Word Celebrity Blog

Benjamin H. Purcell


Veteran of:
U.S. Navy 1946-1948
U.S. Army 1950-1980

World War II - 1946
Cold War - 1946-1948, 1950-1980
Korean War - 1951-1952
Vietnam War - 1967-1973 (POW)
Captured:  February 8, 1968
Released: March 27, 1973                  

Benjamin H. Purcell is a unique individual. He has a deep religious faith which helped him to endure his lonely hours of captivity. He has strength and determination. His actions in a prison camp, convey more than any written word could ever possibly begin to tell.

Ben Purcell was born in 1928 in Banks County, Georgia. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy on January 22, 1946, and served until February 28, 1948.

Upon graduating from North Georgia College, Dahlonega, Georgia on March 15, 1950., Benjamin H. Purcell received his commission through the Army ROTC program in the United States Army. After serving at Fort Riley, Kansas, and Fort Jackson, South Carolina, Lt Purcell was assigned as Aide-de-Camp to the Commanding General of X Corps and then the 2nd Infantry Division during the Korean War.

Ben Purcell married the former Anne Grant of Baldwin, Georgia, on January 20, 1951, and they have five children-David, Debbie, Cliff, Sherri, and Joy.


























After the Korean War, Ben Purcell served at Fort Benning, Georgia, Fort McClellan, Alabama, in Europe, at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and at the Army ROTC program at Kemper Military School in Boonville, Missouri. During this time he served a two-year tour with the 1st Radiological Safety Support Unit where he witnessed many nuclear detonations between 1954 and 1956. He was assigned to the Republic of Vietnam in August 1967

He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree and Army commission from North Georgia College, Dahlonega, Georgia and a Master's Degree from Shippensburg State College, Shippensburg, Pennsylvania. He is a 1974 graduate of the U.S. Army War College at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. War College selections are made up of the top five percent of military officers, making it a top honor to attend.

The 101st Airborne Division had a new battalion just outside of Quang Tri City. "Charlie" (viet Cong) was everywhere around the city. Radio contact was yet to be established with logistics. A single band radio needed to be delivered there ASAP.

Colonel Benjamin Purcell was the executive commander of the 80th General Support Group and deputy commander of the Dan Nang Sub-Area Command. Purcell decided to hand carry the radio on their wayto Dong Ha to check on other troops.



















Warrant Officer Joe Rose was flying the UH-1 "Huey" and Warrant Officer Dick Ziegler was his co-pilot. The crew chief was SP/4 Robert Chenoweth, and SP/4 Mike Lenker was the door gunner. Pfc. James E. George, a refrigeration mechanic from Col. Purcell's command, sat in the jump seat.

Col. Purcell handed the radio he had come to deliver to Capt Drake. Private George, the refrigeration mechanic, hurried over to repair the disabled reefer truck, which was his mission on this trip.

Captain Drake and his commo sergeant got in their jeep and drove off. As Purcell started back toward the helicopter, he saw that the two pilots and Ap/4 Chenoweth had a panel raised and were looking at something.

One of the radios was out and they could not fly back up through the overcast skies without it. They had to cancel the rest of the trip up to Dong Ha.

Joe Rose turned the helicopter toward the southeast and headed toward the coast. They were flying about three hundred feet or so above the ground - not high enough to be out of range of small-arms fire.




















Suddenly Warrant Officer Dick Ziegler turned toward Col.Purcell and shouted, "We're being fired on!" His next message was, "We're on fire!"

The helicopter gave a sudden lurch and then the inside flared brightly with an orange light. Only seconds after the first round hit, the fire was already hot just forward of the transmission housing in the center of the passenger compartment of the helicopter. Private George and Col. Purcell were sitting on the outside seats as far away from the heat as it was possible to be.

The helicopter made a sweeping turn to the right and toward the ground trailing fire and smoke. Rose fought to control the helicopter and to land it as quickly as possible.

The helicopter hit hard and the tips of the rotor blades dug into the ground and broke as they struck a large granite monument. The helicopter was ripped to shreds by the ground impact and the flailing rotor blades.

Pfc. George, SP/4 Robert Chenoweth, SP/4 Mike Lenker, and Col. Ben Purcell loosened their seat belts and jumped out, but the pilot and copilot couldn't get out through their respective doors. They were trapped in their seats by the "chicken plates," as the aircrews humorously called the armor shields installed between them and their doors. The door gunner ran to the front doors and slid the panels back so SP/4 Mike Rose and Dick Ziegler could get out. By the time he opened their doors, though, the pilots had already butted their way through the windshield.

Dick Ziegler was hit in the leg. Pfc. George ran back to the ship to recover his M-14 rifle, which was lying on the floor between the pilots' seats. He drove right into the middle of the flames and the fire engulfed him instantly. Mike Lenker and Col. Ben Purcell had to reach in and drag him out. Flames had licked at Pfc. George's hands and face, and his skin there was hanging in strips.

Mike Lenker and Col. Purcell had a hold of Pfc. George and they half-carried and half dragged the badly burned young soldier away from the burning helicopter. Dick Ziegler was limping badly, his leg was bleeding, and Pfc. George was in great pain and groaning softly.

Soon after, the crew was surrounded by twelve Viet Cong. Realizing they had no chance to fight with few weapons and ammunition, the crew surrendered.


























