Cousin of Second Lieutenant Ronald Benoit, Irving Brackett of Bowdoinham. C. Thacher Carter / The Times Record

Bowdoinham local Irving Brackett had always known his late cousin, 2nd Lt. Ronald Benoit, was an accomplished Marine, but only recently did he realize the true significance of his Navy Cross.

“Very emotional,” Brackett said. “I’ll leave it like that.”

The Navy Cross is the second highest U.S. Navy and Marine Corps’ award given to sailors and marines.

According to documents provided by Brackett, Benoit was born in Brunswick in 1930. Benoit had served in the Navy from 1947 to 1952. From 1953 to 1969, he was enlisted in the Marine Corps, serving in both Vietnam and Korea. During part of his time in Vietnam, Benoit guided a recon platoon that ultimately led to the prestigious decoration.

According to the award documents, on Feb. 25, 1967, Benoit and his platoon were deployed by helicopter “deep into hostile territory on a reconnaissance mission.” Upon landing in a “heavily booby trapped and mined area,” the unit became under intense machine gun fire.

“Constantly exposed to enemy fire, (Benoit) secured medical attention for his wounded, guided the second helicopter in and directed the evacuation of his wounded,” the award document read.

Soon after, according to the document, an explosive booby trap killed one Marine, wounding others including Benoit, whose eardrums became fully ruptured.

“In extreme pain and almost totally deaf, he courageously and skillfully directed effective air strikes on the enemy,” the document read. “By his extraordinary initiative, uncommon courage and completely disregard for his own safety, he undoubtedly saved numerous Marine lives.”

According to Brackett, however, Benoit never spoke of it, at least to him, after his deployment. “We always got together when he came to this area,” Brackett said. “He was an extremely smart individual.”

Brunswick Legion Commander David Watson said that, to his knowledge, Benoit is the only recipient of the Navy Cross award from the Brunswick-Topsham area.

“Those awards aren’t given out lightly,” Watson said.

However, Watson added that like Benoit, many decorated veterans rarely speak about their awards. “A lot of them don’t talk about themselves, they talk about the others,” Watson said.

After Benoit’s deployment, Brackett said, some of his cousin’s behaviors had changed due to the post-traumatic stress of war. In one instance, Brackett said he found Benoit curled up under a car after a Blue Angel Navy demonstration jet flew over Brunswick — breaking the sound barrier.

“He could never sleep in a bed when he came back from the service — he had to sleep in a recliner chair,” Brackett said. “In the situation he went through, he went over and above valor to achieve what he did.”

Benoit died in December of 2016 in Vermont after working to help other Vietnam veterans that suffered from post-traumatic stress. According to documents, Benoit married his wife, Barbara, in 1954, and she died in 2015. They raised two sons together.

Although the Brunswick-Topsham Memorial Parade has been canceled for the second year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Brackett said he encourages people to visit the Veteran Plaza at the Brunswick Mall.