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American flags line the aspect of the Beaumont Civic Middle in recognition of native first responders. Picture taken Sept. 8, 2022. Picture by Olivia Malick/ The Enterprise
Picture by Olivia Malick/ The Enterprise
In preparation for the approaching arrival in Ahanuac of The Wall That Heals, or the touring Vietnam Wall, I selected a soldier to analysis. After scrolling by way of numerous names, I selected Lt. Junior Grade Lee David Benson. Throughout my analysis, I discovered his great-nephew’s contact data and was capable of converse with him.
Lee Benson grew up in San Mateo, Calif., along with his mother and father and sister. Whereas attending Capuchino Excessive College, he performed the clarinet with the band at John F. Kennedy’s inauguration. After highschool, Benson attended Oregon State College for a couple of 12 months. Throughout his time there, he met a lady by the title of Dian. The 2 rapidly fell in love and have been engaged shortly after. When he left Oregon State College, he started attending a neighborhood school in California. That is the place he acquired the information that he was going to be drafted into the Military. Nonetheless, his uncle was a commander within the Navy, so he was capable of pull a couple of strings to get Benson into flight coaching college in Pensacola, Fla., for the Navy as a substitute. Benson served for 2 years and was stationed in Imperial Seashore, the place he and Dian lived, earlier than he was despatched to Vietnam.
On March 17, 1968, Benson, together with the remainder of Air Anti-Submarine Squadron 23 (crew members Hubbs, Nightingale and Barber), was ordered to fly a Grumman S2-E plane into Vietnam. Roughly 30 miles offshore North Vietnam and 25 miles east-southeast of Hon Me Island, the airplane misplaced contact. The crew was by no means heard from once more. To at the present time, the trigger remains to be unknown. There was zero visibility, the climate was tough, and it occurred throughout the Tet Offensive, so it may have been a number of totally different eventualities that precipitated the airplane’s crash/loss.
Benson was solely 24 when he handed away. Hubbs was 42, Nightingale was 24, and Barber was 20. Their our bodies have been by no means recovered, they usually have been presumed as killed in motion after search and rescue efforts failed. On July 20, 1968, a portion of the wing was discovered. It was finally used to make a recreation of the airplane Benson and his crew have been on. The recreation is situated at Patriots Level Naval and Maritime Museum.
Benson’s service didn’t go unnoticed. He acquired awards together with Naval Aviator, Purple Coronary heart, Air Medal, Nationwide Protection Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal and Republic of Vietnam Marketing campaign Medal. Additionally, his sister acquired a telegram from former president Richard Nixon expressing his concern for prisoners of struggle and his appreciation of their service.
Nonetheless, Nixon was not the one particular person to say one thing on Benson’s behalf. Dean Ab-Hugh, a buddy of Benson’s, mentioned “Lee was a very nice particular person with an important persona and was extremely considered by everybody who knew him. The day he was misplaced, March 17, 1968, I had walked as much as the flight deck with him and watched his airplane launch. He has been remembered all these years for the good particular person and high quality naval aviator that he was.” Benson’s nice nephew, Troy Estes, additionally mentioned, “Lee is usually described by relations as being very charming. He was athletic, good trying and really humorous. My father, who was about 10 when Lee disappeared, describes Lee because the epitome of cool. He would present up on the home with presents for my dad sporting a leather-based pilot’s jacket with aviator sun shades driving a 1965 Mustang. It’s type of a household joke that Lee was a women man.” Though I by no means met Lee Benson, his story has impacted me in a approach I’ll always remember.
“Lee D. Benson” is engraved into the Vietnam Wall in Washington, D.C. His title is situated on Panel 45E – Line 10. Folks on this space will be capable to pay their respects to Benson and different Vietnam troopers when The Wall That Heals visits Anahuac on October 27-30.
Rylee Hatfield is a freshman at Lamar College from Anahuac. She is a member of the Texas Academy program, which permits juniors and seniors in highschool to get an early begin on school programs. When you have a doable visitor column for The Enterprise, electronic mail your thought or the column itself to Opinions@BeaumontEnterprise.com. When you have one thing to say, we wish to hear from you!
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