Mayor visits Chief of Assonet Wampanoags, New Bedford native, WWII Veteran

“In our divided times, we can do well by recalling America at its most united.

Today I paid a visit to Windsong Blake, a New Bedford native who enlisted in the Navy at 16 just after Pearl Harbor. A longtime chief of the Assonet Wampanoag Tribe and multiple-black belt in karate, he has lived a full life.

At 99 years old, his memory is remarkably vivid, and he is generous in sharing his stories from the war. He had me hanging on every word as he described the scene of Japanese surrender on the deck of the USS Missouri.”-Jon Mitchell.