| Benjamin H. Purcell |
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| Rank, Service |
| Colonel O-6, U.S. Army |
| Veteran of: |
U.S. Navy 1946-1948 (Includes Reserve Time)
U.S. Army 1950-1980
World War II 1946
Cold War 1946-1948, 1950-1980
Korean War 1951-1952
Vietnam War 1967-1973 (POW)
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| Tribute: |
Ben Purcell was born in 1928 in Banks County, Georgia. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy on January 22, 1946, and served until February 28, 1948. Purcell was commissioned in the U.S. Army Infantry through the Army ROTC program at North Georgia College on March 15, 1950. After serving at Fort Riley, Kansas, and Fort Jackson, South Carolina, Lt Purcell was assigned as Aide-de-Camp to the Commanding General of X Corps and then the 2nd Infantry Division during the Korean War. After the war, Purcell served at Fort Benning, Georgia, Fort McClellan, Alabama, in Europe, at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and at the Army ROTC program at Kemper Military School in Boonville, Missouri. During this time he served a two-year tour with the 1st Radiological Safety Support Unit where he witnessed many nuclear detonations between 1954 and 1956. He was assigned to the Republic of Vietnam in August 1967 and on February 8, 1968, the helicopter Col Purcell was riding as a passenger on was shot down and he was taken as a Prisoner of War by the Viet Cong in South Vietnam. He was immediately moved to Loas and then into the North Vietnamese prison system. As the highest ranking Army POW, Col Purcell spent most of his captivity in solitary confinement. After spending 1,874 days in captivity, Col Purcell was released during Operation Homecoming on March 27, 1973, having given up his previous release date of March 16 to Air Force Colonel Ted Guy. After hospitalization, he became a student at the Army War College from August 1973 to June 1974, and served as an instructor there from June 1974 to February 1976. He next served at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, as Commander of the 3rd Basic Combat Training Brigade from February 1976 to August 1977. Colonel Purcell's final assignment was as Professor of Military Science at the Army ROTC program at North Georgia College from August 1977 until his retirement from the Army on August 31, 1980. Ben Purcell married the former Anne Grant of Baldwin, Georgia, on January 20, 1951, and they have five children-David, Debbie, Cliff, Sherri, and Joy.
His 2nd Silver Star Citation reads:
The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, has awarded the Silver Star (First Oak Leaf Cluster) to COLONEL BENJAMIN H. PURCELL, UNITED STATES ARMY for gallantry in action: Colonel Benjamin H. Purcell, Infantry, distinguished himself by gallantry and intrepidity in action as a Prisoner of War in connection with military operations against an opposing armed force in Southeast Asia during March 1972. With profound courage and a strong conviction in the Code of Conduct he escaped from an enemy prisoner of war camp, knowing that the odds of success were slight and that if recaptured he would receive torture and long periods in solitary confinement. The success of his escape was short lived, and he was recaptured and punished. This officer's actions were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military services and reflect great credit on him and the United States Army. |
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