VIRGINIA LAW PORTAL

• Code of Virginia
• Virginia Administrative Code
• Constitution of Virginia
• Charters
• Authorities
• Compacts
• Uncodified Acts
• RIS Users (account required)

SEARCHABLE DATABASES

• Bills & Resolutions
  session legislation
• Bill Summaries
  session summaries
• Reports to the General Assembly
  House and Senate documents
• Legislative Liaisons
  State agency contacts

ACROSS SESSIONS

• Subject Index: Since 1995
• Bills & Resolutions: Since 1994
• Summaries: Since 1994

Developed and maintained by the Division of Legislative Automated Systems.

2022 SPECIAL SESSION I

• history | pdf | print version

22208155D
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 647 Offered May 18, 2022 Commemorating the life and legacy of Edward Henderson Benson. ----------
Patrons-- Reid, Adams, D.M., Bourne, Carr, Delaney, Filler-Corn, Glass, Gooditis, Guzman, Head, Hope, Jenkins, Kory, Krizek, Maldonado, Mullin, Murphy, Scott, D.L., Sewell, Shin, Simonds, Subramanyam, Tran, Watts and Willett
----------

WHEREAS, Edward Henderson Benson, an honorable veteran who died while serving the United States Army Air Forces during World War II, will be remembered with a funeral service and interment in May 2022 following the location and identification of his remains earlier this year; and

WHEREAS, Private First Class Edward Henderson “Pete” Benson and 39 other soldiers with the 1562nd Army Air Force Base Unit on Biak Island, located approximately 900 miles from New Guinea, were killed following a Japanese air raid on March 22, 1945; and

WHEREAS, Pete Benson was one of four service members whose remains could not be identified or located, and for many years he was buried at Fort William McKinley Cemetery, now known as the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, in the Philippines; and

WHEREAS, though his remains were initially declared non-recoverable, successive requests by Pete Benson’s son, Colonel James H. Benson, Sr., USM Ret., led the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency to disinter remains at the Manila American Cemetery and send them to a laboratory at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii for analysis; and

WHEREAS, using circumstantial evidence as well as dental, anthropological, and DNA analysis, the United States government successfully concluded its 77-year search for the remains of Pete Benson in January 2022; and

WHEREAS, on May 14, 2022, Pete Benson’s remains will be laid to rest in his hometown of Roanoke at his family’s plot in Evergreen Burial Park, bringing lasting closure and peace to his descendants and loved ones; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, That the life and legacy of Edward Henderson Benson, a distinguished veteran of the United States Army Air Forces, hereby be commemorated on the occasion of his funeral and interment; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the family of Edward Henderson Benson as an expression of the House of Delegates’ respect for his sacrifice in service to the country.