Our family of veterans

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This is a subject that has been on the back burner of my mind for quite some time. I sure hope I’m not missing anyone, as to me, they are the most deserving of anything America has to offer in this present day.

I found this quote to be so profound: “Wars may be fought with weapons, but they are won by men.” Just “ordinary guys doing extraordinary things.”

Lane Spurgeon Benson Sr.

“He was one of the brave individuals that answered America’s call to register for the WWl draft.” He was my dad’s father, I’m proud to say my grandfather. It turns out that he responded to the call but did not actually serve; he claimed exemption of the draft due to having to support a wife and five children.

Bonaparte Lowry Pate

I just came across this information and I’m just as proud to write that mom’s granddad was a Civil War vet. He was born in 1834 and passed away on October 6, 1909. He is buried at Cisco, Texas. The Civil War was fought from 1861-1865.

Dick Freeland

This is mom’s uncle who was a Veteran of WWl. It was known as the Great War and considered to be one of the largest wars in history. It originated in Europe and lasted from 1914-1918. I have a photo of him dressed in the uniform of that era.

George Howell Pate

Mom’s brother served during WWll in the Fiji Islands. He joined the effort at age 21 in 1941, and was stationed in Arizona where he became a skilled Morse Code Operator. He returned home but the war had taken its toll and he was never quite the same. WWll spanned 1939-1945.

Lane Spurgeon Benson, Jr.

Dad’s youngest brother was very tall and handsome and even more so as portrayed in his Marine uniform. He was in the Battle of Midway where Americans won a decisive victory.

After that victory, he then served in Guadalcanal where he was captured and spent time in a POW camp. He eventually suffered from a tropical disease and food shortage (a polite way of saying starvation) and insufficient clothing for the harsh winters; the results of which would cause him major physical problems later in his life. He returned home, married and had three sons before his major physical problems set in. Semper Fi, Uncle Bud.

Ray Escovedo

This is my first husband and the father of my three children. He was drafted long before we married and was stationed in Colorado Springs for his Basic Training. I recall a train ride and a visit to see him that was well remembered, accompanied by his mother and younger brother.

It was such a coincidence and brought great elation to learn that Bob Price, one of his best friends, was stationed there with him.

Levi Calvin Benson, Jr.

My brother Cal was drafted into the Army at age nineteen in 1959. His mastering of the Spanish language (fluent in speaking, reading and writing) earned him a special rank in Fort Campbell, Kentucky and Fort Sam Houston, Texas. Being in the Army afforded him the training he honed for his lifelong career as a Medical Lab Specialist. He just missed having to go to Cuba during the missile crisis and later to Viet Nam.

Robert Dennis Benson

My youngest brother, Bob, was drafted into the Army in 1965 at the age of twenty-one. He was sent to Fort Polk, Louisiana for Boot Camp Training. That completed, he was sent to Fort Ord, California where he was assigned to Field Radio Communications. He then volunteered for airborne training and was sent to Fort Benning, Georgia. He was injured jumping out of a plane and reassigned as Drill Instructor to a unit specializing in night firing of a recoil weapon to be used in Viet Nam.

Tom Otero

My brother-in-law was a Specialist 4th Class as an Army Photographer from 1969 to 1971. He photographed Army officers during combat training and at their awards ceremonies. He also served as a Lab Technician developing film and printing pictures of activities and portraits at Fort Ord in Monterey, California. He also worked for the Army Post Newspaper.

Mark Escovedo

My son took a year off from college to join the National Guard to supplement his income with the Montgomery G.I. Bill. Stationed in Fort Bliss, Texas, he was then sent to Fort Sam Houston where he was an honor graduate, medical lab specialist. He returned to Cal Poly and earned his B.S. Degree.

Valorie Escovedo

My daughter-in-law, married to Mark, joined the National Guard in 1989 at the tender age of seventeen. In August 1990, after graduating and turning eighteen, she started basic training at Fort Dix in New Jersey before transferring to Fort Sam Houston to Combat Medic School. Also, while in the Guard, she served as part of the medical support team during the L.A. riots. And she also went on a humanitarian mission to the country of Panama and provided medical support while the Army built an airfield.

Dick Smith

My second husband who was among those who served at sea. It was a good twenty-five years before I met him, so I’m guessing that the time served was in the early 1950’s. He was an MP and based in Rhode Island.

To all of you who have served in peacetime or wartime, whether you are still with us or now rest in peace, thank you for the sacrifices you made in answering the call to protect our America the Beautiful. Thank you also for your showing of courage and character in your acceptance of suffering the visible and invisible wounds of war.

Sharon Benson Smith is a member of the writing class offered through the Cerritos College Adult Education Program. It is held off-campus at the Norwalk Senior Center.