 He was appointed Medical Inspector with the rank of Commander in 1938, reported to "Vincennes" (CA-44) 30 September 1940, and was on board during the critical early months of America's participation in World War II.During the Battle of Savo Island 9 August 1942, one of the many sea fights during the Solomon Islands campaign, a cruiser-destroyer force was surprised at night by Japanese cruisers and dealt a crushing blow.Blackwood was killed when the "Vincennes" was sunk along with two other cruisers and a destroyer.