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Taps, Present Arms
Farewell
"Joe" Benner
At the Annual
Membership Meeting held on January 22, 2000, the Association paid
tribute to Sergeant Major Huelet L. "Joe" Benner who died
December 1999. SGM Benner was one of the initial US Army Marksmanship
Unit Hall of Fame inductees.
Joe was synonymous with Army
marksmanship for over two
decades. He was 15 time Army Pistol Champion and six time National
Pistol Champion. SGM
Benner also served
from 1953 to 1963 as the Pistol Coach at the U.S. Military Academy,
West Point, New York.
SGM Benner's
greatest shooting achievement was in 1952.
He fired a world record to win the Rapid Fire Match at the Word
Championships in Oslo, Norway,
then
two weeks latter he won the
Olympic Gold Medal in the Free Pistol event at Helsinki, Finland.
During 11 years of international competition, Joe won 13 gold, 6
silver, and 6 bronze medals.
Additionally, Joe earned
the U.S. Army Distinguished Pistol Shot Badge in 1940 and was
retroactively
awarded the United
States Distinguished International Shooter Badge for
his 1949
World Shooting Championships gold medal performance.
The Association, the Army, and
the shooting community mourn the passing of one of this nations
greatest marksman. Those who competed with "Joe" Benner
will remember him as a true champion both on and off the pistol range.
SGM
Benner's Shooting Highlights
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Six Time
National Pistol Champion
1947,
1949, 1951, 1954, 1955, 1959
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Fifteen Time U.
S. Army Pistol Champion
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1949
World Championships |
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Gold Medal |
Rapid Fire Pistol |
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Gold Medal |
Center Fire Pistol |
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1950
Pan American Games |
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Gold Medal |
Rapid Fire Pistol |
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Gold Medal |
Center Fire Pistol |
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1952
Olympic Games |
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Gold Medal |
Free Pistol |
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1952
World Championships |
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Gold Medal |
Rapid Fire Pistol |
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1955
Pan American Games |
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Gold Medal |
Free Pistol |
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Gold Medal |
Free Pistol Team |
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Gold Medal |
Rapid Fire Pistol |
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Gold Medal |
Rapid Fire Pistol Team |
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Gold Medal |
Center Fire Pistol Team |
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