They have been called “the Greatest Generation” those who served our nation during World War II. Few of those veterans remain, and one of them resides in Callaway.

Bill Benjamin has lived at Callaway Good Life Center since 2016, where his daughter, Tammy Coons, works. Bill served in the U.S. Army Fifth Air Force, stationed in Japan, where he was in transportation. At the age of 101, Benjamin’s memory has faded, and details of his service remain sketchy. Like many of his generation, their time overseas was not a topic of discussion when he returned home.

“It’s just one of those things that he never really talked about,” said his daughter, Tammy. She admits that even she knows very little about her dad’s military career.

When asked what he remembers about the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Benjamin simply responded, “I don’t want to remember.”

The Fifth Air Force was established in 1941, and has continued to provide air power for the Pacific for the past 80 years. Shortly after World War II ended, Fifth Air Force relocated to Irumagawa Air Base, Japan, about Sept. 25, 1945, as part of the Allied occupation forces. The command remained in Japan until Dec. 1, 1950, performing occupation duties.

When Benjamin returned to the States as a corporal, it was to his hometown of Wallace, and he went to work for the railroad. He does recall that the troops received a warm welcome when they returned.

After he was married, he and his wife, Jean, moved to Lexington and raised their two children while helping his father-in-law on the family farm.