Early Years
He was born in Canton, New York and moved to Florida by the end of his childhood. He graduated from high school in Tampa, Florida. Bennett was an Eagle Scout and received the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award from the Boy Scouts of America.
In the history of the University of Florida, he is the only person to have served both as editor of the student newspaper (The Independent Florida Alligator), and president of the student body. As editor of the Alligator, he wrote editorial in favor of isolation and against the nation becoming involved in foreign wars.
Bennett earned his Bachelor's degree in 1932, then enrolled in the Law School. After graduating with a Juris Doctorate in 1934, he practiced law in Jacksonville and was elected to the Florida state legislature in 1941.
He resigned in March 1942 to join the United States Army and served with distinction in New Guinea as a guerrilla fighter during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines. While overseas, he contracted polio which left his legs paralyzed for the remainder of his life. He went through 16 months of rehabilitation at a military hospital in Arkansas, then utilized leg braces, canes or crutches to walk. He received the Philippines Legion of Honor and the Gold Cross. In the U.S., he was awarded the Bronze and Silver Stars and was discharged as a Captain in 1947.
He married wife Dorothy Jean in 1953 and they had four children: Lucinda (Cindy), Charles Junior (who died in 1977 from a drug overdose), James and Bruce.
Read more about this topic: Charles Edward Bennett
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