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MEMORIAL ARTICLE
Published Assembly Mar '92
BENJAMIN KELLER CHASE NO. 15910
CLASS OF 1946 Died 23 September 1971 on the island of St.
Maartens, Netherlands Antilles, aged 47 years. Interment: Mount
Lebanon Cemetery, Mount Lebanon, Pennsylvania |
BENJAMIN KELLER CHASE, known to his family and friends as
Ben, was born 10 April 1924 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Ben
grew up in Lebanon, Pennsylvania and attended high school at
Riverside Military Academy, from which he graduated in 1941.
His formative years found Ben greatly interested in outdoor activities;
he was an avid fisherman and hunter. He also enjoyed skiing,
golf and tennis. One of his early heroes was an uncle, Colonel
Herbert K. Bear, US Army Corps of Engineers. It was his admiration
of this uncle that prompted Ben to make attending West Point
one of the major goals in his life. Following graduation from
Riverside Military Academy, Ben entered Virginia Polytechnic
Institute and remained there until he was drafted in March 1943.
Ben served in a chemical warfare training regiment until appointed
to West Point, entering on 1 July 1943 with the Class of 1946.
With his military academy and Army background, Ben found
cadet life tolerable. Not a hive, he managed to stay out of trouble
with academics. Not terribly athletic, he was always willing
to try his best. He was a member of the Ski Club during each
of his cadet years. One of his classmates, Joe Lusk, recalled
that Ben was a very compassionate person. He was always willing
to take upon himself the solution to a friend's problems. Always
cheerful, one of his favorite expressions as a cadet was "don't
worry about your Uncle Ben." He was always optimistic and
wanted to share this happy outlook on life with his friends.
Ben graduated as a second lieutenant in the Field Artillery.
After completion of the Artillery Officers Basic Course at
Fort Sill, Oklahoma and Fort Bliss, Texas, Ben was assigned to
the Field Artillery Battalion at the Infantry School, Fort Benning,
George. It was while at Fort Benning that Ben married Wilda (Willie)
Elizabeth Stengel on 23 July 1949 at Lititz, Pennsylvania. In
1950, Ben and Willie went to Panama, where Ben served with the
504th Field Artillery Battalion at Fort Kobbe, Canal Zone. Following
his tour with the 504th, Ben returned to Fort Sill, Oklahoma
to attend the Field Artillery Officer's Advanced Course. In 1954
Ben looked at the promotion outlook and didn't like what he saw,
so he decided to resign his commission and go into civilian life.
Ben stayed in the Army Reserves after he left the Army. His
duty assignments included S-3, 6-1 Rocket Howitzer Battalion,
79th Division and S-3, 378th Quartermaster Battalion, General
Supply. Ben retired as a major in the Army Reserves in 1967.
Ben's first venture as a civilian was working for a consulting
engineering firm. In 1956 he joined the Lebanon Steel Foundry
as an assistant production manager. He became production manager
in 1960 and remained in that position until 1969. It was while
working as production manager at Lebanon Foundry and discovering
that work was continually backed up in the X-ray Testing Department
that Ben began to think about solving this production bottle
neck. He began to talk to his friends in the Radiographic Department
about starting his own company to solve this problem. One of
these friends, Robert H. Wagner, recalled that Ben's conversations
on the subject became more and more serious until Ben finally
asked him if he would leave Lebanon and go with him. Robert Wagner
told Ben he would think about it. From that day forward, when
Ben talked of the business to Wagner, it was "us" (not
"me"). Robert Wagner went into the fledgling business
one month after Ben. Another friend and co-worker, L. Saylor
Zimmerman, joined them in Ben's fledgling company named Pennsylvania
Radiographic Laboratories. After much hard work, the three of
them got the company on its way in early 1971. The company specialized
in the X-raying of steel castings, forgings and weldments and
the final repair, through welding, of any defects uncovered.
The surge in the quality requirements for steel used in nuclear
power applications made Ben's company, one of the few specializing
in this type of work, very successful.
Robert Wagner and L. Saylor Zimmerman recalled several incidents
in getting the company underway. The first office Christmas party
was held in Ben's office, with the entire work force of three
attending. Another time they were working on the original x-ray
machine, and Ben was standing by, smoking his old pipe. Ben decided
he was going to help, so he put his pipe in his coat pocket.
Five minutes later his coat was smoking, and Ben was frantically
trying to save it. Ben was president of the company until his
death in 1971. That company, from its modest beginnings, is now
known as PRL Industries, Inc. and has grown to include a parent
company, PRL Inc. and three sister companies; Brenner Machine
Company, Lebanon Tool Company and Regal Cast, Inc. These companies
employed 200 people in 1990.
Ben was very active in community activities in Lebanon County.
One of his main activities was the American Cancer Society, having
served as chairman of both regional and local fund-raising drives
and as president of his local unit He was also active in the
Republican party, serving on his local executive committee for
over ten years. In addition to enjoying hunting and fishing,
Ben was an inventor and a painter. Some of his artistic talent
was transmitted to his children, with two of them making their
livings in New York City as artists.
In September 1971, he and Willie were on vacation in the
Netherlands Antilles when Ben died of a heart attack. He was
survived by his wife Willie; son Benjamin K. Jr.; two daughters,
Lisa and Abigail; and brother Samuel.
Ben Chase was a generous and caring man. Among all those
who provided input to this article, there was a common thought:
"Ben was a gentleman, a truly kind person and a true friend."
That really is a fine way to be remembered. Ben loved his fellow
man and they responded in kind. He never lost the optimism that
he displayed as a cadet. He shed no tears for himself, his tears
were shed only for others. Ben had a boundless zest for life
and a great sense of humor, which balanced his serious side.
He had great vision, and there is no telling what he might have
accomplished had he not been taken from his family and country
so soon. Ben loved and cherished his family. His beloved Willie
expressed the feeling of all who knew and loved Benjamin K. Chase
when she said, "He left this world a happy man and a better
place for his brief stay. I feel privileged to have been with
him on part of his journey and was fortunate to have shared his
joys, sorrows, accomplishments and love. We all miss him terribly,
20 years does not seem like a long time." His classmates
can only add, "Well Done, Ben; Be Thou At Peace!"
'46 Memorial Article Project and his wife Willie
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