Survivors List

[KWE Note: This list could be incomplete and some spellings could be inaccurate.  If our KWE readers know of other survivors whose names should be added or misspellings that should be corrected, please send a message to Lynnita.]

A - Survivors

• Adcock, Hugh -  Now (2015) a metal smith living in Augusta, Kansas
• Alcardi, T.P.
• Allen, Dave
• Allen, Leslie
• Alumbaugh, George - Born February 2, 1931/died April 7, 1996, New Castle, IN.
• Anderson, Robert E. - hospitalman first class
• Arguero, Aniano C.
• Armentrout, John
• Arntson, F.

B - Survivors

• Bacon, Barton E. Jr. - captain of the USS Benevolence
• Badkirk, Ronald - carpenter
• Bagwell, Lee
• Bailey, Donald
• Ball, John D.
• Ballinger, Fred
• Barcelon, Geleciano
• Barkhurtt, Virgil
• Barlow, Charles D.
• Bates, Kenneth T.
• Bell, Glenn
• Bender, Leslie F.
• Bennett, Harm
• Benshoof, Cecil - age 20, fireman from Lebanon, Oregon
• Berg, Albert
• Bibkink, Ronald
• Bishop, Vernon J.
• Blamey, Robert
• Blanchard, Dr. Arthur James "Jim" - Lieutenant Jim Blanchard was an ear, nose and throat specialist assigned to the Benevolence.  He floated in the cold, dark water for hours before being rescued by a tug crew.  After a leave of absence he was assigned to the hospital ship USS Haven which went back and forth from Korea to Japan with wounded servicemen.  After that he attended a deep sea diving school and then was assigned to two different pre-nuclear submarines.  He and his wife are the parents of eight daughters.  Dr. Blanchard lives in Sarasota, Florida, and in 2021 he was 97 years old.
• Blankenship, Lawrence
• Blinzley, Gerald C. - Gerald died February 14, 1994.  He was from Ohio.
• Bloom, Roy
• Bobkink, William
• Boatman, Robert H.
• Booth, Herbert L.
• Borelli, Joseph
• Borza, Juan
• Botts, Verne
• Bowen, A.B.
• Boya, Juan
• Brannon, Bobby
• Brannon, Roscoe - senior X-ray technician (continued on to Korea on the USS Haven)
• Bratner, Lt. (jg) Harold - Stockton, CA.
• Bray, Richard W.
• Breedlove, Robert H.
• Brennan, Marie R. - Ltjg, Navy Nurse Corps (see nurses' section)
• Briganza, Gonzalo M.
• Brookes, Woodie
• Brown, Floyd D. Jr.
• Brown, William
• Bryant, Calvin
• Burch, E.J.
• Burnell, Robert
• Burns, John M. Sr.
• Burns, Olga
• Burt, Gilbert
• Butlers, Bobby J.

C - Survivors

• Cailo, W.
• Callao, Nick - chief stewards mate
• Campi, Stanley
• Caperton, John
• Caravintis, Gilbert
• Carr, William H.
• Cassady, Frank
• Cassella, R.
• Champion, Robert
• Clemenston, M.K. - 2nd officer
• Coates, Otis C.
• Cochran, James C. - captain
• Cole, John J.
• Collier, George
• Conn, Max Leroy
• Connell, Robert J.
• Conner, Chester - 26, Sheridan, WY
• Cooper, Doran
• Cooper, Joseph N.
• Corey, Warren H.
• Cosgrove, Michael
• Cowan, Kenneth
• Cox, Earl D. Jr.
• Crabtree, Jules E.
• Croker, Thomas
• Crow, Charles W.
• Cunningham, Eugene

