DUANE
Duane's take
The official marker tells this story, and I'm honored to pass it along to you now. Palestine, Texas. April 22, 1946.
A boy is born — Steven Logan Bennett — though Palestine wouldn't hold him long. He grew up in Lafayette, Louisiana, walked across the stage at Youngsville High School in 1964, and set his sights on the sky. He enrolled at Southwestern Louisiana State, majored in Aeronautical Engineering, joined the Air Force ROTC, and rose to Commander of the Arnold Air Society.
The young man had a bearing about him. You get the sense he always did. In 1968, he joined the Air Force in Big Spring, right here in Texas.
By 1970, he'd completed advanced training on the B-52 bomber and trained as a forward air controller on top of it. In 1972, following graduation, Bennett reported for active service in Vietnam. Three months into combat — just three months — he'd already earned the Air Medal with three oak leaf clusters.
The man was moving fast. Then came June 29, 1972. Bennett was flying with his back seater, Marine Captain Mike Brown.
They'd been on duty three hours when word reached them: several hundred North Vietnamese forces were closing in on a small South Vietnamese platoon. A small platoon. And Bennett and Brown were the only help those men had.
So they made pass after pass, driving the North Vietnamese back, buying those soldiers another breath, and then another. The plane took a surface-to-air missile from behind. One engine damaged.
Fire aboard. The aircraft going down. Bennett pointed toward the Gulf of Tonkin — he'd drop the fuel, they'd both eject, clean and simple.
Except when he checked on Brown, he found that the same missile hit had torn up Brown's parachute. Ejecting wasn't clean. Ejecting wasn't simple.
For Mike Brown, ejecting was a death sentence. And here is where Steven Logan Bennett made his choice. Rather than save himself, he ditched the aircraft.
The impact trapped him underwater. Brown was able to escape. Brown was rescued.
On August 8, 1974, President Gerald R. Ford posthumously awarded Captain Steven Bennett the Medal of Honor. He is buried in Lafayette Memorial Park.
He was born in Palestine, Texas. He gave everything over the Gulf of Tonkin. And the marker standing in Anderson County today makes sure neither of those facts ever gets forgotten.
What the marker says
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)