Lt. Col. Stephen W. Benkosky - 2nd cavalery Reg.

[KACKO]

Lt. Col. Stephen W. Benkosky - 2nd Cavalery Reg. (* 11 Feb 1901 - + 9 Aug 1981)

Does somebody know more about this officer?
He suppose to serve in WWI, WWII - Major and later Lt. Col. in 2nd Cav. Reg. US Army and Korean War.
I am interested if somebody knows more information about this officer?
I am interested about information from his background - place of birth, name of father and mother (I red in article from 40-ties his father was from Bratislava (Pressburg, Poszony Austria-Hungary).
Thanks.

[Dave Danner]

2nd Cavalry Regiment was renamed 2nd Cavalry Group on 22 December 1943. It landed in France on 19 July 1944 and was under XII Corps from 10 August 1944 until the end of the war. Benkosky was Executive Officer of the Group and in May 1945 took command of the Group's 2nd Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron. He received a Silver Star in 1945 in XII Corps General Order No. 10 (1945).

He didn't think much of the Silver Star, though. From a cav trooper's account:

Late Oct - Early Nov 1944

Troop C was getting hell. Here we had kicked the Krauts out of Hambone woods and were breaking in the green 26th Division Recon Troop just west of Xures, showing them how to smell out the enemy, and the Krauts had spoiled our show for the last five days by knocking hell out of the section covering our little minefield.

A Jerry AT gun, estimated as an 88, was particularly nasty and seemed to hang out in the orchard before the woods called La Haut de la Croix. "It's in dem trees", said one CP trooper, and we pounded away with our assault guns on the target area, but with no apparent affect.

Col. Ben decided to have a look, and brought along a T/Sgt. from the air-ground liaison detachment with his mighty jeep-filling radio. Col. Withers insisted on joining the tourist party.

Our forward trenches to the right of the road on the hill were reached by Col. Benkosky and the sergeant without incident. Col. Withers arrived hurriedly and slightly short of breath as he had been boosted up the hill by three shell bursts that walked up the slope behind him. The last one almost paid off as it hit the sod above the trench just as he slid in -- safe!

The Colonels both had as little success in seeing anything as the troopers had had for the last four days. Their efforts to prove that Colonels see better than privates did manage to stir up the enemy a little more than usual.

Doubtless in an effort to discourage the tactical peering of the Colonels, the T/Sgt. stuck his head up and took a look around. Poor chap, he was color blind. The artificial color of the camouflage with which the Krauts neatly hid their gun didn't register on his "poor" eyes, and he picked up the position immediately.

A radio call to Mustang support group, description of the target and it's location, were presently followed by the appearance of our fighters. They circled and dove in, 50's yammering. As they pulled up, two grand slams were heard. The orchard disappeared in a cloud of smoke and flying earth. The 500 pounders had scored and the C Troopers, now that the enemy gunners had been Christinized, slept peacefully that night with only enemy mortars to bother them.

"By God, Benkosky", said Col. Withers, "I'm going to write you up for that!"

When the Silver Star came Col. Benkosky said, "For watching a damn good 4F sergeant do a fine piece of work."

He is not in the Distinguished Service Cross or Distinguished Service Medal lists. The 2nd Cavalry regimental history does not indicate that he was wounded in World War II.

He was wounded in Korea, though, on 29 November 1950 while serving with the 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team.

This website says he was G-2 (Intelligence Officer) of Combined Command Reconnaissance Activities, Korea in 1952-53.

[KACKO]

Thanks