2020 Second Extraordinary Session ENROLLED
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 11
BY SENATOR CATHEY
A RESOLUTION
To commend John Benjamin "JB" Humphrey on the occasion of his one hundredth birthday
on October 7, 2020.
WHEREAS, John Benjamin Humphrey, known as "JB", while born on October 7,
1920, in Beekman, Louisiana, he lived most of his life in Delhi, Louisiana; and
WHEREAS, "JB" Humphrey enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps in
October 1942, and was assigned to Selman Field, a short distance east of Monroe, Louisiana,
which served as a training base during World War II; and
WHEREAS, Airman Humphrey was trained as a flight engineer and after training,
his unit was attached to the Ninth Air Force, European Theater of Operations, and stationed
in England and France; and
WHEREAS, "JB" Humphrey was assigned to the crew of a B-29 Superfortress, a
four-engine propeller-driven heavy bomber, designed and built by Boeing Corporation, one
of the largest aircraft used in World War II, and it excelled in low-altitude night incendiary
bombing; and
WHEREAS, "JB's" B-29 was sent to bomb enemy train tracks in Europe, but was
shot down and crashed in March 1944, in enemy territory; and
WHEREAS, Sergeant Humphrey assisted the entire flight crew out of the downed
plane and into the cover of nearby bushes in hopes of avoiding enemy detection; and
WHEREAS, the French Resistance located the downed airmen and took them to the
nearest hospital in Allied hands, where it was discovered that Sgt. Humphrey had assisted
the others in his crew despite having suffered a broken back in the crash; and
WHEREAS, eventually, Sgt. Humphrey arrived in Ireland and boarded a hospital
ship returning to the United States; and
WHEREAS, because of significant German U-boat activity in the Northern Atlantic
Ocean, the hospital ship sailed southwest out of Ireland and crossed the equator before
heading north to safely deliver its precious cargo home for additional medical treatment; and
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WHEREAS, Sgt. Humphrey returned to Louisiana where, once his injuries were
healed, he continued to serve his country as a flight engineer instructor at Selman Field,
Barksdale Air Force Base and at a third facility in Missouri until the end of the war in
Europe in May 1945, and in the Pacific in September 1945; and
WHEREAS, because of his heroism in evacuating the members of his flight crew to
safety, Sgt. Humphrey was awarded two silver stars for gallantry in action against an enemy
of the United States while engaged in military operations, two bronze stars awarded for
exemplary conduct in ground combat against an armed enemy, an air medal for those who
served in the air corps, and a purple heart for being wounded in combat; and
WHEREAS, before being discharged, Sgt. Humphrey and his crew were requested
by five-star General "Hap" Arnold, the commander in chief of the Army and commander in
chief of the Army Air Force, to fly him to Ireland; and
WHEREAS, General Arnold announced that if he was going to fly, it would have to
be the best pilot and crew; Humphrey's crew qualified for this exceptional honor and a
plaque in the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum commemorates this flight and the crew
members involved; and
WHEREAS, upon his return to civilian life, "JB" Humphrey and his adored wife,
Bonnie, owned a gasoline service station in Delhi for a period of time; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Humphrey sold the station and became a rural route mail carrier for
the United States Postal Service, still serving his fellow Americans and he is believed to be
the oldest former rural route mail carrier alive; and
WHEREAS, "JB" and Bonnie Humphrey settled into life in Delhi, raising their two
sons, Johnny and Phillip, attending the First Baptist Church of Delhi, and living the life that
their sacrifices, in the armed forces and on the homefront, secured for their generation and
those to come; and
WHEREAS, "JB" was a third degree Mason and a member of the Barak Shriners,
where he participated as a member of the "clown troop" known as "Beeker the Clown"; and
WHEREAS, "JB" and Bonnie delighted in a marriage that lasted for fifty years and
particularly enjoyed dancing together, and reveled in spending time with their children,
grandchildren, and extended family who where always a top priority; and
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WHEREAS, after the World War II memorial was completed in Washington, D.C.,
in 2004, flights were begun to take World War II veterans to see the memorial and in order
that they would know how grateful their country remains for the sacrifices made by them
and their comrades in arms; and
WHEREAS, as the country cherishes its ever dwindling remaining World War II
veterans, it is important to celebrate the invaluable contributions of men such as John
Benjamin Humphrey, who saw what needed to be done, put their lives on hold, and at great
personal peril, fought to retain the rights and freedoms enshrined in the Declaration of
Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights for all Americans and for that effort,
"JB" Humphrey is honored on his one hundredth birthday for being a true American hero in
every sense of the word and deserving of all honor.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
does hereby commend John Benjamin Humphrey on the occasion of his one hundredth
birthday on October 7, 2020.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to
John Benjamin "JB" Humphrey.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
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