Posted by Tony DA-A?A1/2Aguillo on October 5, 2024:

Ben and I were Beast 2 squad leaders together. Ben had just returned from a year in which he went on a self-guided mission trip to Bangladesh. I say self-guided because as I understand it, he wasn't part of the LDS church or anything official... he just told USMA that he was going to take a year off and go help with irrigation and flood control problems in Bangladesh. Ben had been class of 99 and USMA made him resign, take his year, and then reapply to rejoin 2000 after his year away. I was in awe, because I thought of USMA as such a golden ticket, that I couldn't imagine taking that risk of reapplying. Ben, however, seemed in phased. And that is part of his character I most remember... he wore his sarong (I think he said in Bangladesh they called it a lungi) around the barracks to raised eyebrows. He would reply to officers respectfully and kindly, but obviously with no intention of changing behavior or regarding their opinion as anything more than a suggestion. He was his own person and was blazing his own trail, and when he knew he was right, he politely declined to be swayed or diverted, and instead brought you onto his path. He was confident and persuasive and completely brave and unfazed by adversity or opposition. He was a strong athelete and a good leader. I had so much respect for Ben and still think of him often as a unique mix of mystery, pride, humility, kindness, and toughness. You sometimes wonder if Christ is in our midst, and Ben had that quality where you wonder who he was, and if he wasn't some kind of stardust visitor that you were lucky enough to meet in your lifetime.

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