Name:
Joseph Furman Bland
Rank:
Civilian
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Date of Death:
1980-03-14
State:
North Carolina
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Joseph Furman Bland was born on August 9, 1931, in Thomasville, Davidson County, North Carolina. He was the son of Charles Christopher Bland and Callie Ann Brady Bland.
Joseph was the Team Manager of the 1980 U.S. Olympic Boxing Team that was killed in a plane crash near Warsaw, Poland, on March 14, 1980. That day, the team was traveling from New York to Warsaw to compete in two dual events in Cracow and Katowice when the Polish IL-62 jetliner went down just half a mile from Warsaw's Okecie Airport. Eighty-seven people, all passengers and crew, including 22 members (14 boxers and 8 staff members) of the US boxing team, died.