LCDR BENTON W. DECKER, JR., USN
Lucky Bag Yearbook
From the 1945 Lucky Bag:
Benton Weaver Decker, Jr.
Soccer 4; Battalion Golf 4; Spanish Club 4, 3, 1; Boat Club 1
Ben, the fifth generation to become an officer in the Navy, “who climbed the rigging like his daddy used to do,” an out and out Red Mike, was happiest when sailing—anything from his dinghy to his yawl, or the LIGHT.
When not sailing he was usually raiding his mother’s ice box with forty or fifty classmates.
Always a section leader, “Deck” was perhaps better known for his “but, Sir.” And then there was the time no one could find the third company guidon. Ben hated swing, loved light opera, and the Navy. His heart is in it and he’ll go a long way.
Loss
Benton was lost when the A3D Skywarrior he was piloting crashed near Iwakuni, Japan, on May 28, 1959. All others aboard were also lost.
Other Information
From researcher Kathy Franz:
Benton graduated in 1941 from Point Loma High School in San Diego. How We Know ‘Em: Friendly . . hard working . . dependable. Ambition: Annapolis. Fate: Brawley Jr. College.
Benton married Helen Laws on July 28, 1956, in the Naval Air Station Chapel in Pensacola. Their daughter April was born May 31, 1957, in Wichita Falls, Texas.
His mother was Edwina, and his brother Albert was in the U. S. Naval Reserves.
Benton, Sr. was a graduate of the Class of 1920 and retired a Rear Admiral; his father Benton Clark Decker was an 1867 graduate and also retired a Rear Admiral.
Benton is buried in California.
Photographs
Related Articles
Eugene Spangler ‘45, George Webster ‘45, and Louis Schmeltzer ‘45 were also in 3rd Company.
Benton is one of 58 members of the Class of 1945 on Virtual Memorial Hall.
