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: 08/31/2024
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