As the Viet Cong forced them to move, the injured Pfc. George asked Col, Ben Purcell to pray. The Viet Cong soon put an end to the prayers -- Col.Purcell was forced to move off and a shot was heard. Pfc. James E. George of Burlington, Texas, was believed executed that day. It is uncertain if his remains have ever been found. Twenty-nine years later, Ben Purcell showed Col. Terry Tucker of Joint Task Force Full Accounting, the probable location of the shooting on a map. A body was recovered at the site and it is being identified at the Central Identification Laboratory in Hawaii.

The group had their hands tied up and was forced to march barefoot through the jungle. For a brief time they traveled by boat. They were moved to Loas and then into the North Vietnamese prison system.

After six days as a prisoner of war, Ben Purcell and his group were finally interrogated. He only answered the questions required by the Geneva Convention and gave his wife's address so that she could be notified of hiswhereabouts. She was not notified until he was released five years later.

His Viet Cong captors noticed that it was Ben's birthday, and followed their custom by honoring his special birthday and temporarily suspended the interrogation and gave him some food.

He was cold, hungry, and hurting from broken ribs from the helicopter crash. He became so weak that he was carried on a litter to a camp where they stayed for 30 days. They then began marching again. Sores on his feet from leech bites, made it difficult to walk. He was afraid he was going to stumble during the night walk and be killed. Ben prayed for more light. In just a short while, one of their captors turned on a flashlight.

When they reached the next camp, Ben Purcell was put in solitary confinement and interrogated. During the interrogation Bene was told that he was not a prisoner ofwar, but in fact, was a criminal of war and he would be tried as such if he did not rethink his ways. Ben Purcell insisted he was a prisoner of war and prayed for the strength to endure the experience. He also went on two hunger strikes to protest his solitary confinement that prevented him from being with the soldiers he felt responsible for.





















Ben escaped from his prison cell on two different occasions only to be recaptured each time, somehow, escaping execution.  During one escape attempt he actually made his way into Hanoi, hoping to locate the French Consulate and ask for political asylum. He was recaptured at a precinct police station. General Westmoreland in his own book refers to Ben Purcell as "the great escape artist."

Ben Purcell spent 58 months in solitary confinement, excluding the few precious hours he had during two escapes.




































At the end of the war they named it the “Museum of American War Crimes”, but it now has been diplomatically renamed to “War Remnants Museum”.


On Jan. 27, 1973, the prisoners were told the war was over and were moved to the Hanoi Hilton. Two months later, they were released.



















On March 27, 1973, Col. Ben Purcell was among the thirty-two Americans released that day. In his five years (1874 days) of captivity, he was moved through three camps, escaped twice, was held in solitary for 58 months, and endured starvation and torture.

Ben says that his experiences showed him that in addition to faith and family, three things are important to him. (1) "Human life is the most precious thing," he said. (2) Secondly, freedom. Without freedom life is an existence, not true living. (3) Communications, "because of the time spent in solitary confinement."


























Ben's family - his wife Anne and their five children, were active in the National League of Families while he was held. Anne was a founding member of the organization - traveling later to Paris to meet with the North Vietnamese. It wasn't until 1969 that Ben's status was changed from MIA to POW.

After hospitalization, Ben Purcell became a student at the Army War College from August 1973 to June 1974, and served as an instructor there from June 1974 to February 1976. He next served at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, as Commander of the 3rd Basic Combat Training Brigade from February 1976 to August 1977.


























Colonel Purcell's final assignment was as Professor of Military Science at the Army ROTC program at North Georgia College from August 1977 until his retirement from the Army on August 31, 1980.

Colonel Ben Purcell served with the United States Army for more than 30 years. He retired from active duty in 1980.


























His awards and decorations include: the Silver Star with Oak Leaf Cluster for two escapes from POW camps in the vicinity of Hanoi in December 1969 and March 1972; the Legion of Merit with Oak Leaf Cluster; Meritorious Service Medal; Army Commendation Medal; Purple Heart; Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation; Combat Infantryman Badge and Parachutist Badge.

Colonel Benjamin H. Purcell 2nd Silver Star Citation reads:

The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, has awarded the Silver Star (First Oak Leaf Cluster) to COLONEL BENJAMIN H. PURCELL, UNITED STATES ARMY for gallantry in action: Colonel Benjamin H. Purcell, Infantry, distinguished himself by gallantry and intrepidity in action as a Prisoner of War in connection with military operations against an opposing armed force in Southeast Asia during March 1972.

With profound courage and a strong conviction in the Code of Conduct he escaped from an enemy prisoner of war camp, knowing that the odds of success were slight and that if recaptured he would receive torture and long periods in solitary confinement. The success of his escape was short lived, and he was recaptured and punished. This officer's actions were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military services and reflect great credit on him and the United States Army.


























The Purcells have been married 59 years (as of 2010). They have raised five children and have two grandchildren. They live in Georgia where they operate a Christmas Tree farm and lecture extensively on their experiences. In 1992, they wrote a love story entitled "LOVE & DUTY" - the remarkable story of a courageous MIA family and the victory they won with their faith.

























"A man who cannot live with himself cannot live with his fellow man," Col. Ben Purcell said. "I learned to live with myself." He said he also developed a greater love for his fellow humans from this experience.

"We survived by faith, courage, and our devotion to duty, and on very rare occasions our sense of humor," said Purcell, the Army's most senior prisoner of war in Vietnam.

At one point in Viet Nam, Ben Purcell said his diet had consisted of stewed pumpkins and cabbage, a food he detested when he later returned home.

“Anne hasn’t fixed stewed pumpkins and cabbage since I’ve been home and we’re still married,” he said.

Benjamin Purcell has previously been elected to the Georgia State Legislature..