Marion Franklin Bench Jr
Military ROLL OF HONOUR
Printed caption attached to print: 'Lightnings Attack Northern France. Versatile P-38 Lightnings, flashing their power across the English Channel for the first time in a combat role, bring new serial phase into the European Theatre of Operations. Well-trained pilots - some of them already experienced in the other theatres of war - and ground crews swear by their ships. From briefing room to flying line, from runways to skyways and contest with the enemy, each mission represents expert planning by Operations and Intelligence and the brains and sweat of every man who prepares an order or tightens a screw on a prop. Photo shows:- 2nd Lt. Jack Martin, Whittier, California, 1st. Lt. Merle B. Nicholas, Seattle, Wash., 2/Lt. Thomas A. Hanzo, Cleveland, Ohio, and 2/Lt. Marion F. Bench, Chillicothe, Mo. U.S. Pool/SG/H. Keystone 422 87.' Roger Freeman Collection
Associated this photo to Merle Nichols - typo in photo caption had his surname spelt as 'Nicholas'.
Object Number - FRE 76 - Second Lieutenant Jack Martin, First Lieutenant Merle B. Nichols, Second Lieutenant Thomas A. Hanzo and Second Lieutenant Marion F. Bench of the 20th...
Assigned to 79FS, 20FG, 8AF USAAF. Credited 1 x kill (He111). Failed to Return (FTR) strafing mission to Brussel's. Hit by 20mm shell while strafing railroads and crashed near Wemeldinge, Holland in P-38J 42-68094 25-May-44. Killed in Action (KIA).
Awards: DFC, AM (5 OLC), PH.
Connections
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Fighter
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Fighter
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: P-38 Lightning
- Unit: 20th Fighter Group 79th Fighter Squadron
Places
- Site type: Cemetery
- Known as: Ardennes American Cemetery, Liege, Belgium
- Site type: Airfield
- Known as: Kingscliffe, Apethorpe
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Born |
Chillicothe, Livingston County, MO | 19 October 1916 | Son of Marion Frank Sr and Hattie Ellen Bench. |
|
Enlisted Killed in Action (KIA) |
Barracks Rd, Vancouver, WA 98661, USA | 11 January 1941 | Vancouver Barracks, Washington |
|
Other Promotion |
King's Cliffe, Peterborough PE8, UK | 5 March 1944 | Promoted to 1st Lieutenant. |
|
Other Killed in action |
4424 Wemeldinge, Netherlands | 25 May 1944 | Failed to Return (FTR) strafing mission to Brussel's. Hit by 20mm shell while strafing railroads and crashed near Wemeldinge, Holland in P-38J 42-68094 25-May-44. Killed in Action (KIA). |
| Chillicothe, Missouri | |||
|
Buried |
Ardennes American Cemetery and Memorial | Ardennes American Cemetery and Memorial Liege, Belgium | |
|
Based |
Kings Cliffe | 24 May 1944 | Assigned to 79FS, 20FG, 8AF USAAF. |
|
Buried |
Utica Cemetery Utica, Livingston County, MO | Memorialised Utica Cemetery Utica, Livingston County, Missouri |
Revisions
Merged with duplicate entry to include details from:
- MACR 5283 ;
- Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database
Ted Damick, VIII Fighter Command pilots list
http://www.littlefriends.co.uk/search.php?searchString=Bench&Submit=Sea…
https://www.fold3.com/page/84934837_marion_f%20bench%20jr/details/
https://www.fold3.com/page/529856240_marion_f%20bench,%20jr/details/
https://www.fold3.com/image/28627067
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Bench&GSfn=Marion…;
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 5283, King's Cliffe Memorial Edition / Ted Damick, VIII Fighter Command pilots list
