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When friendly troops fighting in Vietnam needed airpower to survive, Air Force Capt. Steven Logan Bennett didn't hesitate to come to their rescue. When his aircraft was seriously damaged during that attempt, Bennett made another quick decision — to give up his life so his wingman could survive. That extraordinary act of heroism led to Bennett posthumously receiving the Medal of Honor.
Bennett was born April 22, 1946, in Palestine, Texas, to Elwin and Edith Bennett. He had five siblings.
After a few years in Texas, the family moved to Lafayette, Louisiana, where Bennett grew up playing football. After high school, he attended the University of Southwestern Louisiana, now known as the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and participated in the school's Air Force ROTC program.
After graduating with a bachelor's degree in science in the spring of 1968, Bennett joined the Air Force and, once he'd completed pilot training, received his commission. Shortly after, he married his girlfriend, Linda Leveque. They went on to have a daughter, Angela.
By 1970, Bennett had completed B-52 Stratofortress bomber training and a course to become a forward air controller. In April 1972, he deployed to Vietnam and was assigned to the 20th Tactical Air Support Squadron.
Bennett was in the country for less than three months when he gave his life to save another.
On June 29, 1972, Bennett flew his OV-10 Bronco light attack and observation aircraft as part of a mission to direct close-air support strikes by Navy fighters along a heavily defended area near Quang Tri City in South Vietnam. Sitting in the rear seat of the aircraft was Marine Corps Capt. Michael B. Brown, an airborne artillery observer, who was also directing gunfire from two American destroyers stationed in the Gulf of Tonkin.
After approximately three hours, the pair was ready to return to Da Nang Air Base, Vietnam, when Bennett received a call for help. A small South Vietnamese unit of about 50 men was close to being overrun by a much larger enemy force. They needed air support to escape.
Unfortunately, no friendly firepower was left in the area. Bennett was informed there was no tactical air support, and any supporting gunfire from the ships off the coast would endanger the South Vietnamese unit. The only way the unit would get help from the skies was if Bennett intervened.
The 26-year-old pilot knew it was a massive risk because of the enemy's heat-seeking surface-to-air missiles; however, he didn't hesitate to start attacking the hostile positions with his aircraft's four small machine guns.
After four passes, the enemy began to retreat. However, as Bennett completed a fifth pass, one of the missiles struck his aircraft, severely damaging the left engine and the left main landing gear. A fire quickly began spreading throughout the aircraft.
Bennett realized they would likely not make it to a friendly airfield for an emergency landing, so he told Brown to prepare to eject from the plane. However, Brown quickly noticed that his parachute had been shredded by the missile.
Bennett's parachute was still intact, but he knew that Brown would have no chance of survival if he ejected alone. Instead, Bennett chose to do the most selfless thing he could think of — ditch the plane in the Gulf of Tonkin. No pilot in that type of aircraft had ever survived a controlled emergency water landing before, so Bennett knew his chances of survival were slim. But he wanted Brown to live.
When the aircraft hit the water, the plane cartwheeled and smashed the front cockpit into pieces. Brown struggled to get out at first, but he finally reached the surface. He tried numerous times to reach Bennett, but the plane began to sink before he made any headway.
"There were five or 10 minutes before we would hit the water, and knew full well his chances were virtually nil," Brown told The Daily Advertiser newspaper out of Lafayette in 2010. "He could have gotten out himself, but he chose not to do that."
Brown, who was rescued soon after, knew Bennett had given his life to save him.
Bennett's body was recovered from the gulf the next day. He was returned home and buried in Lafayette Memorial Park Cemetery and Mausoleum in his hometown.
More than two years later, on Aug. 8, 1974, Bennett's widow and young daughter received the Medal of Honor on his behalf from Vice President Gerald Ford.
Brown, who met Angela Bennett when she got older, became close with the daughter of the man who saved his life.
"I've never met a braver man than Steve," Brown said during his 2010 interview.
Bennett's sacrifice has been remembered across the Defense Department. In 1997, the Military Sealift Command acquired a container ship and renamed it the Capt. Steven L. Bennett. Buildings at other military installations are also named for the pilot.
In his hometown of Lafayette, the Cajundome Convention Center dedicated a memorial plaza to Bennett in 1985.
This article is part of a weekly series called "Medal of Honor Monday," in which we highlight one of the more than 3,500 Medal of Honor recipients who have received the U.S. military's highest medal for valor.
