DEDICATED TO A TRUE AMERICAN
Rank/Branch: E2/US Marine Corps
GREGORY REA BENTON, JR.
Unit: Company D, 1st Battalion, 9th Marines, 3rd Marine Division
Date of Birth: 19 November 1950
Home City of Record: Vallejo, California
Date of Loss: 23 May 1969
Country of Loss: South Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 160700N 1072000E
Status (in 1973): Missing In Action
Category: 3
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: Ground
Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 01 March 1991 from one or more of the following:
raw data from U.S. Government agency sources, correspondence with POW/MIA families, published sources, interviews.
Copyright 1991 Homecoming II Project.
GREG'S STORY
Greg Benton is an American Indian -- a true
American -- and, above all, he wanted to do his part for his
country. Despite the schism dividing our country over Viet Nam,
Greg volunteered to do his duty. He had an excuse many young
men of his day would have used to get out of going to "Nam". He
had a pin in his leg as a result of a car accident while
delivering newspapers as a boy. Because of that pin, Greg had
to fight to get into the Marine Corps, and had a difficult time
in boot camp because of it. But he badly wanted to become a
Marine -- and he DID become one of "The Few, The Proud, The
Marines".
When PFC Benton went to Vietnam, he was assigned to Company D,
1st Battalion, 9th Marines, in Vietnam. Like other soldiers in
Vietnam, Benton was overwhelmed by the death of his comrades.
In a letter home, he wrote: "Death is slowly catching up with
me, and I cannot avoid it much longer. I dislike having my life
end in this hole, but there is little I can do to prevent it.
Though my body may be weak and soft, my spirit is strong and
bold."
He is the epitome of everything a Marine stands for....
On May 23, 1969, Benton was part of a security force evacuating
casualties at Quang Tri when his helicopter landing zone was
overrun. A firefight ensued and, when it was over, search
efforts were conducted in the area. All personnel were
accounted for except for Benton. No trace was found.
It was not known whether he had been injured, captured, or
killed. Benton was classified Missing In Action.
When U.S. involvement in the war ended in 1975, thousands of
refugees fled Vietnam to escape the communist regime, bringing
with them stories of Americans still in their country. Since
then, over 10,000 such reports have accumulated in U.S. agency
files.
Many experts, after reviewing the information, believe hundreds
might still be alive today -- still prisoners.
It is not known if Benton survived the attack on the landing
zone on May 23, 1969, or if he is one of those said to be still
alive. If he is still alive, he surely remembers and has lived
by the Marine Corps slogan, "Semper Fideles".
He knows the importance his fellow Marines placed on recovering
even the dead from the battlefield. If he is alive, he must
wonder why his country has broken faith with him and why he has
been abandoned.
It's time we brought our men home.
I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to keep pushing this issue.... The need to get specific answers is more important now than ever before.
If still alive, some MIAs are now in their 70s... They don't have much time left.
We have to demand the answers from the bureaucrats, and keep standing on their necks (figuratively speaking) until they get the message that THEY work for US, and that we are serious about getting these long overdue responses!
Diplomatic considerations aside... We can no longer allow questionable protocols established by pseudo-aristocratic armchair strategists, to determine or influence the fate of the men who were in the trenches while the diplomats were sharing sherry and canapes and talking about "Their Plans" for the future of SE Asia.
If you'd like to see what some others are doing in addition to writing their congressmen, senators, and the Whitehouse, check out some of these sites:
Another remarkable site is by an 11 year old angel who never
even set foot on American soil... She not only put up a
page... she started a major project for an organization of Kids
on the Net called KeyPals International.
Her MIA page is at
http://www.geocities.com/~angelicdevil/mia.html, but don't miss
her
"Bring Grandpa Home" page.
If you come away from that site without a lump in your throat, then you just weren't paying attention....
Doc Bronson