Captain Steven L. Bennett
Palestine, Anderson County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Born in Palestine on April 22, 1946, Steven Logan Bennett grew up in Lafayette, Louisiana. He graduated from Youngsville High School in 1964 and then enrolled at Southwestern Louisiana State (now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette) where he majored in Aeronautical Engineering and participated in the Air Force ROTC. While at university, Steven was Commander of the Arnold Air Society. In 1968, he joined the Air Force in Big Spring. In 1970, Bennett competed advance training on the B-52 bomber as well as training as a forward air controller. In 1972, following graduation, Bennett reported for active service in Vietnam. After only three months of combat, he earned the air medal with three oak leaf clusters. On June 29, 1972, Bennett was on a mission with back seater Marine Captain Mike Brown. On duty for three hours, they learned of several hundred North Vietnamese about to attack a small South Vietnamese platoon. Knowing that they were the platoon's only help, Bennett and Brown made several passes, chasing the North Vietnamese away. Their plane was hit from behind by a surface to air missile (SAM), damaging one engine, causing a fire abroad and forcing the plane down. Bennett headed to the Gulf of Tonkin to drop fuel and eject but discovered that Brown's parachute was damaged by the SAM hit. Rather than save himself, Bennett ditched the aircraft and the ensuing impact trapped him under water. Brown was able to escape and was rescued. With extraordinary heroism, Captain Steven Bennett gave his own life to save his companion. He was posthumously awarded the medal of honor on August 8, 1974, by President Gerald R. Ford, and is buried in Lafayette Memorial Park. (2018)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Steven L. Bennett was born in Palestine in 1946 and grew up in Louisiana, joining the Air Force after studying aeronautical engineering. Serving in Vietnam in 1972 as a forward air controller, he and his back-seater helped scatter a large enemy force threatening a South Vietnamese platoon. When his aircraft was struck and his companion's parachute was found damaged, Bennett chose to ditch rather than eject, sacrificing his own life to save the other man, an act that earned him a posthumous Medal of Honor.
Why it matters
Bennett's choice is one of the war's enduring examples of self-sacrifice, honoring the individual courage that the nation memorializes in its highest military award.
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Related people
- · Steven L. Bennett
- · Mike Brown
- · Gerald R. Ford
Themes & tags
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