Person:Benjamin Lindsey (3)

Name	Benjamin Dennis Lindsey
Gender	Male
Birth`^?`	18 Jun 1920	Coushatta, Red River Psh., Louisiana
Marriage	26 Jun 1948	Little Rock, Pulaski Co., Arkansasto Hattie Clotine Simpson
Death`^?`	13 Dec 1969	El Dorado, Union Co., Arkansas
Burial`^?`		Rest Haven Memorial Gardens, El Dorado, Union, Arkansas, United States
Reference Number		2

Benjamin Dennis Lindsey was born 18 June 1920 in Place:Coushatta, Red River, Louisiana, United States to Benjamin Dennis Lindsey, Sr., and Vallie Snead. His parents' bible, his birth certificate, his death certificate, and various other documents record this date of birth. Benjamin Dennis Lindsey lived the first three years of his life on his parents' farm near Place: Coushatta, Red River, Louisiana, United States, his place of birth. When he was aged three, his family moved to Place: Union, Arkansas, United States, settling near Place:Norphlet, Union, Arkansas, United States and Place: Mt. Holly, Union, Arkansas, United States, where his father worked in the oil fields. Benjamin D. Lindsey attended schools there, until the family moved back in 1929 to Coushatta, where they remained for five years. They then returned to Arkansas after that, where Benjamin D. Lindsay graduated from high school in Mt. Holly.

From family stories I heard growing up (this is Wm. Dennis Lindsey, Benjamin D. Lindsey's son, writing), Benjamin D. Lindsey was a rambunctious boy, always ready to fight and venture off into unexplored territory. His mother was sometimes so exasperated with him, that she tied him to a tree stump while she did her work, using the suspenders of his overalls to tie him up. In Feb. 1987, Benjamin D. Lindsey's cousin J.H. Snead told me that he was once visiting his cousins in Arkansas, and he and B.D. decided to go to the picture show in El Dorado. They picked peas to earn money to go to the movies. When they returned, they decided to hitch a ride on a slow-moving freight train. The train passed just by B.D.'s house, and his mother happened to be in the yard when it passed by. She had quite a fright seeing her son waving to her from atop the train.

Benjamin D. Lindsey also often told me how he would ride the machines that pumped the oil from the ground, a very dangerous venture, since one slip could result in a fatal or serious accident. He would also swim in the pits dug to find oil, which collected water; the water would be tinged with the oil, and that would turn the boys' hair red.

B.D. Lindsey also spoke about hopping on freight trains and taking trips, presumably when he was out of high school. I also recall his telling me that he joined the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Depression, and was sent to Wisconsin to do forestry work. During that period, he attended Marquette University in Milwaukee. He spoke of how his professor in English class, a priest, was so impressed with an account Benjamin D. Lindsey wrote about the oil boom days of El Dorado that he urged him to publish the essay.

From what B.D. Lindsey's siblings and parents told me, he was an exceptionally bright student. When he was in high school, the family sometimes did not have enough money to buy books for his school work. He would study a neighbor's books, and could simply look at the text and then repeat back what he had learned.

B.D. Lindsey enlisted on 6 March 1941 at Oklahoma City in the Marine Corps, while living at Place: Sheridan, Grant, Arkansas, United States. He was honorably discharged at Camp Pendleton in Oceanside, California, on 1 Nov. 1945. His separation papers state that his serial number was 306612. They show that he attended Sea School, and was a Lt. AAA Gun Crewman during the war. The papers also state that he graduated from McRae High School in Mt. Holly, Arkansas, and after that, worked as a derrickman in the oil fields of Delta Drilling Co., Tyler, TX, from 1 Nov. 1940 to 1 Jan. 1941. The papers state that he intended to go to college, with an interest in English and journalism, and preferred to settle in south Arkansas, since it was his home.

B.D. Lindsey served in the 16th Platoon of the U.S. Marine Corps during WWII. I have a picture of the platoon taken at San Diego in April 1941. The picture shows that Lt. Barrett/Garrett was commander (is torn here), along with plt. Sgt. T.M. Sprowls, Corp. J.W. Woodfin, and Corp. R.T. Hatlin.

I have a 21 Aug. 1941 letter B.D. Lindsey sent to his parents while he was in service. The letter is addressed from USS Pennsylvania, Marine Detach, c/o Fleet post office, Pearl Harbor, Q.H. The letter was sent via B.D. Lindsey's brother Carlton, then at 300 Center St., Little Rock, Arkansas. The letter notes that B.D. Lindsey's parents had recently "sold out" and moved. B.D. Lindsey notes that he been in port for some time, and that he should maneuver out shortly. B.D. Lindsey also states that he had been to Honolulu, Waikiki, and Hiea (?) on a liberty. He speaks of the beauty of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel and the beach at Waikiki, as well as of the large groves of palms loaded with coconuts. The letter ends with B.D. Lindsey telling his family that after he had been on board about 3 months, he could take tests for private first class, which would increase his pay to $36 per month.

