Portrait of Robert Benjamin
Born February 1, 1927 in Salem, MA
Rank: Fireman. Service: US Navy. Division/Ship: USS Oakland. Theater: Pacific. Dates of Service: 1944 - 1946. Specific Battles: Japanese Surrender Ceremonies.

Still in Ipswich High School at the time, Robert Benjamin enlisted in the Navy at 17. Assigned to the cruiser USS Oakland, he spent two years in the Pacific as the Oakland and her crew circulated to nearly every major battle in the theater. The crowning moment, however, came as his ship attended the Tokyo Bay ceremony of the Japanese surrender occurring on the USS Missouri. Robert wasn't the only Benjamin to be in service, all his six brothers were on active duty in the Army and Navy as well. Upon his discharge, he returned to Ipswich HS and completed his high school diploma. In 1950, he married Gertrude Fosberry and the couple settled in Gloucester. They were marred for 61 years before she died in 2011. Robert supported his family of four children as a carpenter and taught house building courses for the vocational program at Gloucester High School. His son David is well known to any Gloucester child in the past thirty years who learned to play an instrument in elementary or middle school.