Benjamin Mabey Fishler 1921 ~ 2005 Ben M. Fishler passed away at his home on April 12, 2005. Benjamin Mabey Fishler was born April 17, 1921, in Odgen, Utah, to Philip L. and Alice Mabey Fishler, the fifth of seven children. He had four sisters and two brothers. The children of Phil and Alice were: Virginia, Kenneth, Mildred, Audrey, Ben, Stanley, and Baalah. Raised in the Avenues of Salt Lake City, Ben graduated from East High School in 1938 and attended the University of Utah. Ben met our mother, Helen Robinson, in San Francisco during World War II, and they were married on November 13, 1942. Ben is survived by his three children, Philip (wife Judy Williams), Julie (husband David Smart) and Janet (husband Tom Melville.); his sisters, Virginia Bowen, Baalah Drooks; brothers, Kenneth and Stanley (wife Darlene); in addition, nine grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents and his sisters Mildred (Christensen) and Audrey. Ben enlisted in the U.S. Navy on January 9, 1939. Trained as a medical corpsman, he was then assigned to the USS Honolulu CL-48 at Pearl Harbor. On December 7, 1941, while serving on the Honolulu, it was attacked by Japanese dive-bombers and damaged. Ben observed the USS Arizona blow up and the USS Oklahoma roll over. Ben immediately went to his battle station to attend to the wounded. After repairs were completed, the Honolulu operated in the Aleutian Islands in order to prevent a Japanese invasion of Alaska. Thereafter, the Honolulu, nicknamed the "Blue Goose", was sent to Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands, just in time to participate in the Battle of Tassafaronga on November 30, 1942. In this battle, every American cruiser was either damaged or sunk, but the Honolulu, as a "lucky ship", was not damaged. This was followed by many ship-to-ship night engagements. On July 4, 1943, the Honolulu sank a Japanese destroyer in the Battle of Kula Gulf. However, the Helena CL 50, a sister ship, was sunk. On July 13, 1943, in the Battle of Kolombangara, the Honolulu, while trying to intercept the "Tokyo Express", sustained two torpedo hits. Once again there were no casualties, but 90 feet were blown off the bow. The Honolulu, with Ben on board, returned to the U.S. for repairs. He was then assigned temporarily to the Naval Hospital at Camp Pendleton, California. Ben then became a "plank owner" on the USS Barataria Bay, AVP 33, a seaplane tender. On that ship, Ben went immediately to the Philippines, where he participated in the invasion of Lingayen Gulf. At war's end, he was in Manila, standing by, to invade Japan. Ben liked to say, he was at Pearl Harbor when World War II started and at Manila when it ended. Continued on next column