I have a 15 Aug. 1942 letter written by B.D. Lindsey from the USS Pennsylvania, c/o the Fleet Postoffice in San Francisco. At this time B.D. Lindsey was stationed at Pearl Harbor, so the letter was presumably written from there. It was written to his brother Carlton, then at Hdqrs. Det. 2nd Btn., 117th Infantry, Fort Jackson, SC.

B.D. Lindsey addresses his brother as "dear Bud." The letter notes that 15 Aug. was the day Carlton Lindsey was to take exams to get back into the Air Force. The letter also notes that B.D. Lindsey hoped to take tests to join the Naval Air Force. The letter also notes that several of B.D. Lindsey's military acquaintances were getting married, but he couldn't see doing so while in service. B.D. Lindsey also says that his sister Blanche had written him recently, asking him to write her boyfriend in Alaska, but he hadn't yet done so. B.D. Lindsey also speaks of his desire to be made corporal. The letter ends by referring to B.D. Lindsey's presence at a military ceremony involving famous military people, about which he couldn't write (presumably because of censorship).

The language of "Bud" reflects the buddy system of the military in World War II, which has been discussed in histories of the war. The popular song "My Buddy," from 1922, was revived during the war and became a hit, being sung by Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Kaye, and others.

A 20 Feb. 1945 letter of B.D. Lindsey to his parents has no envelope or indication of where B.D. Lindsey was writing from. The letter notes that his unit would leave for the west coast on the following day, and notes that B.D. Lindsey needed money. He asks his parents to send him the War Bonds he had left at home. The letter also notes that B.D. Lindsey would write his parents and send an address when he got to Pendleton.

A 27 Feb. 1945 letter to B.D. Lindsey's parents is addressed from Co. B, 1st Trng. Bn., 2nd Inf. Trng. Reg., M.T.C.-S.D.A., Camp Pendleton, Oceanside, CA. This says that B.D. Lindsey had arrived at Pendleton the day before and was happy to be back in CA. He had come by a monotonous 5-day train ride. En route, he had gone from New Orleans to Shreveport through Coushatta, but the train was going so fast, he could not recognize anyone, although he yelled from the train. He was on train 2, and notes that train 3 came through Memphis, Pine Bluff, Fordyce, and Camden. B.D. Lindsey also tells his mother that he would be sending a telegram the following day, and she she got it, she would see why he had done so. The letter reiterates that B.D. Lindsey was broke, and needed the war bonds.

My father never spoke about his military service, except one time when I was about 12 years old. On that occasion, he had too much to drink, and I can recall his crying (something that was very rare, indeed), and saying that no one would ever know how the war experience had scarred men of his generation. I can recall either him or someone else in the family telling me that he had some rank, perhaps sergeant, and the rank was taken away when he got into a fight with an officer while drinking.

Following the war, B.D. Lindsey married Hattie Clotine Simpson, daughter of William Zachariah Simpson and Hattie Paralee Batchelor, on 26 June 1948 in Place:Little Rock, Pulaski, Arkansas, United States. The marriage certificate of B.D. Lindsey and Hattie Clotine Simpson shows that they were married on 26 June 1948 by Rev. F.H. Roseman, minister, with witnesses Andrew Lovelady and Sally Anne Roberts. I have the original minister's certificate, as well as a copy of the marriage license (Pulaski Co. #31639). I also have the original marriage license and return. The marriage is recorded in Pulaski Co. Marriage Bk. 176, p. 307.

After serving in the war, B.D. Lindsey graduated from Little Rock Junior College on 25 May 1950, and then from Hendrix College in Place:Conway, Faulkner, Arkansas, United States on 3 June 1951, earning a B.A. He then earned a law degree from AR Law School in Place:Little Rock, Pulaski, Arkansas, United States, receiving a license to practice on 25 June 1951. I have the Hendrix graduation program, listing B.D. Lindsey as a resident of Conway. I also have a copy of the invitation. I have, as well, the Little Rock Junior College and Hendrix diplomas, along with the license to practice law.

For some years after his graduation, B.D. Lindsey worked for State Farm Co. as a claims adjustor. During these years, he and his family lived for awhile in Conway, Forrest City, West Memphis, and Little Rock, Arkansas, and in Columbus, MS. The family was in Columbus in 1953 when son Philip was born, though Philip was born in Little Rock.

