- Date Of Birth: March 10, 1923
- Date Of Death: October 21, 2016
- State: Louisiana
Benjamin Franklin Wicker, passed away Friday, October 21, 2016, peacefully at his grandson’s home in Central. He was 93 years old. Ben was born March 10, 1923 in Baton Rouge, the only son of Anna and Benjamin Wicker.
At the tender age of 17, he joined the Marines and would not see his family again for four years. He served on the USS California during the Pearl Harbor attack. He was serving guard duty on top deck when the Japanese planes began flying over and dropping bombs. As the ship tilted, he and many others jumped into the fire filled waters to swim to shore. He was one of the very few survivors and his interview is in the WWII museum in New Orleans. He served in the Marshall Islands campaign. He was sent to Ireland and was present for the German U-Boats surrender near the end of the war. When he was finally granted leave, he came home to Baton Rouge where he met his future wife who worked at Western Union. He married this young girl, Katrina Walters, three months later. A father of three girls, he was known for his kind and gentle spirit. He was an Albermarle retiree.
