Seventy-six patriots from the Bisbee area lost their lives in World War II. Among them was T/SGT Arthur J. "Art" Benko, born on April 19, 1911, who graduated from Bisbee High School in 1928, became an outstanding athlete and Arizona State Rifle Champion from 1937 to 1939, and worked for the Phelps-Dodge Mining Company until volunteering for the Army Air Corps in April 1942. Stationed at Davis-Monthan Air Base in Tucson, he served as top turret gunner on the B-24D bomber "The Goon" and entered combat in the China Burma India Theater in March 1943. In eight months of combat he downed sixteen confirmed hostile fighters, making him one of the war's leading gunner aces. On October 1, 1943, over Haiphong, Indochina, nineteen enemy aircraft concentrated on his gun position during a forty-minute aerial battle; though wounded in the neck and hand and despite his guns jamming twice, he cleared them and continued firing until he had shot down seven confirmed Japanese Zeros, helping protect his crew, other friendly bombers, and the mission. On November 15, 1943, during a raid on Hong Kong, "The Goon" developed engine trouble and most of the crew bailed out; Benko and two other crew members landed in a wide, fast-flowing river, and he was not seen again and was presumed drowned. He received the Legion of Merit, two Distinguished Flying Crosses, three Air Medals, and two Purple Hearts, and his seven victories over Haiphong later ranked him as one of only two known Army Air Force gunners, along with two fighter pilots, to hold such a record during World War II. On June 4, 2009, the Department of the Army awarded him the Silver Star for his heroism on October 1, 1943.