D - Survivors

• Dalla, Silvio A.
• Damon, George
• Darter, Arthur
• David, John F.
• Davidson, Vernon
• Davis, Chief Alonzo E. - transferred to Benevolence from the Portsmouth Naval Hospital
• Davis, A.W.
• Davis, Edgar
• Davis, Ernest
• Davis, John F.
• Dawson, Edw.
• Deaton, Melvin L. - hospitalman second class
• Deignan, Mary - Navy Nurse Corps
• Deloe, Robert E. - From Bradford, PA, HN Deloe enlisted in the service at age 17 in 1944.  He reenlisted in 1946 and served on the USS Toledo.  His third enlistment was in 1949.  Following the sinking, he clung to the same life raft that Nurse Josephine McCarthy clung to until they were rescued.  Nurse McCarthy was also from Bedford.
• Denhardt, Stuart
• Dermoga, Peter S. - Maryland
• Dias, G.L.
• Dibble, John
• Dickens, Mason B. - Mason lives in Virginia Beach, VA today (2013).  He joined the Navy in December 1947 and retired out in October 1967 as a chief boiler tech. On the day of the sinking of the Benevolence, he was checking water levels in the boiler room when the collision occurred.
• Divbiel, G.
• Dougherty, ___
• Dow, Arthur
• Drolet, John "Jack" - age 21, hospitalman from Colfax, Washington
• Dryden, Wm. A.
• Duane, Luther
• Dubiel, Joe
• Duffy, James E.
• Duffy, Walter R.
• Dumas, Luther
• Duncan, Albert E. - age 25, hospitalman from Lonok, Arkansas
• Dunn, Dole C.
• Dyer, Lillian
• Dyer, Mary Eileen - Navy Nurse Corps

E - Survivors

• Eckman, Albert
• Edgett, Geo E.
• Edwards, James
• Edwards, William R.
• Emmett, Charles
• Englehardt, C.J.
• English, Curtis
• Erickson, A.A.
• Evert, Boris A.

F - Survivors

• Faddie, James W.
• Fannin, Ernest
• Ferandez, Ricardo B.
• Ferebee, Dale
• Fiddes, Jack G.
• Fields, Boone
• Fisher, Paul R.
• Fitzpatrick, Thos. J.
• Fleming, Wm. E.
• Fowler, Thomas G.
• Fralic, Jean C. - Navy Nurse Corps (see nurse's section)
• Fraser, William E.
• Freeman, Willie

G - Survivors

• Garcia, B.S.
• Garcia, Don
• Geram, Newton
• Gersbacher, Jos. R.
• Gibbons, Alfred
• Gilbert, Burt
• Ginn, Warren
• Goddard, D.J.
• Golanka, Edward
• Gonzales, Charles Trujillo
• Gonigan, Louis
• Goode, Levi
• Graham, Chief John L. - transferred to Benevolence from the Portsmouth Naval Hospital
• Granger, James
• Grant, Jack E.
• Graves, Joseph L.
• Gray, Charles
• Gross, C.W.
• Groves, George Thomas
• Groves, Joseph T.
• Gueno, Kermit
• Guest, Howard L.

H - Survivors

• Halen, Archie
• Haley, Travis Edgar Jr.
• Hall, Harsh
• Hall, Hiawatha
• Hall, Horace Weldon - chief aviation electronics technician
• Hallum, Aubrey
• Hamilton, Henry Jr.
• Hampton, John W.
• Hand, R.H.
• Hammock, Jerry Lee Frederick
• Hargrove, V.B.
• Harkins, Catherine N. - Lt., Navy Nurse Corps (see nurse's section)
• Harkins, Jackie
• Harrington, Eleanor M. - Lt., Navy Nurse Corps (see nurse's section)
• Harris, R.A.
• Harrison, William L.
• Harsgrove, V.B.
• Hazlett, Maurice
• Heagler, Aubrey - Aubrey served in the US Army but was with the merchant service when he was on the USS Benevolence.  He died March 7, 2013 while residing in Sacramento, California.  His family tells the KWE that Aubrey never liked the water and said he remembered that being in the water was a horrible experience.  He never told his family about being in the ship sinking.
• Heilburn, Melvin
• Heitslead, Edward
• Henderson, Richard
• Hendricks, Charles M. - Lt.
• Henson, Jack A. - age 27, quartermaster serviceman from Ft. Smith, Arkansas
• Hewitt, Ernest S. - died October 29, 1975 (see Eye Witness Accounts)
• Hickman, James
• Higgen, H.B.
• Higgs, Harry Barger Jr.
• Hinkle, Roy Demar
• Hockenberry, Thomas R.
• Hodges, Clarence L.
• Hoffman, Donald Earl
• Hogue, Thomas F.
• Hohibak, Edw. J.
• Hollgi, Dawil
• Holly, David Lee Sr. - corpsman
• Holly, Jack
• Holt, Roy B.
• Hones, Walker
• Horne, Teunis - Born September 28, 1930/died March 30, 2011.
• Horsman, Donald - LTCDR
• Horton, L.G.
• Horton, Joseph K.
• Hotz, John Franklin
• Howell, William Jr.
• Hudson, Cecil Mark
• Hudson, Charlie Lewis
• Huffman, Roger William
• Hughes, Jack
• Humphreys, Wendell
• Hunt, H.A.
• Hunter, Arlis K. - corpsman
• Hunter, ___

I - Survivors

• Ingram, Wm. Jr.
• Iseris, H.S. [could be M.S.]

