Newton Marine Killed In WWII, Identified, To Be Laid To Rest

NEWTON, MA —The remains of a Newton U.S. Marine killed in WWII were identified this summer, and will be buried in Arlington Cemetery later this month.

"I was blown away to get the call that he was found," his niece Mary Gonzales told Patch.

Military officials tracked her down and let her know they had found her uncle's remains. Gonzales said she grew up hearing stories about her uncle from her grandmother who moved to Long Beach California in 1958.

Marine Corps Pvt. Edwin "John" Benson of West Newton was the youngest in his family. He liked sports, she remembered, went in the Marines, and inspired his sisters to join the Navy Reserves. He was the one who named the family dog Moppet, because they had to mop the floor so many times when house training. And he was mischievous.

"I remember as a little girl she told me he was killed in the war. I remember it was so hard for me to comprehend that he never came home," said Gonzales. "It just didn't make sense, and my heart was sad."

Benson who grew up living with his two older sisters Barbara and Gonzales's mother Marguerite Benson and parents on 80 Eliott Avenue in the 1940s enlisted in the Marine Corps and went off to fight in World War II.

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced last week that Benson, who was killed during World War II, was accounted for on June 24.

In November 1943, the 22 year old was a member of Company L, 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, Fleet Marine Force. That group landed against stiff Japanese resistance on the small island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll of the Gilbert Islands, in an attempt to secure the island.

Throughout several days of intense fighting at Tarawa, some 1,000 Marines and sailors were killed and more than 2,000 were wounded. Benson was shot and killed on the first day of the battle, Nov. 20, 1943.

He was reported to have been buried in the East Division Cemetery, which was eventually renamed Cemetery #33. Despite the heavy casualties, military success in the battle of Tarawa was a pivotal point for the U.S. military. U.S. officials said the Gilbert Islands provided the U.S. Pacific Fleet a platform from which to launch assaults on the Marshall and Caroline Islands to advance their Central Pacific Campaign against Japan.

It took decades for the military to find his remains. Eventually scientists used dental, anthropological analysis, and pieced together details they found nearby. Then, about four years ago, they contacted DNA sample that Gonzales's brother Ed Argersinger and asked him to submit a DNA sample to make a positive ID.

"It was kind of in the back of mind," said Argersinger, who was named for Benson and another uncle who was killed in WWII. In the Spring he saw ticker on a newscast saying something about the remains of 300 marines lost in WWII being identified and that had him wonder.

But he and his sister, who is considered the next of kin because she's the oldest sibling, were still shocked when the phone call came to confirm.

The official from Quantico, Virginia, called to let Gonzales know they could bury him wherever they wanted with full honors, including at Arlington Cemetery. Originally Gonzales said she wanted to bury him in Riverside, California where his father and sisters were both buried. But her brother, who has two sons in the Marines and is himself a retired sheriff explained what an honor it would be to have their uncle buried at Arlington.

"I'm so proud and so grateful just the fact that they went to such lengths to track him down and then us," said Gonzales. "It was like a cold case. They tracked him down to do this for our family and for that Marine who gave his life, I'm just really, really proud," she said through tears.

Of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II, more than 400,000 died during the war. There are still some 72,648 service members still unaccounted for from World War II with some 30,000 assessed as possibly recoverable.

Benson’s name was recorded at the Punchbowl in Hawaii, in the 1940s along with the others missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

Benson will be buried Nov. 19, at Arlington National Cemetery in Alexandria, Virginia.

"I just so appreciate, that they then went to the trouble to track us down so we could lay him to rest in such a wonderful place," said Gonzales. "It really makes me feel proud to be an American."

For Argersinger, who said he and his sons all signed up to serve their country knowing that any moment they might be called upon to make the ultimate sacrifice said this is especially symbolic.

"Gratitude would be the best word to describe how this makes me feel. Marines, just like they say, they don't forget. Everybody is very supportive of the military these days, but it's not always been that way - same thing with law enforcement," said Argersinger. "America has a lot of heroes out there."

Patch reporter Jenna Fisher can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna).