BLAND ERA ENDS...A LEGEND BEGINS

Frank Bland, elected San Bernardino County Sheriff seven times, serving as
Sheriff for 28 years for a total law enforcement career of 47 years, was laid
to rest in his hometown of Needles in quiet private services on Monday,
September 22.

Bland was born in Needles, California in 1915, the son of a railroad conductor.
Frank Bland grew up in the desert community of Needles where he attended
school with his sister Martha, and his brother Harry. He was a star athlete,
an expert swimmer and an accomplished hunter and fisherman.

Bland's father died while Frank was attending junior college. Bland returned to
Needles and found work as a part-time policeman. It was 1935 in the midst of
the depression. Frank's hard work and devoted service won him a full-time
appointment to the Needles Police Department a year later. Just two years
later he was selected to attend the newly founded FBI Training Academy in Washington, D.C. He was the second person from the county and the fifth man from California to receive this honor.

With the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Bland entered active military duty with the U.S. Marines. He fought on two of the bloodiest World War II battlefields, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. He was wounded three times. While still serving as a Gunnery Sergeant with the Marines in 1946, Bland received a telegram from the Mayor and City Council of Needles informing him that he had been appointed Chief of Police. He assumed his duties after his discharge on June 11, 1946.

Bland served for eight years as the Needles Police Chief, molding that department into one of the most efficient police units in the county. William Claypool, III, who grew up with Bland in Needles, said Bland was a first rate police chief who enforced law and order, but was always fair.

At the urging of friends and local businessmen Bland ran for Sheriff in 1954. He won the election and became the County's 30th Sheriff in January 1955. Bland was only apposed once in his seven terms when he easily defeated three opponents in 1978.

Bland, although shrewd in the realm of politics, never considered himself a politician. He was, he said in 1978, first and always a policeman. "I'm a professional policeman -- been one all my life. I like the job and I love the work."

Frank Bland was a cop's cop. He loved to work in the field with his officers, and personally led his men in major arrests. Soft-spoken, Bland was tough when he needed to be. He had a no-nonsense style and was often compared to John Wayne.

The San Bernardino County sheriff's Department still bears the stamp of Frank Bland. He started the county's first helicopter patrols, was the first in the state to use color mug shots, and initiated the county's search and rescue teams. He modernized the crime laboratory, developed a regional training academy, pioneered the use of filmed re-enactments, and updated the department's communication system.

Bland suffered a heart attack in 1973. In fact he checked himself into the hospital because he recognized the symptoms. Still he did not slow down and involved himself actively in investigations until his retirement in 1983.

Bland received many awards in his 47 years in law enforcement. His awards include the J. Edgar Hoover Award in 1973 as the state's outstanding law officers, the VFW Award, a boss of the year award from PORAC in 1977. The Book of Golden Deeds Award from the San Bernardino Exchange Club, and the Distinguished Service Award from the Inland Empire Boy Scout Council in 1981.

Bland suffered a fatal heart attack at his Redlands home and died at Redlands Community Hospital. He was 72. He was survived by his wife Corene.

Written by Jack Fitzgerald

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