J - Survivors

• Jackson, Harry
• Jackson, Leon
• Jackson, Wilfred R. - chief aviation electronicsman
• Jacobson, Anders
• James, Bobbie
• James, Darrell W.
• James, Robert Raymond (died July 7, 2000)
• James, Walker H.
• Jann, James
• Javins, Harold W.
• Jellison, James
• Jennings, F.
• Jewett, Munway
• Johnson, James
• Johnson, Robert B.
• James, Bobbie
• Jones, B.G.
• Jones, Ernest W.
• Jones, Raymond
• Jones, Roy
• Jones, Walker H.
• Judy, Calvin

K - Survivors

• Kalina, Joseph
• Kaling, Joseph H.
• Karczmarczyk, John F.
• Karns, Patricia A. - Ens., Navy Nurse Corps (see nurse's section)
• Katz, Lionel
• Keller, Jack
• Kemper, J.S.
• Kendrick, Oliver
• Kent, Aaron
• Keyes, Junius E.
• Koethe, J.L.
• Komorowski, Casimis W.
• Kopp, Richard J.

L - Survivors

• Lanuya, P.L.
• Larson, Donald
• Lassamana, Y.J.
• Lavelle, Gary - chief storekeeper
• Layton, Curtis
• Layton, Josef
• Le Clelece, John
• Lee, Emikle
• Legaskis, John G.
• Le Moine, James E.
• Lemons, Eddie
• Leong, Chas.
• Letterman, Jesse
• Lewis, Sam Jr.
• Lightfoot, Richard
• Lillie, Donald H.
• Lilly, Glendon
• Lipuscek, Marie - Lt., Navy Nurse Corps (see nurse's section)
• Livesay, Joe B.
• Lodge, John
• Lopez, Julian
• Lorenz, R.W.

M - Survivors

• Mabom, Melvin
• MacDonough, Robert
• Maind, Jules
• Maldonado, P.
• Manley, Donald
• Mann, James
• Manvel, Archie B.
• March, William C.
• Marcelo, ___ - (His wife was Vivian Marcelo of Vallejo. CA.)
• Maroney, James
• Maroni, Jack - civilian quartermaster, age 23
• Martin, Dwight
• Martin, Ruth - Ens., Navy Nurse Corps (see nurse's section)
• Martin, William
• Martinez, Ray
• Marshburn, Quillian B.
• Mass, Herbert
• Mateo, Alexander
• Mathews, Thomas
• Matthews, Gail Celeste - Navy Nurse Corps (see nurses' section)
• Mayotte, Bernard
• Mazzini, Theo (Ted)
• McBride, Murrell
• McCann, Arthur
• McCarthy, Josephine E. - Lt., Navy Nurse Corps (see nurses' section)
• McClendon, Coy - hospital corpsman 2C (died August 25, 2007)
• McClure, Vernon
• McCray, Charles
• McDougall, Harold
• McElroy, John
• McGraw, Francis M.
• McGuire, Irvin
• McKee, Donald
• McLean, Jack - Chief pharmacists mate -husband of Sylvia McLean of Washington, D.C.
• McMillan, Curtis H.
• McWhorter, James G. - hospital corpsman - died November 30, 2012.  See his obituary on the KWE's Death Notices page.
• Meier, LeRoy C. - hospitalman 2C
• Miller, John A.
• Mitchell, Forest
• Monson, Kenneth
• Moore, Curtis
• Moore, Richard K. - Illinois
• Morgan, Robert E.
• Morgan, William
• Moss Dewey
• Moss, Herbert
• Moss, Robert
• Mosson, Lester
• Mosson, A.H.
• Mott, Vestel
• Mulry, Cmdr. William C. - Navy doctor
• Murray, H.A.

