[Kat -several part series]
"Among the men who fought on Iwo Jima, uncommon valor was a common virtue." - Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, USN, 16 March 1945
On Memorial Day I waited for my mom to straighten flowers on my cousin's grave in a civilian cemetery in Kansas City, Kansas. Four generations of our family are buried there along with other family and friends from our extended relations. I walked around the small circle of headstones that surrounded a flag pole. Large elm trees guarded the perimeter of this small circle of land. Two main roads in the cemetery intersected near the circle with another semi-circular road passing the rear boundaries creating a circular spit of land. The largest trees stood near each of the intersecting roads; a good way to keep cars from accidentally driving over the graves.
As I passed each headstone and read their story, I noted that most of them were either men who served in the military or family members of the same. One headstone, slightly blackened with age, caught my attention. Someone had recently placed a flag and a small sprig of flowers by the grave. It read, Pvt Paul Benson, 26th Rgt, 5 Div, July 22, 1927 - February 26, 1945.
His date of death was before the war ended and his regiment, 26th Marines, 5 Division, seemed familiar. I downloaded the picture late in the week and decided to do a search to see if I could find Pvt Paul Benson's story. I could only find one link to Pvt Benson: a list of the names of those who died on Iwo Jima.
I knew there had to be more to Pvt Paul Benson's story than a plain headstone and someone obviously cared enough to put flowers on his grave. Pvt Benson was just 18 years old when he died on Iwo Jima, D-Day+7, five months shy of his 19th birthday. He wasn't married. He had no children, but he had lived more than many men in that short time. And, he had served his country in a battle that helped end the most horrific war in the short history of his nation and, possibly, in the history of man kind.
He rests here in Kansas City, Kansas, in a plain grave with a simple marker, below an ever waiving flag of the United States. In the scheme of things, that may best represent Adm Nimitz's words, "Uncommon valor, a common virtue."
I decided that it would be a good opportunity to piece together Pvt Benson's story, the story of Kansas City at war and tell a little bit about the 26th Marines, 5th Division, Iwo Jima.
Paul Benson would have been 14 when the news came that the Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor. He lived at 22 S. 22nd St, Kansas City, Kansas with his mother Mrs. Florence Placke. His family probably heard it on the radio like many people of that era. Like September 11, though there were many eyewitnesses and live reports, the details were sketchy and sometimes completely wrong as news broadcasters posted bulletins about other attacks. People would have gone on about the day though many would slowly gather and stay near the radio later in the evening, waiting anxiously to know what the President was going to do as the magnitude of the attacks began to sink in.
Paul would have been at school the next at Argentine Middle-High School on 22nd and Ruby, Kansas City, KS [pic (c) 1950] day when President Roosevelt gives his "Day of Infamy" speech at 12:15 pm EST and congress declares war. While the school probably did not turn on the radio for the students, teachers and administrators would have listened intently while the students continued to study. School might have been called early as the announcement sunk in.
While the teachers were solemn, the students might have just been happy to leave early. Then again, the attitude of the teachers and others might have been reflected by the students. Older students about to graduate might have talked excitedly about going down to the recruiting station and enlisting as soon as possible. The younger students Paul's age might have talked among themselves, wondering what it means and prating young men's bravado about seeking revenge for the attacks.
Later in the day after doing a few chores and hanging out with his friends, he might have been sitting at the table eating dinner with the family, listening to the radio give updated reports on numbers of casualties and parts of the President's speech. His Step-father or mom may have poured over the newspapers with accounts of the attack. There's little doubt that the lives of many were about to change.
As the war preparations sped up, Paul and his friends probably played "war" in their back yards and fought over who would be the "dirty Japs" and "Nazis". He might have played baseball at Clifton Park or City Park nearby.
Everywhere he would have seen and heard the cry: "Remember Pearl Harbor".
[Part II: Paul Benson Grows Up in War Time Kansas City]
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