Dexter, Bennie Lee
Air Force Technician sergeant

Bennie Lee Dexter, age 21, from Bend, Oregon, Deschutes county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Monday, May 9, 1966
Death details: Airman Second Class Bennie Lee Dexter entered the U.S. Air Force from Oregon and served in the 633rd Combat Support Group. On May 8, 1966, he departed Pleiku Air Base, South Vietnam, in an M-151 Jeep; on May 9, he was seen driving the jeep along Highway 14. On May 11, South Vietnamese soldiers accompanied by a U.S. advisor found A2 Dexter’s jeep along the side of the road south of Ban Me Thuot, but he was not found at the scene. A2 Dexter was later discovered to have been captured during his trip and killed and buried by his captors in a remote location, and his remains have not been recovered. Following his disappearance, the Air Force promoted A2C Dexter to the rank of Senior Master Sergeant (SMSgt). Today, Senior Master Sergeant Dexter is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency