Native Sons Lost: Milledgeville's Vietnam War Dead
Ben Willis Howell was born on July 5, 1931 in Tennille, Georgia to Oscar Howell and Hattie Milton Howell. Ben was the middle child in a family of eight other siblings: four brothers and four sisters. Ben also had three step-siblings from his mother’s first husband, who passed away in 1919. Due to the economic hardships brought on by the Great Depression in the 1930s, Ben’s father appears to have moved the family round Central and South Georgia in search of work as a farmer and laborer.
Ben decided to make the military a career and enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1950. Ben served in the Armor Branch, which controlled of all tank units in the Infantry and Cavalry. It is unknown if he engaged in combat in the Korean War, which raged from 1950 to 1953. During the 1950s, Ben married Carolyn Elizabeth Garrett of Milledgeville, Georgia, and the couple would establish their permanent address in Hardwick, a small community on the south side of he city. Ben and Carolyn would have three children: a son, Ben, and two daughters, Kathy and Gwynell.
In the 1950s, Ben served in various locations and rose through the ranks. He was stationed in Germany in the latter part of the decade. Records indicate his son, Ben, was born in there in 1959. In late 1963, Ben was assigned to A Troop, 3rd Squadron, 7th Cavalry, which served as the divisional cavalry squadron for the 3rd Infantry Division stationed at Ledward & Conn Barracks, Schweinfurt, West Germany. The squadron consisted of two ground units, two aviation troops, and a headquarters troop. Ben, now a Staff Sergeant, served as a tank commander in charge of an M60A1 tank and crew members.
"Since Ben was a Sergeant he had a room by himself AND he could and did have a radio. There was NO TV. It was night over there when Kennedy was shot. So on Ben’s radio we heard the unfolding news about our Commander in Chief. The next day Ben and I were fortunate to be assigned to the Honor Guard with the lowing of the flag on our Post.” - Jim Robertson, A Troop, 3rd Squadron, 7th Cavalry, 3rd Infantry Division
SSGT Ben Willis Howell (third from left) on maneuvers, West Germany, circa 1964.Courtesy of Jim Robertson
At the time of Ben’s assignment to the 7th Cavalry, Cold War tensions were high. The 3rd Infantry Division advance units had moved to Germany in 1958 while Western Europe was rebuilding and establishing a democratic government. Soviet Union block nations were determined to spread communism throughout the world. Europe, particilur Germany, became the epicenter of idealogical conflict between the East and West. The Soviets wanted to create a "buffer zone" of friendly governments as a defense against the allied nations of NATO. The 3rd Infantry Division, along with the 7th Cavalry, stood as a symbol of strength for negotiations and a barrier to communist military expansion. The threat of military conflict and even the outbreak of World War III was very real.
"I really respected him as a leader. I always knew Ben was who I would want to lead me in battle if it ever came.” - Jim Robertson, A Troop, 3rd Squadron, 7th Cavalry, 3rd Infantry Division
SSGT Ben Willis Howell standing in his M60A1 tank commader’s cupola, Ledward Barracks, Schweinfurt, Germany, circa 1963. Courtesy of Jim Robertson
Ben began his tour of duty in South Vietnam on April 13, 1968, assigned to A Troop, 3rd Squadron, 5th Cavalry, 9th Infantry Division. The unit was known as the Black Knights. Although the unit was assigned to the 9th Infantry, it often came under the operational control (OPCON) of other units in need of armor and mechanized support. Shortly after Ben arrived in-country, the 3/5 Cav moved to Wunder Beach, a logistical supply base along the coast of Quảng Trị Province, northwest of Huế. The unit was responsible for the base’s perimeter security and route security, recon in force, cordon and search, search and clear, night ambushes, and airborne hunter-killer operations in conjunction with Operation JEB STUART III, which was conducted in the Quảng Trị Province from May 21-July 31, 1968.
A M113A1 armored personnel carrier submerged in mud, demonstrating the extreme conditions faced by armored units in Vietnam, C Troop, 3rd Squadron, 5th Cavalry, August, 1968 (Gary Fix). www.3-5cav-blackknights.org
Ben’s unit was placed under OPCON of the 1st Cavalry Division for the operation. The intent was to deny the enemy access to rice supplies. Ben and the rest of the 3/5 Cav would cordon off an area or village, blocking the potential escape of enemy forces, while a 1st Cavalry unit would sweep through and destroy the enemy within the cordoned off section. During one of these actions, on May 28, 1968, Ben was killed by small arms fire. He had been in-country for 46 days. Funeral services were held for Ben on June 10, 1968.
Sergeant First Class Ben Willis Howell is interned at Zeeta Cemetery, 340 Zeta Street, Tennille, Georgia. His location on the Vietnam Memorial is Panel 4W, Line 10.
Left to Right: Announcement of Ben Howell’s death, Union Recorder, June6, 1968.Georgia College Library; Announcement of Ben Howell’s death, unkown source, circa 1968.Georgia College Library; Military headstone application card for Ben Willis Howell, submitted by his wife, Carolyn Howell, 1968.www.ancestry.com; Jim Robertson pointing to Ben Howell’s name on the Vietnam Memorial Wall, Washington D.C., 2021. Jim served as Ben’s tank gunner in Germany, 1963-1965.Courtesy of Jim Robertson
Rubbing from the Vietnam Memorial, Washington, D.C. - Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund.Georgia College Special Collections
Student research on Ben Willis Howell, conducted by Jonathan O’Brien and Davis Shaw, is available in the Georgia College Knowledge Box
