Captain Steven L. Bennett

Bennett flew the OV-10 Bronco as a forward air controller with the 20th Tactical Air Support Squadron at Da Nang, there only since late April 1972. On the fifth strafing pass of June 29, a missile hit the left engine. His Medal of Honor citation notes that no pilot of that aircraft had survived a ditching, yet he ditched so his observer could escape. His body was recovered next day. Vice President Gerald Ford presented the medal to his widow on August 8, 1974. He also received the Cheney Award posthumously, and a ship carries his name.

What the plaque says

Captain Steven L. Bennett 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)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Texas State Railroad Excursion Train — 4.2 mi
  A round trip of about 25 miles of track between the Palestine and Rusk depots through the Piney Woods, on a line built by prison labor and reopened as a tourist railroad in 1976.

More markers nearby

• Anderson County in the Civil War — steps away
• Christopher Columbus Rogers — steps away
• Site of Palestine Service Men's Club, World War II — steps away
• The I&GN Railroad in Palestine — steps away