This Military Service Page was created/owned by
Nicole Summers, MMFN
to remember
Benson, Lee David, LTJG.
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Contact Info
Home Town San Mateo
Last Address San Mateo
MIA Date Mar 17, 1968
Cause MIA-Finding of Death
Reason Lost At Sea-Unrecovered
Location Vietnam, North (Vietnam)
Conflict Vietnam War
Memorial Coordinates 45E 010
Official Badges
Unofficial Badges
Vietnam War/Counteroffensive Phase V Campaign (68)
From Month/Year
July / 1968
To Month/Year
November / 1968
Description This campaign was from 1 July to 1 November 1968. During this period a country-wide effort was begun to restore government control of territory lost to the enemy since the Tet offensive. The enemy attempted another such offensive on 17-18 August but his efforts were comparatively feeble and were quickly overwhelmed by Allied forces.
In the fall of 1968 the South Vietnamese government, with major U.S. support, launched an accelerated pacification campaign. All friendly forces were coordinated and brought to bear on the enemy in every tactical area of operation. In these intensified operations, friendly units first secured a target area, then Vietnamese government units, regional forces/popular forces, police and civil authorities screened the inhabitants, seeking members of the Viet Cong infrastructure. This technique was so successful against the political apparatus that it became the basis for subsequent friendly operations. Government influence expanded into areas of the countryside previously dominated by the Viet Cong to such an extent that two years later at least some measure of government control was evident in all but a few remote regions.
My Participation in This Battle or Operation
From Month/Year
July / 1968
To Month/Year
November / 1968
Last Updated: Dec 22, 2023
Personal Memories
Memories On 28 December, she stood out of Long Beach, bound for her last tour of duty in the western Pacific. After a stop at Pearl Harbor, she arrived in the Far East late in January 1968. Instead of putting in at a Japanese port for turnover Yorktown headed directly to the Sea of Japan to provide ASW and search and rescue (SAR) support for the contingency force assembled in the wake of the North Korean capture of Pueblo. She remained on that assignment for 30 days. On 1 March,
