Benjamin Franklin Little was born May 12, 1923 at Wister, Oklahoma to to Opie Reed Sr. and Helen Stacy Sandlin Little. May 1, 1942 he married Rachel Elizabeth Redding at Fort Smith, Sebastian Co., Ar. She passed away 10 Feb 1983. His second wife was Dorothy Louise Long Fowlkes. No marriage date has been found. She passed away 22 Mar 2011. Ben registered for the military draft June 29, 1942 at Fort Smith, Sebastian Co., Ar. January 18, 1943 he enlisted in the Army Air Corp (later the Air Force) at Camp Robinson, AR. His plane crashed over Germany. 1 was killed whose chute did't open,others were POWs. Ben was not wounded but captured along with others. His crash records are below. His final rank was Technical Sergeant. Benjamin Franklin Little passed away May 9, 1923 at Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and was buried in the Fort Smith National Cemetery at Fort Smith, Arkansas. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~` The Oklahoman May 11, 2012 Benjamin Franklin Little passed away May 9, 2012. He was born May 12, 1923 in Wister, Oklahoma to Opie Reed Little, Sr. and Helen Stacy Little. Ben graduated Fort Smith High School in 1941 and went on to be inducted into the Army Air Corp January 18, 1943 at Camp Robinson, AR. He was a POW, captured May 13, 1944 and was released May 2, 1945. Upon being liberated, he arrived in Fort Smith on June 26, 1945. Ben retired from Harding Glass Industries January 1, 1986 after 39 years. He was past National Director of American ExPOW, a Shriner, Mason (Scottish Rite of Free Masonry Valley of McAlester), and a volunteer at VA Hospital. Ben had been a resident throughout his life in Arkansas, Missouri, and Kansas arriving in Oklahoma in 1971, retiring at Lake Tenkiller. Ben was preceded in death by his parents as well as his brother Opie Reed Little, Jr., wives Rachel Redding Little in 1983, and Dorothy Long Fowlkes Little in 2011. He is survived by his brother Albert Lee Little (Fran); children Mary Pracht (Gary), Lucy Moore (Phil), Rob Fowlkes (Pat), Denise Johnson (Bruce); grandchildren Steve Pracht (Chong), Michelle Maestas (Steve), Eric Moore (Jackie), Jenni Leach (Jordan), Kristie Shenk (Gavin), Josh Fowlkes (Melissa), Tony Dalla Rosa (Danica), Eric Fowlkes; 19 great grandchildren, one great great grandchild, and numerous beloved extended family. Funeral services will be 10 a.m., Saturday, May 12, at Hahn-Cook/Street and Draper Chapel. Burial will be 2 p.m., Monday, May 14, at the Ft. Smith National Cemetery. Donations may be made to: Collings Foundation, P.O. Box 248, Stow, MA 01775, -POW- World War II Prisoners of War Data File, 12/7/1941 - 11/19/1946 Field Title... Value... Meaning SERIAL NUMBER...... 38445764 38445764 NAME ...... LITTLE BENJAMIN F LITTLE BENJAMIN F GRADE, ALPHA...... S SG Staff Sergeant GRADE CODE...... 4 Major or Asst. superintendent of nurses or Director of nurses or Director of dietitians or Director of physical therapy aides or Staff Sergeant or Technician 3d Grade or Lt. Commander or Petty Officer, 2nd Class SERVICE CODE...... 1 ARMY ARM OR SERVICE...... AC Air Corps ARM OR SERVICE CODE...... 20 AC: AIR CORPS DATE REPORT:...... DAY (DD) 13 13 DATE REPORT:...... MONTH (MM) 05 05 DATE REPORT:...... YEAR (Y) 4 1944 RACIAL GROUP CODE...... 1 WHITE STATE OF RESIDENCE...... 87 Arkansas TYPE OF ORGANIZATION...... S53 Heavy Bomber PARENT UNIT NUMBER...... }447 }447 PARENT UNIT TYPE...... 06 Group/Regiment/Commands/System AREA...... 72 European Theatre: Germany LATEST REPORT DATE:...... DAY (DD) 12 12 LATEST REPORT DATE:...... MONTH (MM) 06 06 LATEST REPORT DATE:...... YEAR (Y) 5 1945 SOURCE OF REPORT...... 1 Individual has been reported through sources considered official. STATUS...... 8 Returned to Military Control, Liberated or Repatriated DETAINING POWER...... 1 GERMANY CAMP...... 091 Stalag Luft 4 Gross-Tychow (formerly Heydekrug) Pomerania, Prussia (moved to Wobbelin Bei Ludwigslust) (To Usedom Bei Savenmunde) 54-16 REP POW TRANSPORT SHIPS