Pfc. Benjamin B. Tollefson grew up in Concord, California.  He showed interest in serving in the military from a young age, and had spoken about it while he was still in high school.  He enlisted in the Army in August 2007 and began training as an infantryman.

While he was still in training, Tollefson learned that his girlfriend was pregnant with their child.  The couple married after he finished training, and their son was born 4 months later.

In March 2008, Tollefson was assigned to the 1st Infantry Division in Fort Riley, Kansas.  There, he lived with his new family for only a few months before leaving for war.  In September 2008, just over a year after enlisting, Pfc. Tollefson deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

On December 31, 2008, Pfc. Benjamin Tollefson died from wounds received during an insurgent attack in Ghazaliya, Baghdad, Iraq.  He was 22 years old.

In this film, Tollefson’s mother describes who her son was,their love for one another, and how his legacy lives on today.  It was produced for the Veterans Legacy Program by students and faculty at San Francisco State University.  To learn more about the Veterans Legacy Program, please visit https://www.cem.va.gov/legacy/

Please join us in honoring the service and sacrifice of Pfc. Benjamin B. Tollefson.  We remember all of those who never came home and honor the families that they left behind.

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One Comment

  1. John Charles Dekany June 2, 2018 at 04:35

    I met both Benjamin Tollefson and Kenneth Holliday. Benjamin was working as Physcian’S assistance and time/space travel investigator for the Army. Kenneth was going to working on several armed forces related books, wanting to write about what the Armed Forces really do. Both were interested in my ‘story’ both what I really do and my time travel experience.
    Both said I would see them again, hopefully under better circumstances.
    Signed,
    Saint John of GOD, genuine John Drake, John Charles Dekany after many years of service and meeting the two.

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