Thanks to a series of uncanny connections, Lt. Benjamin Kearfott ’43 is honored with a display at the VMI Musuem. Pictured attending the unveiling of the exhibit are (from left) Joseph Kearfott, Kearfott's nephew; retired U.S. Army Col. Dick Rankin ’68; Benjamin Carriel, Kearfott's nephew; and Col. Keith Gibson '77, VMI Museum System executive director.
In April 2024, retired U.S. Army Col. Dick Rankin ’68 knelt at the grave of Lt. Benjamin Kearfott ’43 in the Normandy American Cemetery and felt an inexplicable connection to this soldier who died so young on D-Day 80 years ago.
The bond between VMI alumni and family is a well-known phenomenon, but sometimes it transcends time and space, as it has in the case of Rankin, Kearfott, and Kearfott’s family. What began as an effort to honor the graves of VMI fallen in the D-Day landings led to a series of connections acquainting Rankin with Kearfott’s nephews and, ultimately, honoring Kearfott’s memory at the Institute.
Rankin and his wife, Cynthia, visited the Normandy American Cemetery prepared to pay respects to each of the graves of VMI alumni, but they found the cemetery was roped off to visitors. They asked the administration office if they could visit just one grave, and to their surprise, they were assisted by Lt. Col. John Bolt ’99, assistant superintendent of the cemetery. Bolt, understanding the power of VMI bonds, granted their request to visit one grave, and they chose Kearfott’s. “We researched and decided on Lieutenant Kearfott, who was killed on D-Day, because his age just stood out to us as he was so young,” said Rankin.
Lt. Benjamin Kearfott ’43 in his cadet coatee in 1941.
They were escorted to Kearfott’s grave, where Rankin was given wet sand from Omaha Beach to rub across the name marker and a flag to place next to the stone. “It was a very moving experience,” said Rankin. “I prayed a while, and I was overwhelmed with a feeling that I needed to share this somehow with his family.” When they returned home to Hawaii, Rankin enlisted the help of a brother rat’s wife with a particular talent for finding people to track down Kearfott’s living family. Shortly thereafter, Rankin found himself cold-calling Benjamin Carriel, Kearfott’s nephew and namesake.
Rankin left a couple of messages for Carriel, and finally, Carriel, who was unsure if the call was legitimate, decided to pick up the phone and call this perfect stranger from VMI back. In a matter of a month, the two met up in New York, where Carriel lives and works as a music teacher, while Rankin was visiting the city for business in June.
The two, both in their 70s, became fast friends. “[Carriel] drove down into the city, and we had a delightful dinner. It was like we were brothers already,” said Rankin. Over the course of the dinner, Rankin learned he was the first VMI alum to ask about Kearfott. He also discovered that Kearfott’s widow, Theo, remarried a U.S. Military Academy graduate who was a close friend of one of Rankin’s friends. Carriel, whose mother was Kearfott’s sister, Margaret Rives (Kearfott) Carriel, brought along some of Kearfott’s possessions, including the flag draped over Kearfott’s coffin in Normandy, his Purple Heart medal, and his dog tag. Carriel wanted them to go to someone who would appreciate their significance and asked if VMI might be interested.
Col. Keith Gibson ’77, VMI Museum System executive director, jumped at the opportunity. “We have very little which relates directly to the D-Day invasion, but we do have a number of items which capture the service of our alumni who were called to duty during the war,” said Gibson, who noted that more than 4,000 alumni served between 1941–45 with 182 making the supreme sacrifice. Notably, Kearfott was in one of the first landing craft assaults, LCA 1015, to arrive on the shores of Omaha. In his boat of 30 men, Kearfott was alongside Capt. Taylor N. Fellers, commanding officer of 29th Division Company A and one of Virginia’s Bedford Boys, men from the small community of Bedford who joined the 29th Infantry Division together. According to Gibson, the after-action report stated that Kearfott died along with Fellers and the other men of LCA 1015 upon landing on the beach.
Carriel mailed Kearfott’s items to the Institute, which arrived on post June 6—the 80th anniversary of D-Day. The belongings of this young soldier, who had only been graduated 1 year from the Institute when he gave his life for his country, now have a final resting place among the legacy of VMI’s esteemed alumni as part of the new Gen. George C. Marshall, Class of 1901, exhibit.
Rankin; Carriel; Carriel’s daughter, Rebecca; and another of Kearfott’s nephews, Joseph Kearfott, visited VMI for the unveiling of the display in August. In a poignant homage to their uncle, each of the nephews took a corner of the drape, revealing the exhibit honoring Kearfott.
This display recognizing his uncle’s service has brought Carriel peace, all thanks to the uncanny connections—coincidental or providential—leading Rankin to visit Kearfott’s grave. “I was so honored to have all this attention, because in all of my life, Ben Kearfott was a portrait on the wall. I don’t think I ever attended any event that celebrated his contribution to the World War II effort,” said Carriel. “It is just wonderful to see this exhibit there at VMI and to know that people are going to be passing by, taking a look, and appreciating his life and hopefully all the hundreds of thousands of other people who contributed.”
Retired U.S. Army Col. Dick Rankin ’68 visits the VMI Museum’s new exhibit dedicated to Lt. Benjamin Kearfott ’43. Col. Keith Gibson ’77, VMI Museum System executive director, discusses the historic significance of Kearfott and the donated items with Rankin and Rankin’s brother rats, Billy Martin ’68 and retired U.S. Army Cols. Mike Smythers ’68 and Dean Kershaw ’68 Nov. 1.
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