blake knew of another classmate who was a real fan of the singing group and suffered from a serious illness.
This classmate’s parents tried a number of different avenues; including contacting charitable organizations to secure their daughter a ticket to the sold out concert. Knowing how much this young girl wanted to see her favorite group, Blake invited her to attend the concert, as his guest.
Additionally, Blake could be described as a leader, in fact, one of his elementary school teachers told us, “Blake will grow up to be a Politician”; I believe that was meant as a complement. He carried this

trait with him to the military. Many of his “battle buddies” have told the story how Blake led his unit in prayed prior to each meal and mission.
Prior to his military service, Blake graduated from
Williamsville East High School, in June of 2007 and attended college courses at both St.
Bonaventure University and Erie Community
College. In April of 2009, he made the choice to commit to a life of service by joining the U. S.
Army. After completing boot camp and advanced training at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo and being assigned to Fort Drum, NY, Blake’s Unit, the 693 rd
Combat Engineers were deployed overseas to
Afghanistan in May of 2010. After returning home for his two weeks of R&R, arriving one day after his 21 st Birthday, he returned to his unit in Ghazni,
Afghanistan. While home we learned to understand and appreciate his commitment to his unit and battle buddies when he told us, with a couple of days left on his leave, “it is time for me to get back, because when I’m on leave, there is no one to replace me and the guys have to pick up additional work.” The day he got back to his unit,
October 1, 2010, Blake posted on his Facebook page; “Back with the Boys, getting right down to business, things couldn’t be better.”

One month later, on November 5, 2010, Blake was killed in action when his unit was attacked by insurgents using an IED (Improvised Explosive
Device).
In recognition of Blake’s service and ultimate sacrifice we have established the Spc. Blake D.
Whipple Memorial, Inc. and the Annual Spc.
Blake D. Whipple Memorial Golf Tournament and our Mission:
 Show appreciation and support for all of our veterans and service members and their families.
 Raise awareness of challenges being faced by today’s veterans and our active military.
 Assist war veterans, service members and their dependants through supporting selected charities.
 Provide the opportunity for our everyday citizens to connect with our veterans and everyday military.