On 1 June 1957, B.D. Lindsey entered into a law practice in Little Rock with Harold L. Hall; I have a card announcing the opening of the practice in Pyramid Life Bldg. On 7 November of the same year, he received from the Eastern District Court of Arkansas his bar credentials (I have the certificate).

In 1958, B.D. Lindsey moved his family from Little Rock to El Dorado, the county seat of Union County, in which he had been raised when his family moved there from Coushatta, Louisiana, in the 1920s. I have a copy of the announcement of the opening of B.D. Lindsey's law practice in Place:El Dorado, Union, Arkansas, United States on 15 May 1959. The office was in the Mason Bldg. On 15 October of the same year, B.D. Lindsey received his bar certificate from the Western District Court of Arkansas (I have the original).

On 28 June 1959, B.D. Lindsey joined First Baptist church, El Dorado; I have his certificate of membership, signed by Rev. Dr. Wm. Walter Warmath, the church pastor. On 1 June 1960, B.D. Lindsey received a certificate showing he was a charter member of the 13th Judicial District Bar Association in Union, Columbia, Ouachita, and Calhoun Counties, Arkansas (I have the certificate).

In the 1960s, B.D. Lindsey ran for office several times in El Dorado, always unsuccessfully. In 1960, B.D. Lindsey ran unsuccessfully for prosecuting attorney of 13th Judicial Dist., El Dorado. I have a newpaper clipping about this. In 1961, B.D. Lindsey ran unsuccessfully for municipal judge, Union Co., Arkansas. In 1963, B.D. Lindsey ran unsuccessfully for mayor of El Dorado.

I have a clipping from a 1963 El Dorado newspaper (otherwise unidentified) noting that B.D. Lindsey would be installed as the 1963 district chairman of the Union Dist. of the DeSoto Area Council, Boy Scouts of America. I also have pictures from an undated El Dorado newspaper, evidently in the early 1960s, showing B.D. Lindsey as president of the PTA of Barton Jr. High.

I have a clipping of a 30 Aug. 1967 Arkansas Gazette article (p. 2A), entitled "Paper Carrier Gets Judgment of $115,000." The article notes that El Dorado boy, Tommy Cage, 15, had been awarded the judgment vs. the Arkansas Democrat for an accident he suffered while delivering the Democrat. The article also notes that Cage's attorneys were Ben D. Lindsey, James Spencer, and Don Gillespie. The original verdict had gone in Union Co. circuit ct. to the newspaper, but the AR Supreme Ct. reversed the decision, saying that a child under 14 (Cage was 13 when injured) could not sell newspapers.

B.D. Lindsey's death certificate shows that he died at 9:30 A.M. on 13 Dec. 1969 at Union Memorial Hospital, Place:El Dorado, Union, Arkansas, United States of respiratory failure due to multiple rib fractures with hemorrhages and pneumonia secondary to trauma. The death certificate notes that he suffered an auto accident on the 9th on highway 167. The death certificate was signed by the attending physician, Dr. Ernest Hartmann. B.D. Lindsey was then living at 415 Clarmont Dr., El Dorado, AR 71730.

I have an obituary of B.D. Lindsey from an El Dorado newspaper saying that he died at an El Dorado hospital on 13 Dec. 1969 from injuries received in a one-car crash on U.S. highway 167. Funeral was at Second Baptist Church with burial at Resthaven Cem.

After B.D. Lindsey's death, his widow found the following prayer typed, apparently by B.D. Lindsey himself, on his legal stationery: "Remind me, God, each day and night, That I belong to You, That there are certain things in Life, I have no right to do. Remind me that I have no right, To be a selfish soul, With only mortal wealth and fame, And Comfort as my goal. No right to be despondent, Over tragedy and strife, And never, never God the right, To try to end my life. Remind me, God, that I am here To give the best in me, To relatives and neighbors and, To all humanity. If you will help me think of all, I should or should not do, I promise I will not forget, My gratitude to You."

B.D. Lindsey's social security death index record shows that his SS # was 432-09-8074. I have the card itself, addressed to B.D. Lindsey at 5204 Lee St., Little Rock, AR.

B.D. Lindsey had a very generous streak (though, it often seemed to me, not when it concerned his own immediate family), and often did legal services for clients who could not afford to pay him, or who paid by giving him a painting or some vegetables. This generosity reflects the medical service his grandfather Alex Cobb Lindsey did for poor patients in Red River Psh., LA--see file of A.C. Lindsey.

In about 1960, a boy in El Dorado, AR, Bill Bradley, was struck by lightning and blinded while playing baseball. B.D. Lindsey began a fund drive to have Bill Bradley sent to Houston for surgery, putting the initial seed money into the fund. The surgery was successful, and the boy's sight restored.

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