Bisbee World War II Memorial

Bisbee World War II Memorial. We Salute All Our Valiant Warriors Who Made The Supreme Sacrifice In Defending Our Freedom In World War II, Manuel Abasta, Jr. . Frank L. Adams . John Aira, Jr. . Robert Bell . Arthur Benko . Josiah Bond . Theodore R. Bozarth . French L. Brandon . France M. Branson . Marcus Brown . Blanche L. Busey . Charles L. Callahan . Felix M. Chavez . Charles T. Cleveland . Robert L. Cox . Henry E. Crist . Harold V. Cummins . Jack L. Davis . Billy L. Decker . Dale E. Decker . Howard Dennison . Martin Dodge . George F. Donahue . Jack J. Doughtery . Jack S. Dymock . Antonio P. Escalante . Rafael L. Esquer . Gilbert Estrada . Maurice L. Forrey . Marvin Gale . Gus J. Gaxiola . George A. Glasson . Al B. Goodall . Robert B. Graham . William A. Graham . Horace M. Hill . George H. Holland . Felipe V. Hirales . Ralph V. Hirales . Harvey J. Hughes . Roy E. Hughes . Peter K. Ivanovitch . John M. Lindholm . Tom C. Medigovich . Paul Merrill . William S. Metzler . David M. Mikels . Albert Mitchell, Jr. . John A. Moore . Alfonso Morales . James J. Murphy . Allen Q. Nations . Earl E. Nichols . Anthony J. Nicholson, Jr. . Joyce A. Ralph . Bernard J. Roth . Ray S. Ruiz . Robert R. Schmid . Karl Schandelmerier . James C. Sessions . Andrew E. Sheek . William F. Shields . Charles L. Sotelo . Fred C. Standish . Clarence W. Stemen, Jr. . James W. Stevenson . Alfred C. Stoddard . Dewitt S. Terry . Edward E. Thomas, Jr. . Dominick G. Troglia . Felisandro M. Valenzuela . Paul D. Warner . Earl E. Watts . William H. Webb . Henry N. Wolcott, Jr. . Earl B. Wood . George C. Wylie, Top part of memorial , T/SGT Arthur J. "Art" Benko was born on April 19, 1911. and graduated from Bisbee High School in 1928. He was an outstanding athlete and Arizona State Rifle Champion in 1937-1939. Art worked for the Phelps-Dodge Mining Company in Bisbee until he volunteered for the Army Air Corps in April 1942 and was stationed at Davis-Monthan Air Base in Tucson. He was assigned as the top turret gunner on a B-24D bomber named "The Goon" and went into combat in the China Burma India Theater in March 1943. In only eight months of combat, Art Benko downed sixteen confirmed hostile fighters, making him one of the war's leading gunner aces. In a single mission on October 1, 1943, over Haiphong, Indochina, nineteen enemy aircraft concentrated their attack on Art's gun position. In the forty-minute, very bitter aerial battle that followed, a machine gun round ripped through Art's turret wounding him in the neck and the hand, and his guns jammed twice. He disregarded his wounds, calmly cleared his guns, and continued to fire at the enemy until he had shot down seven confirmed Japanese Zeros. Art's heroism materially contributed to the safety of his crew and other friendly bombers, and to the success of the mission. On November 15, 1943, during a raid on Hong Kong, "The Goon" developed engine trouble and most of the crew had to bail out. Art and two other crew members landed in the middle of a very wide, fast flowing river. Art was not seen after that, and it was presumed that he had drowned. Art Benko received the Legion of Merit, two Distinguished Flying Crosses, three Air Medals, and two Purple Hearts. His seven aerial victories over Haiphong later ranked him as one of only two known Army Air Force gunners, along with two fighter pilots, to hold such a record during all of World War II., This memorial is dedicated to Art Benko and the other seventy-six patriots from the Bisbee area who lost their lives in World War II , Captions , Art Benko seated next to his gun turret on top of "The Goon." The flags painted below him depict the 16 enemy fighters he shot down. , Art Benko, center, giving the "V" for victory sign after a successful mission. , On June 4, 2009, the Department of the Army awarded T/SGT Benko the Silver Star medal for his heroism as an aerial gunner on October 1, 1943 during the bombing mission to Haiphong, Indochina. The medal was donated to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson for display with his other awards in the T/SGT Arthur J. Benko Fitness and Sports Center dedicated to him on May 22, 2008.