Jewell R. Tanksley had been a solder when he was first introduced to the Blue Danube Network in 1947, but he was a civilian staff member later. Tanksley was inducted into the Army in October, 1945 from his hometown of Seneca (in Oconee County), South Carolina. After basic at Ft McClellan, Ala., he came overseas. Serving first in regimental communications with the 222ndRegt of the 42nd “Rainbow” Div, it wasn’t until January, 1947, that he arrived at the Linz station.
He left the junior college to work for the Southern Railway Company in Seneca as a telegraph operator and it was after that he
entered the Army. While a member of the Army with BDN, Tanksley was the station engineer. When he received his discharge in November, 1948, as a corporal, he joined the civilian staff as station manager, but for the last year became again the station’s engineer.