National Rifle & Pistol Championships
Camp Perry, Ohio

1963 NATIONAL MATCHES

By S/SGT. PAUL A. SMITH

Defending National Pistol Champion Army SFC William B. Blankenship, Fort Benning, Ga., won the 22-cal. pistol crown in the first day of firing at the 1963 National Pistol Matches at Camp Perry, Ohio.

Blankenship, National Pistol Champion for the last three years, scored 890 of a possible 900 points and had 49 hits in the tie-breaking center bull's-eye (49X) to win this year's .22-cal. pistol title.

America's top pistol shooter is defending his title against a field of more than 2,600 competitors, including top marksman from the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard and civilian shooters from police departments and cities throughout the United States.

The military competitors have shot their way to the National Matches from their units scattered throughout the world and are now representing the separate Armed Services.

To get to America's top shooting competition, the military marksman have all had to win unit matches, regional matches, command matches and place high in the top annual match of their service.

One such marksman is Army SFC Tom N. Bunting, Jr., from the 25th Inf. Div. at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, who is now listed as a member of the U.S. Army team from Fort Benning, Ga. He placed second in the .22-cal. National Match Course with 294-10X of the possible 300 points.

Another Pacific-based shooter placing in the win column during the first day of firing at the National Pistol Matches was Marine Sgt. Robert C. Cate, Iwakuni MCAS, Japan, who placed seventh in the .22-cal. timed fire match with 200-11X of the possible 200-20X.

Stars & Stripes, August 9, 1963

1963 NATIONAL MATCHES

By S/SGT PAUL A. SMITH

Army SFC William B. Blankenship won the center fire pistol championship match on the second day of firing at the 1963 National Pistol Championships at Camp Perry, Ohio, by posting an aggregate score of 882-51X of the possible 900-90X points.

Blankenship, a member of the Army team from Fort Benning, Ga., is well on the way to winning his fourth straight national pistol championship.

He won the 1963 .22-cal. National Pistol Championship, fired on the first day of the meet, with 890-49X and has only to score high in the third day's .45-cal. competition to retain the national crown.

Following the defending champion in the center fire aggregate was Army SFC Ralph O. Thompson, Fort Benning, in second place with 881-50X and Air Force S/Sgt. Alvin R. Merx, Lackland AFB, Tex., third with 881-11X

Stars & Stripes, August 10, 1963

Pistol Champion Becomes First To Win Four

CAMP PERRY, Ohio (UPI) — Army Sgt. 1.C. William B. Blankenship of Richlands, Va., Friday became the first man in history to win four consecutive National Pistol Championships as all three top finishers broke the old record at the 1963 National Rifle and Pistol Matches here.

Blankenship fired an aggregate score of 2654-151, eclipsing his own previous mark of 2636-28, set in 1960. Also topping the old record were Air Force Staff Sgt. Alvin R. Merex of Onstead, Mich., with 2639-124 and Marine Capt. William McMillan of Turtle Creek, Pa., with 2638-131.

Blankenship also set five national match records in individual matches, and won all three days of firing in the .22 caliber, center fire and .45 caliber pistol categories. His center fire weapon was a .38 caliber pistol.

In the final day of .45 caliber pistol competition, Blankenship edged out McMillan, 882-51 to 882-44 for the division title. Army Sgt 1.C. R. O. Thompson of Milwaukee, Wis., was third in that division with a score of 879-47.

The Lima News, August 10, 1963

1963 NATIONAL MATCHES

By S/SGT. PUAL A. SMITH

The Air Force Blue Team set a new national record in winning the National Rifle Association Pistol Team Aggregate at the 1963 National Matches, Camp Perry, Ohio.

The Air Force team scored 3,506-156X of the possible 3,600-360X points, beating the 1962 Army Western Region record of 3,499-155X.

The Army Blue Team was second in the aggregate with 3,485-145X and the Army Grey Team, which also won the center fire competition, was in third place with 3,483-141X.

