September 2021 – Jimmy Lee Blakely
U.S. Army, Vietnam 1966-1968

Jimmy Lee Blakely was born on Sept. 24, 1947, to James “Jack” and Jewell Mae Sims Blakely in Selmer, Tennessee, the second of four children. His family moved to Tipton County when Jimmy was young, and he and his siblings attended Byars-Hall High School.

At 18, Jimmy met the love of his life, Peggy Ann Bryan of Covington, and they married on Jan. 8, 1966. Ten months later, at the height of the Vietnam War, the newly-wedded groom, was drafted into the United States Army, and sent to Fort Campbell, Ky., for training, and as if the thought of going into the Army wasn’t scary enough, they sent him to bootcamp on Halloween day, Oct 31, 1966. After boot camp, he spent six weeks training as a Supply Clerk at Ft. Lee, Roanoke, Virginia, and was then sent to Ft. Dix, New Jersey to await transportation to Germany.

Seven months after entering military service, Blakely found himself in Munich, Germany, where he remained for the rest of his service. Attached to the Med Det, 225 Station Hospital, young Blakely worked as a supply clerk, supplying uniforms and materials needed for base personnel. His extra duty consisted of KP (kitchen police), guard duty, and driving the hospital’s laundry truck to the area’s various hospitals to pick up laundry. In his spare time, he ran the hospital’s movie theater at night.
Corporal Jimmy Lee Blakely was discharged from service on Oct 8, 1968, having earned the National Defense Service Medal and the Army Good Conduct Medal for his service.

Returning to Tipton County, Jimmy worked in a body shop until opening his own business, Jim’s Towing and Body Shop, located in Covington, in 1984. He retired from the business in 2008, and the popular automotive shop is now run by Jimmy’s son, Jimbo Blakely.

Jimmy and Peggy are members of Liberty Baptist Church, and they are the proud parents of three children, Leigh Ann Combs, Melissa Rose, and Jimbo; three grandchildren, Mikala Calvert, Carson, and Caleb Rose, and one great-grandchild, Blakely Stewart.

Jimmy Lee Blakely was nominated for Veteran of the Month by David Quinn.