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Ben Ewing King, Captain, 59th Coast Artillery
Captain Ben Ewing King served as a Captain and Battery Commander on Corregidor (Harbor Defenses of Manila and Subic Bays) for over ten months immediately prior to the War. During the war he was Battery Commander of the first primary sea coast battery to ever open fire on the enemy in the history of the United States of America. He served the last four months of the Bataan-Corregidor campaign on Fort Drum (the Concrete Battleship) as a Battery Commander and Fort Executive Officer. He was the only surviving officer of Fort Drum, which was the solo fort in our American harbor defenses armed with turreted guns. During this campaign he was under constant intensive enemy fire of all types and was directing return fire of all classes of weapons from 30 caliber machine gun fire to 14 inch rifles.
Captain King was awarded the following decorations and Citations. Philippine Liberation Medal, Philippine Defense Service Medal, Asiatic Pacific Service Medal, American Defense Service Medal, Silver Star Medal, Presidential Unit Citation with Two Oak Leaf Clusters, World War II Victory Medal, Purple Heart Medal. He retired September 14, 1947 as a Lt Colonel Coast Artillery Corps. Lt Colonel King is interred at the Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery.
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