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Contact Info
Home Town Millsboro
Last Address Dunwoody, GA
Date of Passing Jan 04, 2009
Location of Interment Arlington National Cemetery (VLM) - Arlington, Virginia
Hamblin was commissioned a second lieutenant upon completion of the ROTC program in 1943.
He served with the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment in Europe in World War II and with the 82nd Airborne Division at Ft. Bragg, N.C., from 1948 to 1957. He completed 105 parachute jumps during his career.
Hamblin was an infantry company commander in Korea in 1952.
He served as an adviser to the Republic of Vietnam Joint General Staff in Saigon in 1964. For his service, he was the first member of the U.S. Armed Forces awarded the Republic of Vietnam Army Distinguished Service medal, second class.
In 1965, he was adviser to the II Vietnam Army corps. He was wounded during a Viet Cong attack on the military installation at Pleiku in February 1965.
After 28 years of service, he retired in 1971. He was a training and safety consultant to automotive and heavy vehicle fleets and was formerly a member of the board of directors of the Georgia Motor Truck Association and the Georgia Safety Council.
Other Comments:
Colonel Hamblin was born on May 23, 1922, in Millsboro, Delaware, where he grew up. His parents were Joshua and Flossie Hamblin. Colonel Hamblin and his wife, Sylvia, have been residents of Dunwoody, Georgia, since June 1972.
Paul graduated from the University of Delaware in 1943 and in September of that same year he was commissioned a Second Lieutenant.
He served his country with great distinction as a member of the U.S. Army for the next 28 years. Of particular note was his success in establishing standards par excellence in the area of military-civilian relationships.
His service included tours as an infantry officer during World War II in Europe, the Korean Conflict and the Vietnam War.
Colonel Hamblin was a highly decorated officer. His military decorations include the Silver Star, the Legion of Merit (2d Award), the Bronze Star with "V" Device (2d Award), the Joint Services Commendation Medal, The Army Commendation Medal, The Air Medal, The Purple Heart with 4 Clusters, The Combat Infantryman's Badge, The Aircraft Crewman's Badge, The Master Parachutist's Badge, The Presidential Unit Citation and 7 Overseas bars, The American Campaign Medal, The European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, The World War II Victory Medal, The Army of Occupation Medal (Germany), National Defense Service Medal, The Korean Service Medal, The Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, The Vietnam Service Medal, The Armed Forces Reserve Medal with 20 years Device and The United Nations Service Medal.
His decorations from foreign governments include The Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation Badge, The Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation Badge, The Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal and The Republic of Vietnam Army Distinguished Service Medal.
In a letter accompanying this latter award, General Nguyen wrote, “this medal is the highest, medal after the National Order of RVNAF and Colonel Hamblin is the sole and first American to receive the Distinguished Honor."
Survivors include loving wife, Sylvia Dutton Hamblin; son, Paul W. Hamblin II and his wife, Kitty, of Hudson; a grandson, Paul W. Hamblin III; and a brother, John Lee Hamblin, and his wife, Josephine, of Georgetown, Delaware.
Interment was on February 11, 2009, at 9 a.m. in Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors.
WWII - European Theater of Operations/Ardennes Alsace Campaign (1944-45)/Battle of the Bulge
From Month/Year
December / 1944
To Month/Year
January / 1945
Description The Battle of the Bulge (16 December 1944 – 25 January 1945) was a major German offensive campaign launched through the densely forested Ardennes region of Wallonia in Belgium, France and Luxembourg on the Western Front toward the end of World War II in Europe. Hitler planned the offensive with the primary goal to recapture the important harbour of Antwerp. The surprise attack caught the Allied forces completely off guard. United States forces bore the brunt of the attack and incurred the highest casualties for any operation during the war. The battle also severely depleted Germany's war-making resources.
The battle was known by different names. The Germans referred to it as Unternehmen Wacht am Rhein ("Operation Watch on the Rhine"), while the French named it the Bataille des Ardennes ("Battle of the Ardennes"). The Allies called it the Ardennes Counteroffensive. The phrase "Battle of the Bulge" was coined by contemporary press to describe the way the Allied front line bulged inward on wartime news maps and became the best known name for the battle.
The German offensive was supported by several subordinate operations known as Unternehmen Bodenplatte, Greif, and Währung. As well as stopping Allied transport over the channel to the harbor of Antwerp, Germany also hoped these operations would split the British and American Allied line in half, and then proceed to encircle and destroy four Allied armies, forcing the Western Allies to negotiate a peace treaty in the Axis Powers' favor. Once that was accomplished, Hitler could fully concentrate on the eastern theatre of war.
The offensive was planned by the German forces with the utmost secrecy, minimizing radio traffic and moving troops and equipment under cover of darkness. Despite their efforts to keep it secret, the Third U.S. Army's intelligence staff predicted a major German offensive, and Ultra indicated that a "substantial and offensive" operation was expected or "in the wind", although a precise date or point of attack could not be given. Aircraft movement from the Russian Front and transport of forces by rail, both to the Ardennes, was noticed but not acted upon, according to a report later written by Peter Calvocoressi and F. L. Lucas at the codebreaking centre Bletchley Park.
Near-complete surprise was achieved by a combination of Allied overconfidence, preoccupation with Allied offensive plans, and poor aerial reconnaissance. The Germans attacked a weakly defended section of the Allied line, taking advantage of heavily overcast weather conditions, which grounded the Allies' overwhelmingly superior air forces. Fierce resistance on the northern shoulder of the offensive around Elsenborn Ridge and in the south around Bastogne blocked German access to key roads to the northwest and west that they counted on for success; columns that were supposed to advance along parallel routes found themselves on the same roads. This and terrain that favored the defenders threw the German advance behind schedule and allowed the Allies to reinforce the thinly placed troops. Improved weather conditions permitted air attacks on German forces and supply lines, which sealed the failure of the offensive. In the wake of the defeat, many experienced German units were left severely depleted of men and equipment, as survivors retreated to the defenses of the Siegfried Line.
About 610,000 American forces were involved in the battle,[2] and 89,000 were casualties, including 19,000 killed. It was the largest and bloodiest battle fought by the United States in World War II.
