BENAVIDEZ T-AKR 306
Ship Name and Designation History
This section lists the names and designations that the ship had during its lifetime. The list is in chronological order.
Keel Laid 15 December 1999 - Launched 11 August 2001 |
 MSgt. Raul Perez "Roy" Benavidez, US Army |
This section lists active links to the pages displaying covers associated with the ship. There should be a separate set of pages for each name of the ship (for example, Bushnell AG-32 / Sumner AGS-5 are different names for the same ship so there should be one set of pages for Bushnell and one set for Sumner). Covers should be presented in chronological order (or as best as can be determined).
Since a ship may have many covers, they may be split among many pages so it doesn't take forever for the pages to load. Each page link should be accompanied by a date range for covers on that page.
- USNS Benavidez T-AKR-306 Covers Page 1 (DATE RANGE)
Postmarks
This section lists examples of the postmarks used by the ship. There should be a separate set of postmarks for each name and/or commissioning period. Within each set, the postmarks should be listed in order of their classification type. If more than one postmark has the same classification, then they should be further sorted by date of earliest known usage.
A postmark should not be included unless accompanied by a close-up image and/or an
image of a cover showing that postmark. Date ranges MUST be based ONLY ON COVERS IN
THE MUSEUM and are expected to change as more covers are added.
>>> If you have a better example for any of the postmarks, please feel free to replace the
existing example.
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Postmark Type |
Postmark Date |
Thumbnail Link To Postmark Image |
Thumbnail Link To Cover Image |
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Ships Marking |
2020-12-09 |
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Collectors request by Foster E. Miller, III.
Other Information
USNS BENAVIDEZ has earned the National Defense Service Medal in her Naval career.
NAMESAKE - Master Sergeant Raul Perez "Roy" Benavidez, US Army (5 August 1935 – 29 November 1998).
Roy P. Benavidez was born in Lindenau near Cuero, Texas in DeWitt County. He is a descendant of the founders of Benavides, Texas and was the son of a Mexican farmer, Salvador Benavidez, Jr. and a Yaqui Indian mother, Teresa Perez.
Benavidez enlisted in the Texas Army National Guard in 1952 during the Korean War. In June 1955, he switched from the Army National Guard to Army active duty. In 1959, he married Hilaria Coy Benavidez, completed Airborne training, and was assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Benavidez began training for the elite Army Special Forces. Once qualified and accepted, he became a member of the 5th Special Forces Group; and the Studies and Observations Group (SOG).
In 1965 he was sent to South Vietnam as an advisor to an Army of the Republic of Vietnam infantry regiment. He stepped on a land mine [1] during a patrol and was evacuated to the United States. Doctors at Fort Sam Houston concluded he would never walk again and began preparing his medical discharge papers. After over a year of hospitalization, Benavidez walked out of the hospital in July 1966, with his wife at his side, determined to return to combat in Vietnam. Despite continuing pain from his wounds, he returned to South Vietnam in January 1968.
On 2 May 1968, a 12-man Special Forces patrol, which included nine Montagnard tribesmen, was surrounded by a NVA infantry battalion of about 1,000 men. Benavidez heard the radio appeal for help and boarded a helicopter to respond. Armed only with a knife, he jumped from the helicopter carrying his medical bag and ran to help the trapped patrol. Benavidez "distinguished himself by a series of daring and extremely valorous actions... and because of his gallant choice to join voluntarily his comrades who were in critical straits, to expose himself constantly to withering enemy fire, and his refusal to be stopped despite numerous severe wounds, saved the lives of at least eight men." Benavidez suffered being shot seven times, stabbed twice along with 28 fragmentation wounds. Benavidez was evacuated once again to Fort Sam Houston's Brooke Army Medical Center, where he eventually recovered. He received the Distinguished Service Cross for extraordinary heroism and four Purple Hearts. In 1969, he was assigned to Fort Riley, Kansas. In 1972, he was assigned to Fort Sam Houston, Texas where he remained until retirement (1976).
In 1973, after more detailed accounts became available, Special Forces Lieutenant Colonel Ralph R. Drake insisted that Benavidez receive the Medal of Honor. By then, however, the time limit on the medal had expired. An appeal to Congress resulted in an exemption for Benavidez, but the Army Decorations Board denied him an upgrade of his Distinguished Service Cross to the Medal of Honor. In 1980 a ten-page report of the encounter was prepared, confirming the accounts provided by others, and serving as the necessary eyewitness. Benavidez's Distinguished Service Cross accordingly was upgraded to the Medal of Honor. On February 24, 1981, President Ronald Reagan presented MSgt Roy P. Benavidez with the Medal of Honor. Reagan turned to the press and said, "If the story of his heroism were a movie script, you would not believe it". He then read the official award citation.
In addition to the Medal of Honor, MSgt Benavidez earned the Purple Heart with four Oak Leaf Clusters, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Achievement Medal, the Army Good Conduct Medal with silver clasp and two loops, the Army of Occupation Medal, the National Defense Service Medal with 1 Service star, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal with four campaign stars, the NCO Professional Development Ribbon with award numeral 3, the Army Service Ribbon, the Army Overseas Service Ribbon, the United Nations Korea Medal and the Vietnam Campaign Medal with 1960– Device. MSgt Benavidez also rated two Unit Awards - the U.S. Army Presidential Unit Citation Ribbon and the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Ribbon with Palm. MSgt Benavidez also was rated to wear the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Master Parachutist Badge, the South Vietnamese Parachutist Badge, the U.S Army Special Forces Distinctive Unit Insignia, the Special Forces Tab, the United States Army Special Forces CSIB, 8 Service stripes and 4 Overseas Service Bars.
In 2001, MSgt Benavidez posthumously received the Texas Legislative Medal of Honor.
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