Thomas W. Bennett (1947-1969)

On April 7, 1947, Thomas W. Bennett was born in Morgantown. Even from a young age, Bennett was deeply committed to his faith and community involvement. He was raised Southern Baptist and was an active Boy Scouts member. Bennett’s father died when Bennett was only a few years old, and Bennett’s mother remarried. The young boy’s new stepfather was a World War II veteran who stressed the importance of patriotism and duty. Bennett was a model student at Morgantown High School. During his first year at West Virginia University (WVU), the freshman’s talent and passion for community service flourished. Bennett taught Sunday school, drafted new codes of student ethics for his peers, and created the first Ecumenical Council on campus.

Despite his many successes, Bennett’s time at WVU was not carefree. Possibly due to his extensive involvement in extracurricular activities, the student’s grades suffered, and he was placed on academic probation in 1976. This forced Bennett to face the reality of his situation; without academic deferral, he was now for eligible for the Vietnam War draft. A committed and outspoken critic of violence and killing, Bennett felt that his faith was irreconcilable with service to his nation. At the same time, Bennett’s upbringing that emphasized duty pulled him in the direction of enlisting. Expecting to be forced to choose between registering as a conscientious objector or serving and possibly harming others, Bennett learned of a third option. He could become a conscientious objector willing to serve. Bennett quickly enlisted with this designation.

Bennett attended weaponless basic training and combat medical school in Fort Sam Houston, Texas during the summer of 1968. He wrote frequently to his family. By late November of 1968, Bennett was waiting for his assignment orders. He felt it was unlikely he would see combat, but nonetheless wrote, “If I am called to Nam, I will go. Out of obligation to a country I love I will go and possibly die for a cause I vehemently disagree with… It is my obligation to give service to my country. That’s why I’m here – to help provide freedom for dissenting voices… I believe in America.”1 Bennett’s prediction about his assignment seeing no combat proved to be wrong. In January of 1969, the medic was sent to Pleiku Province in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. 

In Vietnam, Bennett’s fellow servicemen dubbed the freshly arrived medic, “Doc.” Bennett took pride in the medical, preventative, and sanitary care he was able to provide at camp. On February 9, 1969, Bennett was accompanying a group of soldiers on a patrol mission when they were ambushed. Over the next several days, Bennett tirelessly administered first-aid and consistently put himself in extreme danger to rescue his comrades. Near dawn on February 11, Bennett was killed while attempting to reach a soldier who had been wounded by sniper fire. Details of Bennett’s death were not originally made public, only that he had been killed in action. Over the coming year, more information was reported as Bennett was posthumously awarded the rank of Corporal and a Purple Heart for his heroics. Additionally, Bennett’s family was presented with a Medal of Honor by President Richard Nixon on April 7, 1970 – what would have been Bennett’s twenty-third birthday. Bennett’s mother initially planned to refuse the honor. She felt that refusal would be a symbolic tribute to Bennett’s adamant refutation of war. However, Bennett’s father convinced her to accept the medal by arguing that it was Bennett’s comrades that wanted him to have it. Bennett was the second conscientious objector to ever receive a Medal of Honor. He was also the only objector to receive an award for service in the Vietnam War.

Bennett’s commemoration continues through a wide variety of tributes. One tower of the WVU Evansdale Residential Complex – completed shortly after Bennett’s death – was named Bennett Tower in the medic’s honor. Bennett’s name is listed on a veteran’s memorial in front of Morgantown High School, and the nearby Interstate 79 bridge over the Monongahela River is the Thomas Bennett Memorial Bridge. The historic Walter House in downtown Morgantown hosted WVU religious councils in the 1970s and was known as the Bennett House during this period. A youth center in Oahu, Hawaii is named in honor of Bennett, as is the Bennett Health Clinic in Fort Hood, Texas. In his last communication home before he died, Bennett said, “I have had and am having such a rich, full, good, exciting life that, well, nobody can take it away from me. It can’t be erased in any way.”2 In 2000, Bennett’s family donated his Medal of Honor to WVU. It is displayed in the West Virginia & Regional History Center, testament to his enduring legacy. 

February 11, 1969: Medal of Honor recipient Tom Bennett killed in action, WV Public Broadcasting. February 11th 2019. Accessed September 16th 2020. https://www.wvpublic.org/post/february-11-1969-medal-honor-recipient-tom-bennett-killed-action#stream/0.

2. Mazzella, Diana. A Peaceful Patriot, WVU Magazine. November 4th 2019. Accessed September 16th 2020. https://magazine.wvu.edu/stories/2019/11/04/a-peaceful-patriot.

1. Mullens, Cynthia. Thomas William Bennett, West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History. December 1st 2017. Accessed September 16th 2020. http://www.wvculture.org/history/wvmemory/vets/bennettthomas/bennettthomas.html.

Murphy, Edward F. A Conscientious Objector's Medal of Honor, History Net. June 1st 2003. Accessed September 16th 2020. https://www.historynet.com/a-conscientious-objectors-medal-of-honor.htm.

Thomas William Bennett, Honor States. Accessed September 16th 2020. https://www.honorstates.org/index.php?id=262019.

Thomas William Bennett, Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund. Accessed September 16th 2020. https://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/3577/THOMAS-W-BENNETT/page/1/.

Thomas William Bennett, Virtual Wall. August 15th 2019. Accessed September 16th 2020. https://www.virtualwall.org/db/BennettTW02a.htm.