Blake D. Ward

Memorial Location

COLUMN: 5    ROW: 21

  • Commander
  • Served: September 30,1988 – January 31, 2009
  • Military Operations served  Desert Shield/Desert Storm (1991) on USS Ranger, Southern Watch (1993), Joint Endeavor (1996), Joint Guard (1998), Desert Thunder/Fox (1998), Joint Forge (1999) on USS Enterprise
  • Restricted Line Officer
  • Medals awarded: Meritorious Service, Joint Service Commendation, Navy Commendation (3), Joint Service Achievement (2), Navy and Marine Corps Achievement (4), Armed Forces Expeditionary, Global War On Terrorism, Southwest Asia Service (3), Kuwait Liberation (Saudi Arabia), Kuwait Liberation,  Navy Expert Pistol, National Defense Service (2), NATO, Armed Forces Service

Blake was born in 1961 at Great Lakes Naval Hospital, Illinois while his dad was being transferred to another Air Force base. His young years were spent living in on-base housing and attending DOD schools at several bases. His final school years were spent in Wisconsin after his father’s retirement from the Air Force.

Blake went to college at Gustavus Adolphus in Minnesota and after graduation he joined the Navy. He served on the USS Ranger and USS Enterprise. During his second deployment to Bosnia in the 1990’s he met his wife, Dzemila, who was a translator. They have two sons, Sasa and Galen. After retiring with 20 years in the Navy, Blake continues to work as a civilian for the Department of Defense.

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