RADM Richard E. Bennis, Retired
It is with great sorrow that I relay the passing of Rear Admiral Richard E. Bennis, USCG Retired on Sunday morning August 3, 2003 after a courageous fight with cancer. I had the sincere pleasure of working with Rear Admiral Bennis at Coast Guard Activities New York. He was an inspiration to me and all who served with him.
08/04/03 Submitted by:
Rear Admiral Richard Bennis
Richard E. Bennis, 53, of Stafford, Va., a retired rear admiral in the Coast Guard, captain of the Port of New York and New Jersey during the evacuation of Lower Manhattan after the terrorist attacks, and a prominent figure in securtiy development, died Sunday at Mary Washington Hospital, Fredericksburg, Va., after a four-year battle with melanoma.
On Sept. 11, 2001, the day after having the staples removed from his head following brain surgery, then-Captain Bennis was headed to Florida to look for a retirement residence when he turned back to New York City because of the terrorist attacks. With the bridges into the city blocked, he returned via boat from Sandy Hook, N.J., in time to organize the more than 100 boats of all descriptions that voluntarily helped evacuate nearly 500,000 people from Lower Manhattan.
For the next six weeks, Mr. Bennis led an around-the-clock effort that increased the Coast Guard presence in New York Harbor by 500 percent, changing their primary mission from response to active prevention and enforcement-security patrols -- the first such activity since World War II. The effectiveness of this effort set the precedent that charted a new direction for the Coast Guard.
Mr. Bennis changed the way the Coast Guard responded to all emergencies, from search and rescue to oil spills, setting the stage for the federal government to adopt the national incident-management system currently being developed by the Department of Homeland Security.
As captain of the port and commander of Coast Guard activities in New York, Mr. Bennis led the largest operational field command in the Coast Guard. He was responsible for all Coast Guard missions in the Metropolitan New York/New Jersey area and the Hudson River from Sandy Hook, N.J., to the Canadian border. In that capacity, he led the maritime operations during OPSAIL 2000 and responded to many maritime and environmental emergencies before being called upon to assist the city in its time of greatest need.
Admiral Bennis retired from the Coast Guard in March 2002. Immediately after leaving the New York area, he was asked by Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta to become the associate undersecretary for Maritime and Land Security for the new Transportation Security Administration. His challenge was to secure the maritime, rail, highway, mass transit and pipeline modes of the national transportation system at a cost the industry and the traveling public could afford.
His decorations included the Transportation Distinguished Service Medal, three Secretary of Transportation Gold Medal Awards, four Coast Guard Meritorious Service Medals with the Operational Distinguishing Device, three Coast Guard Commendation Medals, the Navy/Marine Corps Commendation Medal, the Coast Guard Achievement Medal, four Meritorious Team Awards and three Coast Guard Special Operations Service Ribbons.
He was the husband of Gloria (Smith) Bennis. Born in Syracuse, N.Y., on Dec. 21, 1949, a son of the late Mason A. Bennis and Winifred (Turner) Bennis of Richmond, he had lived in East Greenwich until 1972.
After graduating in 1972 from the University of Rhode Island, he joined the Coast Guard, then returned to his studies in 1983 and earned a master's degree from Harvard University.
Besides his wife and mother, he leaves two sons, Keith Bennis of Mount Pleasant, S.C., and Timothy Bennis of Staten Island, N.Y.; a daughter, Wendy Westberry of Columbia, S.C.; a sister, Joyce Bennis of Richmond; and a grandson.
A memorial service will be held Friday at 1 p.m. in Coast Guard Activities-New York, Fort Wadsworth Chapel, Staten Island. The funeral service and burial, with full military honors, will take place in Arlington (Va.) National Cemetery at a date to be determined.
08/09/03 Submitted by:Matt Wilkinson
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