David Jablonsky

Col. (Ret) David Jablonsky of Carlisle, PA. died on January 9, 2025. He was born on July 2, 1938 in the Panama Canal Zone to the late Maj. Gen. Harvey and Dorothy Jablonsky. 

David served throughout the United States and had multiple tours in Europe and Vietnam. Awards and decorations included the Silver Star, Purple Heart, Combat Infantry Badge, Ranger Tab, and Parachutist Badge.

David also served as an army and civilian professor in the Department of National Security and Strategy at the U.S. Army War College. During his tenure, he wrote numerous books, articles, and monographs. He held the Elihu Root Chair of Strategy, the George C. Marshall Chair of Military Studies, and the Dwight D. Eisenhower Chair of National Security. In 2007, he was made a distinguished fellow of the U.S. Army War College. He also served many years as an academic adviser to the International Churchill Society and was a proud member of the Eclectic Club of Harrisburg.

He graduated from Dartmouth College in 1960 and earned an M.A. in international relations from Boston University, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in history from the University of Kansas. His military education includes the U.S. Army Command and Staff College and the U.S. Army War College. He had an abiding interest in strategic studies; Victorian history and literature; classical, folk, and bluegrass music; cartoon art from the 1930s; the illustrations of Howard Pyle and N.C. Wyeth; and the paintings of Winslow Homer and Edward Hopper.

David is survived by his devoted wife, Wiebke; beloved daughter, Kyra (husband David Mangini); granddaughter Zoie of San Francisco; and numerous nieces and nephews. David was preceded in death by his siblings: Jean Rickard (late husband, Eddie), Lea Uhre (husband Curt), Alice Jablonsky (husband Bill), as well as his brother James Tully (wife Rhonda). 

A memorial service will be held at Arlington National Cemetery on a date and time to be determined.