N - Survivors

• Nariesky, E.J.
• Navelle, Gary
• Neal, James T.
• Nerkling [?], Joseph
• Neville, Rosemary C. - Lt.jg, Navy Nurse Corps (see nurse's section)
• Newsom, Wm.
• Nicholas, Milton
• Nieto, Virgil- age 20, fireman from Santa Clara

O - Survivors

• Orheltree, Jennings
• Ogan, C.H.
• Olsen, Julius - age 53, chief plumber - was in the engine room when the collision occurred
• O'Neill, Charles W.
• Oxford, William - age 20, fireman from Waycross, Georgia

P - Survivors

• Packwood, Bob R. - corpsman
• Palliser, George
• Palma, Louis M.
• Papazian, John W.
• Parker, Charles
• Parohinay, Veat
• Parlido, Anthony
• Parziale, James
• Perg, Bennie
• Parrow, Samuel
• Penney, H.A. Jr.
• Petra, L.H.
• Petrawski, Frank
• Petty, John C.
• Phillips, Oman
• Pig, Benny
• Pinney, Harold A. Jr.
• Pitcher, Howard
• Pointer, Horace
• Polhlopek, Frank A.
• Polson, Donald L.
• Polliser, George
• Polychronis, Robert J.
• Poteet, Stanley Worth - age 25, hospitalman from Delano, Californiaq
• Potter, Leo E. - CMDR
• Powers, Leonard K.
• Pressley, Carl H.
• Pringle, Charles
• Pritchard, Howard N.
• Proctor, Glenn
• Prouty, Leo F
• Pryor, C.F..
• Pullen, Jack W.

Q - Survivors

R - Survivors

• Radford, Wilson
• Ramos, George
• Rasch, James - age 19, Cottonport, LA.  This corpsman was the first survivor brought ashore.
• Rathe, J.L.
• Ratley, Aubrey
• Rathliff, Raymond
• Raulston, W.R.
• Ray, Lee
• Raybown, Lt. (jg) Byron C. - Vallejo, California
• Readon, John - Lt.
• Reardon, J.J. - Catholic chaplain
• Reardon, Thomas
• Reeves, Robert
• Resch, James
• Retzlof, Albert H.
• Rice, Robert
• Richards, D.
• Richards, Orval
• Richardson, Eugene
• Richter, Eugene
• Rickey, James
• Riggs, Cecil D. - Capt., Senior Medical Officer, age 47.  At Pearl Harbor in the 1941 Japanese attack, Captain Riggs won the Navy Cross for aiding the wounded.  According to his daughter, Mrs. R.S. Rogers of Arlington, Captain Riggs served aboard the aircraft carriers Langley and Bonhomme Richard in the Pacific during World War II.  He also served aboard the ill-fated Panay, and aboard the USS Ranger.  Born in Santa Rosa, New Mexico, Captain Riggs joined the Navy Medical Corps circa 1930 after graduating from medical school.  He was appointed assistant surgeon in the Navy's Medical Corps.  From 1946 until July of 1950 he headed the eye, ear, nose and throat clinic at the Naval Dispensary in Alexandria, VA.  At the time of the collision, Captain Riggs' wife Dorothy was in the Naval Hospital at Bethesda where she was recuperating from an operation.
• Riggsby, Jack
• Riley, John D. "Doyle" (died November 2008)
• Rillers, R.L.
• Roberts, Romeo Ray
• Roberts, Walter M.
• Robinson, Charlie
• Robinson, O.
• Robles, Robert J.
• Robnett, Harold
• Rodeck, Jack M.
• Rodgers, Corwin
• Roland, Bryant
• Roldan, Christian
• Rome, George
• Roulston, Bill - Lt.
• Rowell, Billie
• Robles, Robert
• Ruby, Robert

