Benson Guyton Papers

Collection

Identifier: MSS-345

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The collection includes issues of Ex-POW Bulletins, the official publication of the ADBC; Omine Machi newsletters; a copy of a speech given by Guyton at the 1977 ADBC meeting at the U. S. Naval Academy; memorabilia from veterans annual reunions and an ADBC convention; and a photocopy of Guyton’s diary.

Dates

1942 - 1980
Majority of material found within 1977 - 1980

Creator

Guyton, Benson (Creator, Person)

Access Restrictions

Open to all researchers.

Use Restrictions

Any requests for permission to publish, quote, or reproduce materials from this collection must be submitted in writing to the Manuscripts Librarian for Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Mississippi State University as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.

Biographical Information

Lieutenant-Colonel Benson Guyton, born August 19, 1910, graduated from Mississippi State College in 1933 with a degree in civil engineering. A member of the 200th Coast Artillery during World War II, Guyton was held as a prisoner of war in the Cabanatuan camp #3 in the Philippines, where he knew LTC Bill Stennis (a cousin of Senator John C. Stennis) among others. Though the diary he kept during his time on the island of Corregidor was taken away by the Commanding General prior to surrender, he reconstructed parts of it from memory. Guyton was active in veterans’ affairs and served as the national adjutant for the American Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor (ADBC). He also sent out an annual newsletter for others who had been imprisoned in the Omine Machi camp in Japan. Benson Guyton died in Decatur, Alabama, on June 14, 1996.