Admiral William S. Benson, Assembly #381, Annapolis, Maryland
Two Benson Class Destroyers: USS Laffey (DD-459) and USS Woodworth (DD-460)
James ‘Jim’ Capasso, FN
Admiral Benson Assembly 381 is a very active assembly with patriotic programs and charitable activities dedicated to the Church and Community. Our Assembly has an active Color Corps and participates in various civic programs. The Assembly meets at one of five Council homes on a rotating basis. For more information, contact Faithful Navigator, James “Jim” Capasso [Archbishop Keough Council, #5263; #381], Email: gttys1863 “AT” comcast “DOT” net .
The Assembly is named for Admiral William S. Benson, USN. A full biosketch of Admiral Benson is available from the Department of the Navy, Naval Historical Center, 805 Kidder Breese SE, Washington Navy Yard, Washington, D.C., 20374. The following sketch is taken in large measure from his official on-line Navy biography.
“Admiral William S. Benson USN was a distinguished Catholic Naval officer and a Fourth-Degree member (exemplified on 5/10/1915) of the Knights of Columbus of the Phila. Council #196. William Shepherd Benson was born in Macon, Georgia on September 25th, 1855. After completion of his studies at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland in 1877, he was on active sea duty including a tour aboard the USS Dolphin. He was also active in coastal surveying and hydrologic duties, was an instructor at the Naval Academy, commanded the cruiser USS Albany and served as a flag aide and fleet chief of staff.
In 1911, Captain Benson became the first Commanding Officer of the battleship USS Utah (BB-31). He was Commandant of the Philadelphia Navy Yard in 1913-1915, and from there was ordered to Washington, D.C. where he was promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral and became the Navy’s first Chief of Naval Operations (CNO).
Benson was heavily involved in defining the functions of the new CNO position and strengthening the Navy during a period marked by internal Navy Department tensions, U.S. interventions in the Caribbean and Central America, and the European War crisis. Promoted to the rank of Admiral in 1916, his responsibilities greatly expanded when the United States entered the First World War in April 1917. Over the next year and a half, he oversaw a huge expansion of the Navy, the extension of its operations to European waters and the transportation of the United States’ Army to France. After the November 1918 Armistice, he was an active participant in the lengthy peace negotiations held in France.
Admiral Benson retired from Naval Service in September 1919. Over the next decade, he was active in the leadership of the U.S. Shipping Board. Admiral Benson died in Washington, D.C. on May 20th, 1932 and buried in Arlington National Cemetery on May 23rd,1932 in Section 3 Site 1873-B.”
