George Robert (Judd) Benton was born December 6, 1921 in New Hartford, NY to Harry Benton and Lena Wagner. His parents were from New York and they were married on September 6, 1905 in Washington Mills, NY. He was the youngest of their 7 children which included Helen, Doris, Louise, Charles, Ruth and Marian. His dad was a farmer and by 1930 his oldest sister Helen was also working as a Secretary for the Public Works. The family lived on Higby Road in New Hartford, NY. George graduated from New Hartford High School and was a fireman for the New York Central Railroad until his enlistment. He was a member of St. Stephen's Church in New Hartford and was well known for his horseback and stunt riding in local rodeos in which he won many honors.

He entered the service July 17, 1942 in the U.S. Navy Air Corps Reserve and received training in Newport R. I. He was sent to radio school at Jacksonvsille, Florida and received flight training at San Diego and other California fields. His service number was 6004148. In April 1944 he was assigned to VC-36 aboard the U.S.S. Core (CVE-13). The Core, with VC-36 aboard, embarked from Norfolk to conduct anti-submarine operations in the Atlantic.

On May 20, 1944 Benton's aircraft, TBF-1C, Bu. No. 48010 crashed during a catapult take-off. All three crew members, Lt (jg) W.A.B. Davenport, ARM2c Benton, the radioman and AMN2c J.H. Gordon, the gunner were killed. Davenport and Gordon's bodies were recovered and later buried at sea. Benton's body was seen but couldn't be recovered in time. He is memorialized on the Tablets of the Missing at East Coast Memorial in New York City and a cenotaph for him was placed in the Forest Hill Cemetery in Utica, NY.

This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project. This is a national effort of volunteers to write the stories of all 421,000+ of the US WWII fallen on Together We Served and Fold3.

(Please see - http://www.storiesbehindthestars.org).

Can you help us write these stories? Together We Served and Fold3/Find A Grave have smartphone apps that will allow people to visit any war memorial or cemetery and read these stories of WWII fallen.

If you noticed anything erroneous in this profile or have additional information to contribute, please contact Jim Greenberg at jim.greenberg@oneonta.edu.

SBTSProject/New York/Oneida

Sources

Find a Grave, database and images20 (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/277033724/george_robert-benton: accessed January 8, 2026), memorial page for George Robert Benton (1922–20 May 1944), Find a Grave Memorial ID 277033724, citing Forest Hill Cemetery, Utica, Oneida County, New York, USA; Maintained by ShaneO (contributor 47009366).

"Judd Benton, 22, Utica, Killed in Airplane Crash", Daily Sentinel, Utica, NY, May 29, 1944, pg. 4

National Archives at St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; Wwii Draft Registration Cards For New York State, 10/16/1940 - 03/31/1947; Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, 147

National Archives at College Park, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD, 20740-6001; NAID: 190248471; Record Group 24: Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel; Series: Muster Rolls of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Other Naval Activities; Composite Squadron #36 (VC-36), 2/21/43 – 7/30/45, pg. 157.

National Archives at College Park, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD, 20740-6001; NAID: 77651122; Record Group 38: Records of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations; Series: World War II Diaries, Other Operational Records and Histories; Composite Squadron 36 History;

National Archives at College Park, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD, 20740-6001; NAID:237693995; Record Group 80: General Records of the Department of the Navy;Series: Index to Photographs of Personalities in the General Photographic File of the Department of Navy; [Index to Photographs of Navy Personalities, 1941-1945]: Benno – Blake.

New York State Department of Health; Albany, NY, USA; New York State Marriage Index

US, American Battle Monuments Commission, 1914-1950

World War Photos website at https://www.worldwarphotos.info/gallery/usa/aircrafts-2-3/tbf/tbm-and-fm-of-vc-36-on-the-flight-deck-of-the-uss-core-atlantic-on-april-9-1944/ accessed on January 12, 2025. Photo was “TBM Avengers and FM Wildcats of VC-36 on the flight deck of the USS Core CVE-13 Atlantic on April 9, 1944".

Year: 1930; Census Place: New Hartford, Oneida, New York; Page: 6A; Enumeration District: 0035; FHL microfilm: 2341354

Supporting Documents