Scores in the NRA Pistol Team Aggregate are compiled by firings in the .22-cal., center fire and .45-cal. matches over the National Match Course.

Stars & Stripes, August 13, 1963

1963 National Matches Reach Half-Way Point

The pistol phase of the 1963 National Rifle and Pistol Matches held at Camp Perry, Ohio, was completed last week with Marine Captain William W. McMillan capturing two first place trophies.

In the final competition Saturday, he won the National Trophy Individual Pistol Championship, after defeating approximately 2000 of the nation's top military and civilian shooters.

McMillan, NRA National Pistol Champion in 1959, and winner of an Olympic Gold Medal the same year, also set a new National Match Record in the event by firing a blazing 294-13x.

In the NRA Championship Aggregate which was finished last Thursday, McMillan was one of three of the nation's top military handgunners to beat the old record of 2639-128. However, he finished third behind Army SFC William Blankenship with a record shattering 2654-151X and Air Force SSgt. Alvin R. Merx with 2639-124X. McMillan finished the aggregate with 2638-133X.

Earlier in the week, the Turtle Creek, Pa. Marine won the Center Fire, Timed Fire Match with a score of 200-11X for another new National Match Record.

In winning the National Trophy Match, which is fired over the National Match Course, McMillan won a plaque of the General Custer Trophy, a .45 Colt Pistol, and a gold watch from Navy Times.

McMillan is a member of the Marine Corps Rifle and Pistol Team from Quantico, Virginia.

A familiar name to Depot shooting fans, Billie E. Price completed the regular service master match with runner-up honors.

MCRD Chevron, Friday, August 16, 1963

Army Man Wins Camp Perry Title Again; Marine is Third

CAMP PERRY, Ohio - The National Pistol Champion SFC William Blankenship Jr., an instructor-shooter in the Army Marksmanship Training Unit at Ft. Benning, Ga., has won his fourth consecutive championship at the 1963 National Rifle and Pistol Matches with a National Match record of 2654-151, to replace the 2636-128 he fired in 1960. The score was the aggregate of three days of shooting of the .22 cal., Center Fire, and the .45 cal. pistol. His center fire weapon was .38 cal.

Blankenship also set five National Match records in individual matches, and won all three days of competition in the .22 cal., the Center Fire and the .45 cal. pistol firing.

Second in the grand aggregate was Air Force SSgt. Alvin R. Merx of Onsted, Mich., with a 2639-124. Marine Capt. William McMillan of Turtle Creek, Pa., was third with 2638-131.

Merx broke a .45 cal. record in the slow fire match. He is a marksmanship instructor with the Air Force Marksmanship School, Lakeland Air Force Base, Tex. He holds the National record in the .22 cal. National Match Course with a 300-18x.

McMillan, assigned to the Marksmanship Training Unit at Quantico, Va., scored behind Blankenship's 882-51 with a 882-44 in the final days of the .45 cal. pistol matches that contributed to the overall statistics.

Another Benning soldier, SFC R.O. Thompson, of Milwaukee, was third in the aggregate with an 879-47.

THE NAVY had only one man to score more than 2600. He was Donald W. Hamilton, stationed at South Weymouth, Mass., who scored 2622-118X, and placed eighth in the aggregate for the Pistol Championship. He was second to Blankenship in 1962.

Next in line behind Hamilton were Joseph L. Galvao, 2587-93X; William A. Brobst, who fired 2582-86X, and Joseph J. Galicia, 2580-89X.

The Air Force Blue team from Lackland (Tex.) won the .22 caliber pistol team championship with a National Match record score of 1,185-64, bettering the Army's 1962 mark of 1,176-57.

The Marine Corps' Red team was second with 1,178-62, followed by the Army's Blue team with 1,172-58.

The women's champion for the second straight is 25-year-old Gail N. Liberty, an Air Force lieutenant from Auburn, Me. She fired 2,553-82 with the .22 and .45-caliber pistols.

Navy Times, August 21, 1963

Winners of Times Awards at Camp Perry