More detail on this person: Raymond R.
Benson served as a highly decorated career
military officer in the United States Army for
over 20 years and retired at the rank of Colonel.
During his military career, he served two combat
tours of duty in Vietnam as a platoon leader and
as an assault helicopter pilot with the Air
Cavalry.
Following the war, he was posted at the U.S.
Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia and Manila,
Philippines where he served as a Military Attaché
and as the in-country Project Manager for several
major communications projects.
Colonel Benson was a military linguist and a
fluent speaker in the Indonesian language. In
early 2005, he volunteered in the Tsunami relief
efforts in Indonesia, offering his services to
CARE International.
Benson was then hired by CARE International as a
consultant to review the safety and security of
their extensive field operations. During his stay
in Indonesia, he saw first-hand the results of the
conflict between Christians and Muslims in Central
Sulawesi that included shootings, bombings,
beheadings of Christian school children and the
burning of numerous churches and mosques.
Benson had been involved in peace discussions
between Christian and Muslim groups in Central
Sulawesi, where inter-religious conflict has
resulted in more than 2000 deaths and the burning
of numerous churches and mosques.
Ray Benson died September 2009 in Indonesia, in a
paragliding accident.
This information was last updated 05/18/2016
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Date posted on this site: 11/02/2023
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