Charles “Benton” Taylor was born June 9, 1921 in Kansas, one of five sons born to Charles Andrew and Aggie Caroline (Gregory) Taylor. An older sister had died before his birth. In 1925 his family lived in Sedgwick county, Kansas, where his father was a farmer. By 1930 the family had moved to Rock Island, Illinois where his father was employed as a laborer. Benton attended Rock Island High School before entering the service.

On November 15, 1939 he enlisted in the Navy. He reported aboard the USS Arizona (BB-39) on January 27, 1940 as an Electricians Mate Third Class.

On December 7, 1941, Japanese carrier-based aircraft launched a surprise attack on the U.S. Navy base and ships at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. During the attack, the USS Arizona (BB-39) was struck by eight armor-piercing bombs. One penetrated the Arizona's deck near its No. 2 turret, causing a large explosion that destroyed the forward half of the ship and started a fire that burned for two days. It is thought that most of the Arizona’s crew members died instantly during the explosion. More than 1,100 sailors and Marines were lost along with the ship.

EM3 Charles B. Taylor was aboard the Arizona on the day of the Pearl Harbor attack. He was among the men who were lost with the ship, and his remains have not been recovered. He is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu. A memorial marker is in Boone Creek Cemetery, Licking, Texas county, Missouri.

Benton’s father died in July 1942, a newspaper obituary stating he had been in ill health for the previous two years, “so grief stricken over his son’s death at Pearl Harbor.”

Reference:

Kansas State Historical Society; Topeka, KS; 1925 Kansas Territory Census; Roll: KS1925_143; Line: 14

1930; Census Place: Rock Island, Rock Island, Illinois; Page: 18B; Enumeration District: 0068

1940; Census Place: Rock Island, Rock Island, Illinois; Page: 17B; Enumeration District: 81-71

Ancestry.com; U.S., School Yearbooks, 1880-2012; Rock Island High School; Year: 1938

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7915854/charles-benton-taylor

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/14290224/charles-benton-taylor

The Houston Herald, Houston, MO: July 23, 1942, p.6

This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project (see www.storiesbehindthestars.org). This is a national effort of volunteers to write the stories of all 400,000+ of the US WWII fallen saved on Together We Served and Fold3. Can you help write these stories? Related to this, there will be a smartphone app that will allow people to visit any war memorial or cemetery, scan the fallen's name and read his/her story.

Charles Benton Taylor