Article Preview

Lt. Ben Franklin’s faith carried him to the end

By Rozella Hardin

One of the names etched in gold on the World War II memorial at the Carter County War Memorial Park is that of Charles Ben Franklin.

Lt. Franklin, a B-24 navigator, lost his life Feb. 15, 1943, on his 15th mission as a navigator. He was flying over the English Channel when his plane was destroyed in a surprise attack.

The “Stars and Stripes” London edition of Feb. 17, 1943, gave an account of the attack, which resulted in the loss of two Liberators on one of the first daylight raids, this time over Dunkirk. The Spitfire escort had gone on ahead of the two Liberators, which had completed their missions and were within eight miles of the English coast, when two German Messerschmitts dived from clouds above the bombers and in a fierce surprise attack destroyed the planes, with heavy loss of life.