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by George

George’s father was killed in WWII while serving in the Philippines. Here is what we have learned about the events leading up to his death and the amazing events that occurred afterward. Charles G. Benthien worked his way up through the enlisted ranks to master sergeant and was then promoted to Chief Warrant Officer. This rank is above all enlisted ranks and is usually awarded to an enlisted man who excels in a technical specialty. In July 1941 he was assigned to the headquarters unit in the Philippines prior to the start of WWII. George was about 4 years old when his father went overseas.

The day after the Pearl Harbor attack on December 7,1941 that crippled the U.S. Far-east fleet, Japanese bombers attacked Nichols field and Clark field in the Philippines and virtually wiped-out U.S. air power in the region. A short time later the Japanese invaded the main Philippine Island Luzon. Despite being greatly outnumbered and with little air support, the Philippine army and the attached U.S. troops held off the Japanese for over 4 months. But the Japanese gradually pushed them down to the bottom of the Bataan peninsula where they eventually surrendered on 9 April 1942.

After Japan took over Luzon, George’s father became a prisoner of war (POW). He was most likely involved in the cruel 65-mile Bataan death march. He was then put in the Cabanatuan POW Camp. The Japanese POW camps were notorious for being unsanitary and for supplying little food and medical care.

Near the end of the war Japan began transferring prisoners from the Philippines to Japan to work in their coal mines. They used unmarked commercial cargo ships for the transfer. Because of the large number of prisoners crammed into the cargo holds and the unsanitary conditions these ships became known as “hellships.” In October 1944 George’s father was placed on the Oryoku Maru for transport to Japan.

This ship barely made it out of the Manila harbor when it was bombed and disabled by American aircraft. Hundreds of prisoners were killed, but George’s father survived and swam to shore. He was eventually placed on another ship, the Enoura Maru. This ship had previously been used for transporting horses and the cargo holds were covered with manure. The Enoura Maru made it as far as Formosa. While in Takao Harbor it was bombed and disabled by American aircraft on January 9, 1945. Several hundred of the POWs were killed in the attack. George’s father was listed by the Japanese as being in this group.

Ancestry.com has a database of WWII POWs that was created in cooperation with the National Archives and Records Administration. The sources of information in this database are considered to be reliable. The entry in this database for CWO Charles George Benthien states that Charles was not killed by the bombing, but was shot by the guards while trying to escape as the Enoura Maru was sinking. Of course the Japanese would not have included such details in their reports.

After the war the remains of almost 400 POWs were found in a mass grave on Takao beach, Formosa. These remains were transferred along with other unidentified remains to Hawaii. In 2015 the Army began collecting DNA samples from family members to help in identifying the remains.

In 2017 George and his daughter Cathy were asked by the Army to submit DNA samples. They were also asked if there were any close female relatives of Charles as Mitochondrial DNA often gives better matches. Unfortunately, there weren’t any close female relatives still alive. The first identification from the Takao mass grave was made in February of 2025. In March of 2025 George and his family were notified that the remains of George’s father had been identified using George’s DNA. Tamela Faulkner, an Army representative, flew to San Diego and briefed George and Jean on Charles’ death and the DNA identification. It turns out that the DNA match was much stronger than is typical for chromosome matches (42 million to one odds that Charles was George’s father). Tamela said that odds in the neighborhood of 40 to one were not unusual for chromosome matches. A local National Guard officer, Jason Saldana, was assigned to help the family and to monitor the transfer of the remains to San Diego for a full military burial. The remains were flown to San Diego in early June and taken to a mortuary. On June 9 there was a full military ceremony at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery (June 9 was the birthday of George’s father).

George’s whole family and Jason Saldana accompanied George’s dad’s remains from the mortuary to Fort Rosecrans Cemetery with a motorcycle escort. At the Cemetery there was a flag folding ceremony and presentation of the flag to George followed by a gun volley and the playing of taps. Each of the seven grandchildren read a scripture verse. George, Jean, and their daughter Karen gave brief statements, and Pastor Riley McRae gave a wonderful devotion. We concluded by singing several verses of Amazing Grace. It was a very moving service. Below is a video of the service made by Laura our driver.

Since Fort Rosecrans Cemetery is full, Charles’ remains were taken the next day to Miramar National Cemetery where they will remain. Below is a picture of the burial site

After the ceremony the 50–60 friends and family who attended the service went to George and Jean’s house for refreshments and fellowship. Below is a picture of George’s dad.