Benjamin Harrison Purcell Jr. (February 14, 1928 – April 2, 2013) was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

officer, businessman, and a state legislator.

Background

Born in

Habersham County, Georgia Habersham County is a County (United States), county located in the Northeast Georgia, northeastern part of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, the population was 43,041. The county s ...

, he enlisted in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

in 1946. In 1948 he enlisted in the United States Army ROTC program at what is now the

University of North Georgia The University of North Georgia (UNG) is a public senior military college with multiple campuses in Georgia. It is part of the University System of Georgia. The university was established on January 8, 2013 by a merger of North Georgia College ...

and was commissioned an army officer. He served in the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

and at

Fort Benning Fort Benning is a United States Army post near Columbus, Georgia, adjacent to the Alabama–Georgia border. Fort Benning supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve component soldiers, retirees and civilian employees ...

. In 1967, he was sent to

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...

where he was the executive commander of the 80th General Support Group at

Danang Nang or DanangSee also Danang Dragons ( ; vi, Đà Nẵng, ) is a class-1 municipality and the fifth-largest city in Vietnam by municipal population. It lies on the coast of the East Sea of Vietnam at the mouth of the Hàn River, and is one ...

. On 8 February 1968, Purcell was a passenger on a

UH-1D The Bell UH-1 Iroquois military helicopter, first introduced in 1959, is the first production member of the prolific Huey family of helicopters, and was itself developed in over twenty variants, which are listed below. XH-40 and YH-40 The firs ...

helicopter #64-13894 flying from

Đông Hà Combat Base Đông Hà Combat Base (also known as Camp Spillman, Camp Red Devil or simply Đông Hà) is a former U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Army base northwest of Quảng Trị in central Vietnam. The base was first used by the 4th Marines in late April 1 ...

to Danang when it was hit by enemy fire near

Quảng Trị Quảng Trị () is a district-level town in Quảng Trị Province in the North Central Coast region of Vietnam. It is second of two municipalities in the province after the provincial capital Đông Hà. History The Sino-Vietnamese name Quả ...

. The helicopter crash-landed and Purcell and the other five passengers and crew were captured by

Vietcong , , war = the Vietnam War , image = FNL Flag.svg , caption = The flag of the Viet Cong, adopted in 1960, is a variation on the flag of North Vietnam. Sometimes the lower stripe was green. , active ...

. Purcell was the highest ranking Army officer captured during the war. Purcell twice attempted to escape from captivity, but was recaptured both times and held prisoner until 27 March 1973 when he was released during

Operation Homecoming Operation Homecoming was the return of 591 American prisoners of war (POWs) held by North Vietnam following the Paris Peace Accords that ended U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. Operation On January 27, 1973, Henry Kissinger (then assistant ...

. After he retired from the army in 1980, he served in the

Georgia House of Representatives The Georgia House of Representatives is the lower house of the Georgia General Assembly (the state legislature) of the U.S. state of Georgia. There are currently 180 elected members. Republicans have had a majority in the chamber since 2005. T ...

as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, representing State District #9 which includes the areas around Dawsonville and Dahlonega from 1993 to 1997. Purcell and his wife wrote a book: ''Love & Duty.'' He also owned a Christmas tree farm in

Clarkesville, Georgia Clarkesville is a city that is the county seat of Habersham County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 1,911, up from the 2010 census population of 1,733, up from 1,248 at the 2000 census. History Clarkesvill ...

. He died in Clarkesville, Georgia.

Notes

External links

Benjamin Purcell-Pownetwork.orgVideo of Purcell's life story
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Purcell, Benjamin Harrison 1928 births 2013 deaths United States Army personnel of the Korean War United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War Businesspeople from Georgia (U.S. state) Democratic Party members of the Georgia House of Representatives Military personnel from Georgia (U.S. state) People from Banks County, Georgia People from Clarkesville, Georgia Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Silver Star United States Army colonels Vietnam War prisoners of war Writers from Georgia (U.S. state)