A Conscientious Objector’s Medal of Honor

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The Vietnam War presented many young men with a moral dilemma as they became subject to the draft in the late 1960s. These were men whose deep-seated religious convictions held that killing was wrong, even in war. At the same time, a number of them also possessed a strong sense of patriotism and felt that service to one’s country was a vital duty. One youngster torn by those conflicting values was Thomas W. Bennett of Morgantown, West Virginia.

By Christmas 1967, Bennett was on academic probation at West Virginia University because of poor grades. He didn’t lack the mental acumen to do college-level work. Bennett earned high grades whenever he applied himself — but he applied himself more vigorously to extracurricular campus activities than to his classes.

Perhaps it was his diminutive size — he stood only 5 feet 6 inches and was slight of build — that made him want to be a ‘Big Man On Campus. From the day he first joined the student body at the university in his hometown of Morgantown, Bennett had been active in a wide variety of campus clubs, as well as student government. His main focus was the Campus Ecumenical Council he’d helped found in his freshman year.

Tom Bennett saw himself as a moderator. Though raised as a Southern Baptist, he openly embraced the validity of all religions — hence his activities in the ecumenical council. He wanted devotees of different religions to share their similarities rather than face off over their differences. To learn more about different religions, he began attending services of different faiths, visiting some churches so often that parishioners thought he was one of them. Through these experiences his belief in the sanctity of human life solidified — a frequent theme when he preached at his own church.

But Bennett was torn by other allegiances. His stepfather, Kermit Gray, a World War II Navy veteran, had raised him to believe in patriotism and to be ready to fight for his country if necessary. By late 1967 a number of young Bennett’s friends had already entered the service. Several had gone to Vietnam, and one buddy from childhood, David Kovac, had been killed in action with the Marines. Bennett didn’t want to dishonor Kovac’s sacrifice by refusing to serve or by fleeing to Canada. But he didn’t think he could be faithful to his religious beliefs if he went to war and was forced to kill. He wrestled with his dilemma, seeking the advice of friends, his minister and counselors.

That 1967 fall semester grade report forced Bennett to make up his mind. Once he lost his student deferment, he would become eligible for the draft. He thought he then would have only three choices: serve, leave the country, or declare himself a conscientious objector and refuse induction. But from the campus draft counselors he learned of a fourth choice: he could apply to be classified as a conscientious objector who was willing to serve. He did so, and on May 2, 1968, his request was granted. He would be trained as a medic.

Bennett reported for induction on July 11, 1968. Under the Army’s program, he and the other conscientious objectors would take their weaponless basic training at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, then attend the field medical school there. It was a perfect compromise for Bennett, the moderator. He could still serve his country and honor his buddy’s memory, but his efforts in the war zone would involve saving lives, not taking them.

In his letters home from Texas, Bennett expressed his frustrations over the continuing war in Vietnam. On October 12, 1968, while in medical training, he wrote his family, That’s what I might like to do — gain the ability to save lives — in hopes they might learn to live in peace. He tried to reassure his parents that his chances of ending up in the war zone were slim. On September 15, he told them: Since September 1 there has been a sharp decrease in the number of medics going to Nam….I have just as good of a chance to serve in Honolulu as in Nam. Even if I do go to Nam, I might not serve in a combat zone.

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Tags: 20th - 21st Century, Historical Conflicts, Vietnam War

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