December 7, 2023

Kislev 24, 5784

Yah

Benjamin Green

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Adar (Ly Adar 2) 25, 5703

March 21, 1913 to March 31, 1943

Private Benjamin Green was killed in action March 31, 1943, 10 days after his 30th birthday. Carolyn Bonnett, Ben's niece, remembers her uncle well - "He would come home on furlough, and we would go to Baltimore to see him. One time he brought me a book - Bambi-which I have cherished all these years. On that day in March 1943, my mother had called me in from play to tell me the news. In 1943, I was six and lived in Washington, DC. I remember that, while my uncle did his part to serve his country, my father served as an Air Raid Warden, going on patrol in the evenings. I was also issued a dog tag with all my information on it. Up until my uncle's death, the war was something I saw on newsreels in the movies and in patriotic cartoons. We would listen to President Roosevelt on the radio; and, even at age six, I was aware of what was going on in the world. I remember a lot, but the saddest memory of all was hearing that Uncle Ben had been killed. My grieving grandparents were left with a telegram, condolence letters, and a Purple Heart medal. They had lost their only son; my mother had lost her only brother, and I had lost a favorite uncle.”