TAKR 306 Benavidez
USNS Benavidez is one of Military Sealift Command's nineteen Large, Medium-Speed Roll-on/Roll-off Ships and is part of the 28 ships in the Sealift Program Office.
The 950-foot ship is the seventh Bob Hope-class LMSR built for MSC by Northrop Grumman Avondale Industries in New Orleans. She is a non combatant vessel ideal for transporting U.S. military combat equipment and supplies needed overseas and for re-supplying the armed forces during national crises. Benavidez will have a cadre crew of 13 people, which will maintain the ship and keep the propulsion system in a high state of readiness. When ordered to activate, the ship can be fully crewed with mariners and ready to sail in four days.
Benavidez's seven decks have a cargo carrying capacity of more than 380,000 square feet -- equivalent to eight football fields. She has a slewing stern ramp and a movable ramp that services two side ports to make it easy to drive vehicles on and off the ship, speeding loading and off-loading. The entire on-load and off-load process can be accomplished in 96 hours or less. Two 110-ton single pedestal twin cranes make it possible to load and unload cargo where shoreside infrastructure is limited or nonexistent.
Army Master Sgt. Roy P. Benavidez
As a staff sergeant in Vietnam, Benavidez distinguished himself in a series of courageous actions May 2, 1968, west of Loc Ninh, Vietnam. Benavidez volunteered to lead an emergency extraction of a 12-man special forces team inserted by helicopters into the dense jungles of Loc Ninh. He directed the helicopter to drop him some distance away from the team, ran about 75 meters to reach them and was wounded three times in the process. He alerted the helicopter to the team's position and helped carry and drag the wounded to the waiting aircraft. As the enemy's fire intensified, Benavidez was severely wounded as he hurried to recover the body of the dead team leader and the classified documents in the team leader's possession.
Meanwhile, the helicopter pilot was mortally wounded and the aircraft overturned. Benavidez secured the classified documents and made his way back to the wreckage. He aided the wounded, gathered the survivors into a defensive perimeter and distributed water and ammunition. He then began calling tactical air strikes to suppress enemy fire and allow another extraction attempt. Benavidez' gallant choice to voluntarily join his comrades who were in dire straits and his refusal to be stopped despite severe wounds saved the lives of at least eight men. Benavidez was originally awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, but this was upgraded to the Medal of Honor when the full extent of his heroism became known.
Retired Master Sgt. Benavidez died Nov. 29, 1998, in San Antonio, Texas.
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