Jim Belshaw, 1944-2022

Jim Belshaw, a longtime columnist for the Albuquerque Journal newspaper and a prolific contributing writer to this magazine in the 1990s and early 2000s, died October 15 at age 78. A U.S. Air Force veteran who served a 1969-70 tour of duty with the 8th Security Police Squadron at Ubon Air Base in Thailand, Belshaw wrote thousands of columns for the Journal from the early 1980s until he retired in 2008, many of which focused on everyday people.

“He was the voice of the Journal for decades,” said Tom Harmon, a former editor and editorial writer at the newspaper. “He was passionate about people who were getting a raw deal.”

Jim Belshaw began contributing to The Veteran in 1994. He wrote many in-depth member profiles, as well as articles about the health consequences of exposure to Agent Orange and teaching the Vietnam War. He also made three trips to Vietnam in the nineties with VVA’s Veterans Initiative program and produced a series of articles that focused on the human cost of war on veterans on both sides of the conflict. “They were warm-hearted stories about finding their humanity across old battle lines,” Harmon said.

“We were very lucky to have Jim contribute to The Veteran for all those years,” said publisher Mokie Porter, who was then the magazine’s editor. “He was an editor’s dream—a terrific writer who wrote well-researched, engaging, and informing stories.”

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