Billy Ray Been was born April 4, 1926 at Greenwood, Sebastian Co., Ar. to Jerry Ellis & Kathryn Elizabeth Coker Been. July 23, 1946 Billy married Elizabeth Courtney Matthew, both residing at Greenwood. His draft registration cards have not been found for WWII. There is one below dated May 27, 1946 signed at Fort Smith, Ar. Billy enlisted in the US Navy April 3, 1944 at the Navy Recruiting Station, Dallas, Texas. In October 1944 his rank was S2c, Seaman 2nd Class. His first muster he is found on was dated October 28, 1944. The ship was the USS Bootes. The muster sheet says Navy 3205 to Navy 134. 3205 is California Navy port and Navy !34 is the US NAVAL BASE HEADQUARTERS (BRISBANE), IN AUSTRALIA. Bootes was one of five Navy manned Liberties assigned 8 December 1943, to the Southwest Pacific Area for service under operational control of the Commander, Seventh Fleet in meeting US Army requirements. She reached Australia in mid-January 1944 and, by 6 February, was operating between Australian ports and various locations on the eastern coast of New Guinea. November 1, 1945 Billy is found on the USS Birmingham on which he served for the remainder of the war. Birmingham earned eight battle stars, receiving heavy damage on at least three occasions. 1945, Iwo Jima, Okinawa Rejoining the Pacific Fleet, the cruiser supported the battle of Iwo Jima (4-5 March 1945) and joined Task Force 54 (TF 54) for the invasion of Okinawa (25 March - 5 May). On 4 May, after fighting off three attacks, she was damaged for a third time when a Japanese kamikaze plane hit her forward. The resulting explosion killed 47, with 4 missing and 81 wounded. Returning to Pearl Harbor, she underwent repairs from 28 May to 1 August. Birmingham rejoined the 5th Fleet at Okinawa on 26 August, and then in November steamed to Brisbane, Australia. She visited other Australian ports, including Melbourne on 8 November 1945. She returned to San Francisco on 22 March 1946. May 27, 1946 Billy registered for the draft again at the court house in Fort Smith, Sebastian Co., Ar. Nothing is known about his service after his service in WWII. USS Birmingham