World War II Honoree

Barney W. Bennett

Branch of Service

U.S. Marine Corps

Hometown

Saint Louis, Missouri

Honored By

Orville L. Kline

RANK: 2ND LIEUTENANT. HE WAS A UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS FIGHTER PILOT, WHO FLEW THE F4U-4 CORSAIR FIGHTER-BOMBER. SERVED ABOARD THE AIRCRAFT CARRIER USS ESSEX CV-9 IN THE PACIFIC THEATER ASSIGNED TO THE MARINE ATTACK SQUADRON ONE TWENTY-FOUR ‘VMF-124’, CARRIER AIR GROUP-FOUR. ON SUNDAY, DECEMBER 31, 1944 HE DIED WHILE PARTICIPATING IN A TAKE-OFF/LANDING PRACTICE DRILL. AFTER HE HAD ENTERED THE FINAL APPROACH LEG, THE LANDING SAFETY OFFICER ‘LSO’ SIGNALED A WAVE-OFF. HE ACKNOWLEDGED THE COMMAND AND WAS ATTEMPTING A LEFT BANK, CLIMBING TURN WHEN HIS FIGHTER SPUN INTO THE OCEAN DUE TO A LOSS OF AIR SPEED. REPORTED AS MISSING IN ACTION, LOST AT SEA ON THE DAY OF HIS DEATH AND HE IS MEMORIALIZED IN THE TABLETS OF THE MISSING, MANILA AMERICAN CEMETERY AND MEMORIAL LOCATED AT FORT BONIFACIO, PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. DECORATION AND CITATION: PURPLE HEART. THE LIEUTENANT, AN AMERICAN PATRIOT, WAS AWARDED THE PURPLE HEART FOR HIS SUPREME SACRIFICE IN DEFENSE OF HIS COUNTRY.