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| Lt. Benjamin Duke served with the 49th Fighter Group in New Guinea. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/112843899/benjamin-franklin-dukehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/49th_Fighter_Group |
Benjamin was born on November 18, 1918 in South Carolina. His parents Benjamin Sr. and Genevieve were both born in Georgia. He had two older sisters. His father was a dentist and passed away in 1931, his mother never remarried.
In April 1941, after having completed 4 years of college, Benjamin enlisted in the Army Air Corps as an aviation cadet. The aviation cadet program served to train cadets as pilots, bombardiers, and navigators, as well as non-flying technical support disciplines such as maintenance engineering, armament, communications, meteorological, and photographic specialties.
He eventually became a 1st Lieutenant in the 49th Fighter Group of the Fifth Air Force. The 49th Fighter Group was mobilized in December 1941 and arrived in Melbourne, Australia in February of 1942. The group was equipped with P-40E Warhawk aircraft in Australia and after a brief period of training, provided air defense for the Northern Territory. The group moved to New Guinea in October 1942 to help stall the Japanese drive southward from Buna to Port Moresby.
The 49th engaged primarily in air defense of Port Moresby and also escorted bombers and transports, and attacked enemy installations, supply lines, and troop concentrations in support of Allied ground forces. They participated in the Allied offensive that pushed the Japanese back along the Buna trail and took part in the Battle of the Bismarck Sea in March 1943. At the time of his death on June 18, 1943 Lt. Duke served with the 49th Fighter Control Squadron, a specially equipped and trained unit responsible for ground control of fighter operations. I could not determine the circumstances of Lt. Duke’s death.
Benjamin Franklin Duke, Jr. is buried in Decatur Cemetery in Decatur, Georgia.
Thank you Lt. Duke for your sacrifice. Let's Earn It for Benjamin.
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This profile was written by Bob Fuerst. "I’m a NASA engineer, B-17 Flying Fortress enthusiast, and amateur genealogist so this kind of research is an ideal outlet for me. But more than anything, it’s a way to express my sincere appreciation for The Greatest Generation and the sacrifices that they made, especially those who made the ultimate sacrifice. They should never be forgotten and I’m grateful to Don for allowing me to play a small part in honoring them."
Last year on this date I profiled Richard Thew of the USS Shark. You can read about Richard here.
On behalf of the fallen, if you would like to see more people become aware of this project to honor the WW2 fallen, be sure to share with others on Twitter, Facebook, etc. Thanks for your interest!I created this video to explain why I started this project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXt8QA481lY.
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