Sunday, October 11th, we are happy to celebrate “Clarence Benware Day” at the First Baptist Church of Black River. Clarence Benware Is a wonderful part of our church family. He loves both the Lord Jesus Christ and his country. He proudly served in World War II.
Below is short Bio by his daughter Sandra Marland
In the spring of 1925, Dad was born to Ballard and Eva Benware in Herrings, New York. The village is named after William P. Herring, the owner of the paper mill he built at the turn of the 20th century. The Herrings paper mill provided most of the jobs in the village in the early 1900’s. Dad lived with his parents, 3 brothers and younger sister in a modest home provided by the paper company.
Then in 1941, the United States entered the World War II. Dad left high school and enlisted in the Navy along with his brother, Lyndon, in November 1942. This was not an uncommon move at the time for hundreds of thousands of young men wanting to serve their country. Dad completed basic training at the US Naval Training Station on the east shore of Seneca Lake in Sampson, New York. Dad was assigned to the Amphibious Forces and sailed to England on the Queen Mary along with thousands of other troops. He served on the LST-601, tank-landing ship headed for Normandy. He was injured and waited many months for surgery. He served in Tunisia, Africa and contracted malaria. Dad recalls his fever raging on several occasions where he does not remember some events. Dad did a Pacific tour aboard the class destroyer The USS Allen M. Sumner, and his final assignment was served on The USS Benevolence, a US Navy hospital ship. The Benevolence was anchored off Japan, and the crew processed liberated Allied prisoners of war and returned wounded troops to the United States. Dad was discharged from the Navy on January 29, 1946. In May 2014, Dad was one of 28 veterans nominated for New York State Senate’s “Veterans Hall of Fame” for his previous service and continuing work in the community.
The USS Benevolence
Dad met my mother in a restaurant in Carthage, New York after his return from the war. He married my Mom on December 13, 1946. They remained married until her death, 6 days shy of their 63rd anniversary! Mom was the love of his life. Dad and Mom had four daughters; and, as he has so proudly stated on several occasions, he helped deliver 3 of us at home.
Dad and Mom went back to night school together in 1961 and received their high school diploma. Dad worked in local paper mills for 10 years then he became a carpenter and helped build several local schools. He retired from Fort Drum in 1987 as the maintenance and construction supervisor.
The most important decision Dad ever made was to ask Jesus to be His Lord and Savior. For 11 years Mom, my three sisters and I had prayed for Dad’s salvation. In 1965, the church we were attending, Black River Baptist Church, was having special services. The special speaker was Pastor Bob Winnie from Detroit, Michigan. After his sermon, he gave an invitation and Dad went forward to accept Christ as His Savior. A life change… As the American poet, Robert Frost, so aptly writes in his poem, The Road Not Taken, “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—- I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.”
Dad has instilled in his children a strong work ethic and set an example by his concern for the lost, his love for Mom, his love for his country, his love for the qualities of honesty, integrity, and commitment and prayer that changes things!
I hope what I have written is helpful and maybe helps you know Dad a little bit better.
Sandra Marland