Benjamin Ramos

Left Formation October 2012

Benjamin B. Ramos, a Kenmore resident and World War II veteran involved in more than two dozen combat missions, died Monday in his Kenmore home. He was 88.

Born in Valentine, Texas, Mr. Ramos lied about his age and entered the service at age 17. He served in the Army Air Forces from 1940 to 1946, including in the European Theater during World War II.

He flew 25 missions in combat as a radio operator and gunner on the B-17 "Knockout Baby" bomber in the 8th Air Force with the 95th Bomb Group, the first bomb group to fly over Berlin, Germany.

He completed a tour of duty and volunteered an additional six months in France and Germany, doing cargo work. He was honorably discharged with the rank of sergeant.

After the war ended, Mr. Ramos earned his high school diploma in California before moving to Buffalo's West Side in 1947. He moved to Kenmore a few years later.

He worked for about 30 years as a furniture salesman for the family-owned Charles Furniture store, then AM&A's department store and later Bon-T on. He retired in the late 1970s.

His wife, Josephine Inzalaco Ramos, died in 2008.

Survivors include two daughters, Antoinette Ramos-Glieco and Rosalie Chamberland; two sons, Henry and James; a brother, Louis; and a sister, Rosa Chatterton.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered at 9:15 a.m. Saturday in St. Paul Catholic Church, Delaware Avenue and Victoria Boulevard, Kenmore.

October 19, 2012 | Buffalo News, The (NY)