Thomas William Bennett

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Thomas W. Bennett

Thomas William Bennett (born on 7. April 1947 in Morgantown , West Virginia ; died on 11. February 1969 in Gia Lai , Vietnam ) was a veteran of the United States Army . He was the second of only three servicemen in the United States Armed Forces (the others were Desmond Doss and Joseph Guy LaPointe Jr. ) to refuse arms and to receive the Medal of Honor . Most recently he served as a corporal in the 1st Battalion of the 14th Infantry Regiment of the 4th Infantry Division . He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor .

Life

Thomas William Bennett was born on April 7, 1947 in Morgantown, West Virginia. His parents raised him strictly religiously according to the rules of the Southern Baptist Convention . During his studies at West Virginia University he promoted ecumenical exchange and founded the Campus Ecumenical Council .

At the end of 1967 he was threatened with deregistration because his grades had suffered from his involvement while studying, so he had to think about the alternatives. He was brought up patriotically by his father and wanted to serve his country, but his belief forbade him to kill other people. From the university recruiting officer he learned about the possibility of serving his country in the army and at the same time being able to meet his moral standards. The US Army had created the possibility of refusing to use the weapon and at the same time being part of the armed forces. On May 2, 1968, he finally enrolled in the US Army and was trained as a medic .

Together with other objectors to the weapons service, his unarmed basic training and advanced training as a medic took place in Fort Sam Houston , Texas . Initially, the likelihood of use in combat operations was estimated to be extremely low, but the changing situation of the Vietnam War led to the conscription of the entire class to Vietnam. Bennett arrived there on January 1, 1969. He was assigned to the Bravo Company of the 1st Battalion of the 14th Infantry Regiment.

Bennett had quickly earned a reputation as a courageous medic for his fearlessness in rescuing his comrades and for having been injured several times. On February 11th, he was shot dead in Gia Lai Province while trying to rescue a comrade wounded by sniper fire.

On April 7, 1970, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor by President Richard Nixon .

Honors

Military honors

Further honors

  • The Bennett Health Clinic in Fort Hood , Texas was named after him.
  • A bridge on Interstate 79 over the Monongahela River near his hometown of Morgantown bears his name.
  • A West Virginia University dormitory was also named after him.

literature

  • Bonni McKeown: Peaceful Patriot: the Story of Tom Bennett , Mountain State Press, 1980

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Background to Thomas W. Bennett ( Memento from January 17, 2017 in the Internet Archive ), www.cmohs.org
  2. ^ Edward F. Murphy: A Conscientious Objector's Medal of Honor , at www.historynet.com on June 12, 2006, originally published in Vietnam Magazine in June 2003 , accessed on April 25, 2017
  3. ↑ Duane Allen Vachon: "Thomas W. Bennett Corporal USA - A PASSIVE PATRIOT (English), at www.hawaiireporter.com on March 9, 2014, accessed April 25, 2017
  4. ↑ Information on Thomas W. Benett of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society (English) at www.cmohs.org, accessed on April 25, 2017
  5. ↑ a b Background to Thomas W. Bennett ( Memento from May 24, 2015 in the Internet Archive ), www.crdamc.amedd.army.mil
  6. ↑ Website of the dormitory (English)
personal data
SURNAME Bennett, Thomas William
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Bennett, Thomas W. (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American soldier, Medal of Honor holder
DATE OF BIRTH April 7, 1947
PLACE OF BIRTH Morgantown , United States of America
DATE OF DEATH February 11, 1969
Place of death Gia Lai , Vietnam