| November 17, 1917 |
Born in Roundup, Montana |
| September 1923 - June
1932 |
Attended grade school in Roundup
and on family ranch south of Musselshell in the Bull Mountains |
| June 1933 |
Graduated from eighth grade,
Pratt Memorial School, Billings, MT |
| September 1933 |
Enrolled at Billings Senior High
School |
| June 1934 |
Left High School to work on
Irving Harvey Ranch and Carroll Clark Ranch, Pompeys Pillar, Montana |
| September 1935 |
Entered Huntley Project High
School |
| June 1936 |
Left high school to work at Clark
Ranch, Pompeys Pillar and the Big Hole Basin |
| September 1937 |
Re-entered Senior High School |
| June 1939 |
Graduated from Billings Senior
High School |
| June 1939 - April 1940 |
Worked for Snook Art Company,
Billings, as a glazier. |
| April 1940 - September
1940 |
Worked for C.E. Clark, Hardin,
Montana |
| September 9, 1940 |
Enlisted in the United States
Army Air Corps at Fort Missoula. |
| September 1940 |
Arrived March Field, California
for basic training. |
| April 1941 |
Ordered to Albuquerque, New
Mexico and assigned to 7th Material Squadron, 19th Bombardment Group
as aircraft dispatcher. |
| September 1941 |
Assigned to duty at Clark Field,
Philippine Islands. |
| October 15, 1941 |
Arrived at Clark Field |
| December 8, 1941 |
Clark Field attacked by Japanese |
| December 25, 1941 |
Evacuated Clark Field; ordered to
Bataan Peninsula. |
| January 6, 1942 |
Squadron assigned to infantry
duty on front lines of Bataan. |
| April 7, 1942 |
Front lines collapsed. |
| April 9, 1942 |
Captured by Japanese near
Cabcaben, Bataan. |
| April 10, 1942 |
Started "Death March of
Bataan" |
| April 18, 1942 |
Arrived at Camp O'Donnell Prison
Camp |
| June 2, 1942 |
Assigned to Tayabas Road Detail. |
| August 15, 1942 |
Taken to Bilibid Prison, Manila,
from Tayabas Road -- too ill to work; began to draw. |
| July 2, 1944 |
Returned to Bilibid Prison |
| July 4, 1944 |
Loaded aboard freighter
"Canadian Inventor," named " Matti Matti Maru" by prisoners. |
| September 2, 1944 |
Landed
Moji, Japan |
| September 3, 1944 |
Arrived Omine Machi Coal Mine,
Japan |
| August 6, 1945 |
Heard that the atom bomb was
dropped on Hiroshima |
| August 15, 1945 |
Work ceased in coal mines |
| August 18, 1945 |
American planes dropped food,
clothing, medical supplies, and leaflets into camp. |
| September 10, 1945 |
Boarded train and met occupation
troops at Wakayama, Japan. |
| September 12, 1945 |
Left Wakayama on "USS
Sanctuary" hospital ship. |
| September 16, 1945 |
Arrived Okinawa. |
| September 18, 1945 |
Flown by 19th
Bombardment Group C54 to Guam via Iwo Jima. |
| September 24, 1945 |
Arrived Hickam Field, Hawaii. |
| September 26, 1945 |
Landed in San Francisco; taken to
Letterman General Hospital. |
| October 10, 1945 |
Assigned to Baxter General
Hospital, Spokane, Washington. |
| November 15, 1945 |
Went home to Billings for first
time in over five years |
| December 1, 1945 |
Assigned to Fort George Wright
Hospital, Spokane, Washington. |
| February 16, 1946 . |
Married Roberta Mellis in
Billings |
| July 10, 1946 |
Discharged from United States Air
Force. |
| December 12, 1946 |
Daughter Rose Marie born in
Portland, Oregon |
| September 1947 |
Enrolled in Cleveland Institute
of Art |
| November 3, 1947 |
Daughter Julie Margaret born in
New London, Ohio |
| September 1949 |
Divorced from Roberta Mellis |
| June 1950 |
Graduated from Cleveland
Institute of Art; enrolled in Kent State University. |
| June 1951 |
Graduated from Kent State
University with BSE Degree |
| June 1951 |
Began summer school at Denver
University. |
| September 1951 |
Taught art and coached at New
London (Ohio) High School, 1951-52 school year. |
| August 31, 1952 |
Married Shirley Ann Emerson at
New London, Ohio. |
| March 1953 |
Employed by Department of Army as
Post Crafts Director, Fort Riley, Kansas. |
| December 1954 |
Appointed Staff Crafts Director,
Military District of Washington, Washington, D.C. |
| June 1955 |
Awarded MA Degree from Denver
University. |
| June 1956 |
Appointed Staff Crafts Director,
Third United States Army, Fort MacPherson, Georgia. |
| September 1959 |
Began teaching in art department,
Eastern Montana College, Billings, Montana. |
| September 1965 |
Appointed Director of Art
Department |
| March 1966 |
Adopted son Sean Emerson. |
| September 1970 |
Appointed Head of Art Department. |
| June 1982 |
Retired as Professor of Art
Emeritus, Eastern Montana College. |
| Click on the links
below to view some of the images:
|| The Water Line
|| Rules and Regulations ||
|| Tayabas Trenches ||
|| His Own || Water
Brigade || Ready to Move ||
A Catalog of the work, Ben
Steele, Prisoner of War is available.
Click Here to Order
� Site Design and Maintenance by
02/07/10
� Art Montana
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