US Army PFC Benjamin Franklin Laughton Jr. was born in Pensacola, Florida on July 5, 1914, the son of Benjamin Franklin Laughton Sr. (1894-1967) and Leola Belle Davis (1896-1981). His father was born in Harold in Santa Rosa County and supported his family as a railroad conductor for the Frisco Railroad from which he would eventually retirement. He and his family were also members of the Bagdad Methodist Church.
Their son Benjamin Jr. would graduate from Pensacola High School in the Class of 1932 before entering the work force. On January 31, 1939, he would marry Ernestine Obere Wicker (1919-2009) in Santa Rosa County. The following year, Ben is listed as a shift manager for the Sherill Oil Company. By 1942, he and Ernestine were still living with his parents at 914 East Cervantes Street while Ben Jr. was working as a salesman for Sears & Roebuck downtown. Two children were born from this union, Loma Jean (age 5), and Norma Lou (age 3). But things apparently weren't working out very well with the young couple and they eventually split up in 1943. That same year, Ben would marry Annie Lou Joseph (1922-2008), a fellow Pensacola High classmate in the class of 1940. She was the daughter of a foreman at a chemical plant, William Anthony Joseph (1900-1985) and his wife Maude M. Guernsey (1899-2001).
But as Ben Jr. was dealing with his domestic issues, the war was entering its final and most bloody stage. America was building a huge army and preparing to land it on the shores of Europe. To do that she needed more men trained who were ready to die if necessary to bring the war to an end. Ben would enlist on March 17, 1944 and was sent to Camp Blanding for processing and orientation. He received his training at Camp Croft, SC before being assigned to 22nd Infantry Regiment of the 4th Infantry Division as a machine gunner. The regiment was sent to Europe in January 1944, destined to hit Utah Beach on D-Day. By November 16, 1944, the division was destined to become one of ten divisions to assault the impregnable Hurtgen Forest in Operation Queen. The purpose was to seize the Rhine River crossings into Germany. The forest was thickly wooded with great hardwood and fir trees standing 75 to 100 feet tall. Throughout November, the temperatures remained near freezing, with never-ending mixture of snow, sleet and rain. Within two days of entering the forest, every battalion commander was killed or wounded as were many of the small unit leaders.
Their Thanksgiving dinner of the 24th was cold turkey sandwiches and lukewarm coffee. This would be the last meal for many in the regiment. The next day on the 25th the regiment launched its attack to seize Grosshau. German General Gersdorf called the fighting in the Hurtgen the worse he had seen including the Russian Front, as well as the bloodbaths of World War I. Private Laughton was one of those brave soldiers that fell that day. His regiment alone suffered 2,773 casualties, or 85% of its normal complement of 3,257 soldiers, just to take one village and 6,000 yards of forest. Each rifle company went into action averaging 162 soldiers. Seven days later, the rifle companies averaged 87. By the end of the battle, losses of the rifle companies reached an estimated 151% of their original strength.
In 1949, Laughton's body was transferred to the American War Cemetery in Margraten, Netherlands. Today, the local Dutch citizens visit the graves of these men, decorating their graves with flowers, to express their gratitude for those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom.
As for his first wife Ernestine, she would marry again to Anthony Michael Alberti (1920-2002) in 1946. Born in Pineville in Escambia County, she would pass away on August 3, 2009 and was buried in the Chesapeake Memorial Gardens in Chesapeake, Virginia. His second wife, Annie Lou, would marry again to Robert Fulton Broxson (1904-1966) on June 20, 1945 in Santa Rosa County. She would pass away on December 2, 2008 and was buried in the Roberts Cemetery in Pensacola, Florida. She was a long-standing member of the First Baptist Church of Milton, Florida and was born in Gull Point near today's Langley Blvd and Scenic Highway.
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