Edward Allen Benes

Edward was born in the small town of Dos Palos in Central California in 1946 to C.H. "Dutch" and Ilene Benes. He grew up playing baseball, the piano, and had a rock 'n roll band in high school and later in college. He joined the Marines in 1968 during the Tet Offensive in Vietnam, went to Officer Candidate School and volunteered to go to Vietnam as an Infantry Platoon Leader after turning down flight school orders. After Vietnam he served in Hawaii for two years and at Parris Island for a year before reapplying for flight school, which was approved. He served as an aviator for the remainder of his military career, primarily as an A4 pilot, and on retiring in 1989 went to work as a pilot for American Airlines. He settled down in Merced, California with his last wife, Susan, and has a blended family of 5 well-adjusted children and 13 grandchildren. He spends his free time golfing with friends, playing guitar and singing, and various volunteer activities with the American Legion, Rotary, and Kiwanis while writing every morning.