Military
JACK OGG CREW #13, 100th BG Front Row L-R: Jack Ogg-CP, Loren Van Steenis-P, Harold Becker-N, Lester Torbett-Bomb. Back Row L-R: Archie Holladay-TTG, Robert Goodman-BTG, James Yarnall-WG, Joseph Clouthier-WG, Walter Schneider-TG, Ed Butchino-WG, Earl Benham-ROG. Yarnall wounded Feb 24, 1944, replaced by Clouthier
A bomber crew of the 100th Bomb Group with their B-17 Flying Fortress nicknamed "Hard Luck" Top Row: T/Sgt "Hap" Holladay, S/Sgt Bob Goodman,S/Sgt Jim Yarnell, S/Sgt Clothier, S/Sgt Walt Schneider, S/Sgt Edward "Butch" Butchino, T/Sgt Earl Benham Bottom Row: Lt Jack Ogg, Capt. Loren Van Steenis, Lt Harold Becker, Lt. Les Torbett
Assigned to 350BS, 100BG, 8AF USAAF. Van Steenis crew. Flew on B-17 "Hard Luck" and 'Hard Luck II', 28 x combat missions.
Earl later wrote up his wartime experience in the book 'With Crew 13'
Awards: AM (3OLC), WWII Victory, EAME.
''T/Sgt. Earl V Benham was Radio Operator on crew 13 100th Bomb Group, 350 Bomb Squadron, Thorpe Abbotts who flew B-17 F "Hard Luck" and "Hard Luck 2". October 13, 1943 to May 1944-28 missions. The original Hard Luck was lost in August 1944 after Transfer to other crews.'
Remembered By Col. James R Skalicky, Tuscon, AZ
Military | First Lieutenant | Navigator | 100th Bomb Group
Assigned to 350BS, 100BG, 8AF USAAF. Van Steenis crew. 23 x combat missions. Killed instantaneously by flak on Berlin mission in B-17 42-38053 'Hard Luck II' Killed in Action (KIA)
Awards: AM (3OLC), PH.
Military | Staff Sergeant | Waist Gunner | 100th Bomb Group
Assigned to 350BS, 100BG, 8AF USAAF. Van Steenis crew. 28 x combat missions. ETD
Awards: AM (3OLC), WWII Victory, EAME.
Military | Staff Sergeant | Waist Gunner | 100th Bomb Group
Assigned to 350BS, 100BG, 8AF USAAF. Van Steenis crew, replaced S/Sgt Yarnall (WIA) after Posen mission. ETD
Awards: AM, WWII Victory, EAME.
Military | Staff Sergeant | Waist Gunner | 100th Bomb Group
Assigned to 350BS, 100BG, 8AF USAAF. Van Steenis crew. 28 x combat missions. ETD
Awards: DFC, AM (3OLC), WWII Victory, EAME..
Military | Technical Sergeant | Top Turret Gunner; Flight Engineer | 100th Bomb Group
Assigned to 350BS, 100BG, 8AF USAAF. Van Steenis crew. 28 x combat missions. ETD
Awards: DFC, AM (3OLC), WWII Victory, EAME (1 battle star).
Military | First Lieutenant | Co-Pilot | 100th Bomb Group
Assigned to 350BS, 100BG, 8AF USAAF. Van Sternis crew. 28 x combat missions. ETD
Awards: DFC, AM (OLC), WWII Victory, EAME.
Military | Staff Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 100th Bomb Group
Assigned to 350BS, 100BG, 8AF USAAF. Van Sternis crew. 28 x combat missions. ETD
Awards: AM (3OLC), WWII Victory, EAME.
Military | Captain | Bombardier | 100th Bomb Group
Assigned to 350BS, 100BG, 8AF USAAF. Van Steenis crew. 23 x combat missions. Wounded by flak on Berlin mission in B-17 42-38053 'Hard Luck II' 7-May-44; Wounded in Action (WIA) Subsequently grounded due to wounds.
Awards: DFC, AM (3OLC), PH.
Military | First Lieutenant | Pilot | 100th Bomb Group
Assigned to 350BS, 100BG, 8AF USAAF. 28 x combat missions. Flew B-17 "Hard Luck" and 'Hard Luck II'. ETD
Awards: DFC, AM (4OLC), WWII Victory, EAME.
Military | Staff Sergeant | Waist Gunner | 100th Bomb Group
Assigned to 350BS, 100BG, 8AF USAAF. Van Stenis crew. 17 x combat missions. Wounded in hand and shoulder on Poznan mission in B-17 'Hard Luck II', grounded thereafter, taking up instructional role till wars end.
Awards: AM, PH.
Group
"The Bloody Hundredth", so-called because of a reputation for losing a high number aircraft and crews, flew B-17s from Thorpe Abbotts, Norfolk. Their losses were not the highest of any Eighth Air Force Group but on several occasions the Group lost many...
Squadron
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Denver 3/1/44; Kearney 30/1/44; Grenier 18/2/44; Assigned 350BS/100BG [LN-T] Thorpe Abbotts 23/2/44; Missing in Action Merseburg 29/7/44 with Eden Jones, Co-pilot: Bob Ries, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Jim Eadie, Radio Operator: Leo...
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Dallas 10/6/43; Dow Fd 18/8/43; Assigned 350BS/100BG [LN-V] Thorpe Abbotts 20/8/43; on mission to Berlin 7/5/44 with Loren Van Steenis, Navigator: Harry Becker (Killed in Action), Bombardier: Lester Torbett Wounded in Action, (8 Returned to...
Military site : airfield
Home of the 'Bloody Hundredth’, a Bomb Group with a reputation for high casualty rates, Thorpe Abbotts was under USAAF control from June 1943 to the end of the war. Some of the airfield survives today, and the control tower houses the 100th Bomb Group...
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Born | Montevideo, MN | 27 July 1915 |
|
Son of Don Gibson and Ida Louise [Lee] Benham. |
||
| Lived in | Milan, MN | 1922 |
| Aviation employment | San Diego, CA | 1941 |
|
Consolidated aircraft - PBY riveter. |
||
| Enlisted | 1942 | |
| Training | Harlingen, TX | 1943 |
|
Gunnery - Harlingen, Texas |
||
| Training | Scott Field, IL | 1943 |
|
Radio - Scott Field, Illinois |
||
| Training | Moses Lake, WA | 1943 |
|
Operational - Moses Lake, Washington |
||
| Based | Thorpe Abbotts | November 1943 – July 1944 |
|
Assigned to 350BS, 100BG, 8AF USAAF. |
||
| Died | Sierra Vista, AZ | 19 November 2007 |
| Enlisted | ||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 08 June 2021 20:11:37 | Al_Skiff | Changes to biography, awards, events, unit associations and aircraft associations |
| Sources | ||
https://www.fold3.com/record/62213479/earl-v-benham-social-security-deat... |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 29 November 2020 11:22:32 | Helen | Changes to biography |
| Sources | ||
Century Bulletin |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 26 November 2014 15:17:00 | Emily | Changes to biography and memoriam |
| Sources | ||
James R Skalicky, via American Air Museum Memory Book correspondence. |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:08:00 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
100th Bomb Group Foundation Directory, 2000 - 2001 / Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia |
||