S - Survivors

• Sadler, William L.
• Saker, Charles E.
• Salas, Steve
• Sammons, Kenneth
• Sanford, John
• Santerree, Hormidas
• Sartain, Henry
• Sawyer, Rudolph
• Scara, George
• Schaaf, Fred
• Schaefer, Vernon
• Schlenberg, Maurice - LTCMDR
• Schmell, Donald
• Schmidt, Geo. T.
• Schocken, Julian J. - third officer
• Schorre, F.A.
• Schroedeer, S.A.
• Scott, Walter A.
• Sears, George
• Sears, Peter
• Severtson, Merle C.
• Sheehan, Charles
• Sherrill, Marvin F. - From Wichita Falls, Texas at the time, Dr. Sherrill was born September 26, 1919 and died December 11, 2011.  He served overseas during World War II and was a decorated veteran who landed with the Marines at Iwo Jima, where he was wounded.  He began his assignment with the USS Benevolence on August 8, 1950 and was present on the ship when she sank.  Dr. Sherrill did postgraduate training at the US Navy Hospital in San Diego, California, and the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology in Washington DC, becoming certified by the American Board of Pathology in 1953.  He served as Pathologist and Laboratory Director of Bakersfield Memorial and San Joaquin Community Hospitals and was co-founder and director of Physicians Automated Laboratory.  He was living in Bakersfield at the time of his death.
• Shipley, Charles
• Sierzputowski, Richard - (died 1988)
• Skang, Byron
• Sleorra, F.C.
• Sloan, G.V.
• Smith, Arthur - navy paymaster
• Smith, Bernard W.
• Smith, Wayne
• Smith, Wm. W.
• Somelad, S.
• Sosnowsky, Lt. Cmdr. Edward - Baltimore
• Spence, R.C.
• Staffieri, Joseph
• Stanley, Donald
• Stebbins, _
• Steddard, D.S.
• Stoke, James
• Stover, Maurice D.
• Sudbeck, Donovan
• Sullivan, David
• Sullivan, _
• Sutton, David - hospital corpsman 1C
• Sutton, Davis
• Sweet, Harding
• Swenderman, E.J.
• Sylva, Edward

T - Survivors

• Tarantola, R.J.
• Tate, Yates R.
• Taylor, Herbert C.
• Tegoski, John G.
• Theimer, Ralph S. - Age 25, he was a pharmacist on the Benevolence and was from Ada, TX.
• Theriot, Pierre
• Thomas, Oscar Lee
• Thompson, Donald
• Thornton, David
• Tidwell, Eugene
• Tilson, Francis
• Titos, Stanley E.
• Torrey, Carl O.
• Totten, Carl W. - junior third officer
• Treber, Harry Frederick - Born April 14, 1925, Harry died May 3, 2004 in Indiana.
• True, William
• Truesdale, Ronald
• Turner, Marshall - third officer on the Benevolence

U - Survivors

• Usaki, George
• Utter, R.
• Uzarewich, Sam - age 25, a merchant sailor from Bayonne, NY

V - Survivors

• Van Winkle, Robert
• Vaughn, Wensel
• Venverloh, Dorothy J. - Ens., Navy Nurse Corps (see nurse's section)
• Vesper, C.J.
• Vennare, R.T.
• Virog, John
• Voudren, Henry Nelson - Henry N. Voudren, 91, of Concord, NH, died Sunday (May 4, 2008), at Pleasant View Center in Concord after a period of declining health. He was born on January 31, 1917 in West Springfield, MA the son of the late Henry W. and Grace (Bourdo) Voudren. Mr. Voudren served in the US Navy for 23 years. He retired as a Chief Petty Officer in 1958. During his time in the navy he saw action in World War II and the Korean War.
• Vreeland, Henry

W - Survivors

• Wade, Glenn T.
• Waddell, C. Edward
• Waggoner, Lloyd E.
• Wahs, Cornelius
• Walan, Joseph
• Wallace, Lawrence
• Wallis, Helen F. - Navy Nurse Corps
• Warber, Gus
• Ward, Geo. H.
• Ward, Leo H.
• Warren, ___
• Warrner, Harry
• Watson, Jack
• Watson, W.F.
• Wells, James R. - Redondo Beach
• Weniman, Victor
• Whalen, James L.
• White, Robert - engineman
• Whitney, Howard
• Whitt, John
• Whitt, Malgum Everett - Born November 18, 1912, he died November 21, 1998 at a retired Lieutenant Commander in the Navy.  He served in the Navy in World War II and Korea and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
• Wilburn, James C.
• Wilkie, Michael R.
• William, Earl
• Williams, Calvin C.
• Williams, Clarence
• Williams, Ray
• Williams, Roy
• Williams, Samuel
• Williams, Sammy
• Wills, Millert
• Wilson, Flavis A.
• Wilson, O'Neil
• Wilson, Ted
• Wineman, D.
• Woaten [?], Carl

X - Survivors

Y - Survivors

• Yancey, R.F.
• Yarber, G.
• Yarber, Oscar K.

Z - Survivors

• Zeigler, Oscar H.
• Zeigler, Walter
• Zenger, Ralph
• Zerger, R.E. Jr.
• Ziegler, Will
• Zimmerman, William H.
• Zimmerman, L.
• Zuglar, Walter