Biography of James Bentz written by Paisley McMillan (Granddaughter), Vanessa Strathman, Colton Jeardoe, and Aiden Jones
"Our true American history- both good and bad- because if you only know lies, how are you supposed to change it for the better?" is what James Bentz, a veteran who served in the Army and the National Guard, wants our generation to know. James is Paisley McMillan's grandfather, and we are honored to share his story.
James Lyndon Bentz was born on July 14, 1957, in Hastings, Nebraska, to Nathaniel and Josephine Bentz. He was the youngest of his five siblings: Pat, Phil, Sharon, Kay, and Joanne. James attended Blue Hill Elementary School and Blue Hill High School in Hastings.
In his youth, James would attend school and then go to the Bentz Body Shop. After working at the body shop, he would go to his parents’ farm and work. James helped haul bales and do chores.
In high school, James greatly enjoyed his woodshop and ag-training classes. He graduated from Blue Hill High School in 1975. “I did not go to college, but if I did, then I would have gone to Vo-Tech,” said James.
James decided to enlist in the Army soon after he graduated high school. He had not thought about enlisting in the Army beforehand. After he enlisted, he attended basic training in Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. Soon after, he completed his AIT at Aberdeen Training Grounds in Maryland. He was trained as a wheel and track mechanic. During his training, he occasionally exchanged letters with his parents and with his best friend P. J.
During his training, James spent almost a week in the hospital. The doctors said that he had low-grade pneumonia. MOS (Military Occupational Service) school in Maryland (Aberdeen) was easy for James though because he said he was already very knowledgeable about what he was learning there. In fact, he was first in his class and he received a rank increase. He was promoted from an E1 to an E2 automatically after he joined the Army. He was later promoted from an E2 to a Private First Class, or an E3, because he achieved first in his class.
While soldiers were in the field, they had to eat C rations instead of MREs because MREs had not been produced yet. If the men were out in the field for a long time, then they would have a portable kitchen and make normal meals like ones we would have at home, such as peanut butter crackers, beef stew, and other items that would make good food for traveling.
The military allowed James to travel during his time in Europe. In his free time, he toured Germany. He saw many amazing castles and ruins on his trips. The Walt Disney castle was modeled from one of these. Once, while he was in Germany, he went to a concert by a group called Bad Company.
James also toured England. One year he spent Thanksgiving in a pub in London, and James told us that they gave him a normal Thanksgiving dinner. While there, he went to a bar where everyone was dressed up in King Henry the 8th garb. In London, the summer was almost exactly like the weather in the U.S. In the Alps, the weather was very cold. He would often go cross country skiing there. “Beautiful,” is how James described the Alps.
The uniforms that were given to the Army men were called fatigues. They were a solid olive green color. James said the soldiers were required to keep their black combat boots polished. James did not have any BDUs (Battle Dress Uniforms) until he was in the National Guard.
The housing provided in the Army were called barracks. The soldiers could either be in a big open room, which could hold about fifty people, or they could be in several small rooms that could house two to four people in each room. In the National Guard, James went home to sleep, except during their two-week training. During the two-week training, they would either sleep in tents or in their vehicles.
The hours of the Army were “twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week,” according to James. Soldiers had to work for long periods and did not have many breaks until they were done with their missions. In the Guard, James had to work for one weekend a month (two weeks straight throughout the year).
In the military James worked on anything from gas generators to M60 tanks. His basic duties were fixing machinery and making sure everything kept running. He enjoyed doing field work during Reforger, a military exercise that lasted two or three weeks. Once during Reforger, James worked for five days straight without sleeping while working on the machinery. He would normally work on Jeeps, trucks, and occasionally a track vehicle (a tank with tracks for wheels). He worked with Sergeant Albun. Albun slept whenever he wanted to, so he did not work as many hours as James did. James once had a full bird colonel, an O6, order him to go to sleep, and James did not wake up for a day and a half he said.
Once, James had an officer pull him off the field and put him into the back of a Jeep. He did not tell James what was going on. All James was told was that he might need to shave. He did not have any soap or water, so he had to dry shave. When he arrived at the location, the officer told him to go to a truck and pretend to be working on it so they could take some pictures for an award he had earned. When he finished posing for pictures, James was awarded an Army Commendation Medal by his brigade commanding general for all of his hours working in the field.
James enjoyed teaching others about mechanics. He did not enjoy that his job could get pretty mundane though. He also disliked the fact that there was a lot of physical labor required in the job.
James made many friends during his time in the Army but has not stayed in touch with them, nor has he contacted any of his old friends from the Guards. The reason for this is none of them live in the area anymore and because the Guard is not in Beloit anymore. It used to be held at the VFW building.
James’s commanding officers were not very strict because James never got into much trouble and already knew the rules. The military’s rules were called UCMJ, which stands for the Uniform Code of Military Justice. He said he would sometimes get into trouble on purpose but the commanding officers caught onto him and did not really react. Occasionally during drills, James and a friend would go drink coffee and play cards with the officer.
Another time when James was working in the field, he heard metal clinking, which during James’s training, signaled a gas explosion drill. The soldiers had all been trained for gas explosions, and they thought it was another drill, so they all got out their gas masks. Officers rushed over to the spot where they heard the clinking. When they got there, they realized that one of their men was digging right where an unexploded mortar was located. If it had been hit harder, it would have exploded.
James was stationed in Heilbronn, Germany, for most of the time that he was in the Army. When he was eight or nine months from getting out of the Army, one of his commanding officers told him that he was supposed to go to Fort Hood, Texas. James asked to go to Fort Riley, Kansas, instead, so they sent him there. Apparently, James was meant to go to Fort Riley all along. They had told him the wrong location.
James Bentz stated, “I had a good time when I worked for the military.” He was awarded two Army Commendation medals (one from working for five days straight and not stopping during Reforger, and one from his overall work in the Army), an expert in rifle and pistol medal, and a grenade launcher medal.
James worked at the Bentz Family Body Shop after returning home from Fort Riley. Soon after, he moved to Beloit. After his time working at the Bentz Body Shop, James worked awhile as a plumber, and then he worked at the sewer plant in Beloit. He later received a back injury, so he had to stop working at the sewer plant. After the sewer plant, James started working at the water plant in Beloit where he is still currently working.
James had been stopping frequently at a truck stop in Glasco, Kansas, when he was going back and forth from Fort Riley and Blue Hill. He had gotten to know a lady who worked there, Debbie. One day after stopping, he realized that he was in love with her and wanted to marry her someday. Exactly one year after they met, James and Debbie were married on September 16, 1980. They were later blessed with three children: Jennifer, Justin, and Jordan, seven grandchildren, and a couple “granddogs.''
In his free time, James likes to camp at Waconda Lake in the summer. James also helps his wife Debbie with her business, making shirts or custom ornaments. Around Christmas time, James also loves to adorn his house with Christmas decorations, some of which are homemade.
Freedom means everything to James. James said, “Everything means fighting for the rights in our country that we were given. Just because someone does not agree with you, does not mean that you do not have the right to say it. Freedom means preserving our rights that were given to us by our founding fathers in the Constitution.”
James Lyndon Bentz may not have fought in a war, but he did serve in the Army to protect our country and keep our freedoms safe. We are honored to have had a chance to meet with him and learn his life story to share.
“Once a vet, always a vet.”- James Lyndon Bentz
Credits:
Created with an image by Danielhadmanphotography - "veterans day anzac day anzac"