01 Jun 2025 Youth of the Month: Ben Hutto

Posted at 6:43 PMh in Men of the Moment, Neighbors by

By Carol Rolf

Benjamin “Ben” Hutto of Damascus received his high school diploma as an honor graduate on May 4 from South Side Bee Branch High School. Like others in his community, he had heard about the Titan II missile accident that took place near his hometown in September 1980, but said he also knew that many “in my generation did not know it happened in our own backyard.

Current photos by Colt Gatlin of TGP Photography

“I had heard bits and pieces about it but did not know the whole story until ‘Command and Control’ (a 2016 documentary that aired on PBS’s ‘American Experience’ series in 2017) premiered at our school when I was in fourth grade,” Hutto said. “Command and Control” is based on a book by the same name written by Eric Schlosser in 2013.

Julie Nelson, EAST (Education Accelerated by Service and Technology) facilitator at South Side, learned about the missile accident from the same movie. 

“When ‘Command and Control’ premiered at South Side Bee Branch in 2016, I wondered why I had never heard of it before,” Nelson said. “I had worked there since 2006. Being a military dependent, I just thought it odd that there was no acknowledgement in the community. All of my teaching career, I always thought the most important thing I can teach my students is love for country and respect for the veterans who have sacrificed so much so that we may live in freedom. Why hadn’t anyone ever mentioned the explosion to me?

“Each new school year, I sit with all my students and we talk about what we can do for our community,” Nelson said. “I always push the veteran agenda. And, when ideas have been hashed, I always bring up doing some kind of project for 374-7 (missile complex). Ben didn’t have a project, and he told me he thought he would be interested. I mentioned to Ben there needed to be some kind of historical marker, as the land is already on the Register of Historic Places, because not only had I never heard of it, but my students hadn’t either.”  

Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Tony Gatlin of Wichita, Kan., a native Arkansan and a member of AAFM, said the following verbiage that will be on the historic marker describes what happened at the missile silo called the Titan II ICBM (Inter-continental Ballistic Missile) 374-7 Missile Complex near the Southside community in Van Buren County: On September 18, during routine maintenance, a dropped tool pierced the skin of the missile, releasing highly combustible fumes from the liquid-fueled rocket into its silo. The crew immediately evacuated. On the morning of September 19, Senior Airman David Livingston and Sergeant Jeff Kennedy volunteered to reenter the site to vent the toxic fumes. When the team activated an exhaust fan, an electric spark ignited the fuel and triggered an explosion. The blast jettisoned the 740-ton silo cover, ejecting portions of the missile, which then exploded. The warhead was thrown more than 100 feet from the silo but, due to integrated safety features, did not detonate. Senior Airman Livingston died from his injuries, and Sergeant Kennedy suffered burns from the toxic fuel. Twenty other people were also injured. The incident contributed to the decision to end the aging Titan II missile program, and between 1982 and 1987 the Air Force deactivated and removed all Titan IIs from service.

After meeting with Nelson last year, Hutto chose to recognize the missile site as his EAST project, first, by honoring the airman who died as a result of the accident, and second, by seeking a historical marker to denote what happened Sept. 18-19, 1980. Funds for the historical marker are being provided by the Arkansas Historical Preservation Program, which listed the site on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000, and the Association of Air Force Missileers (AAFM), whose goal, according to its website, afmissileers.org, is “to preserve the history of USAF missile systems and the people who develop, test, deploy, operate, maintain and support them.”

Livingston and Kennedy were members of the USAF 308th Strategic Missile Wing at the Little Rock Air Force Base, which sent a team to investigate and control the initial leak at the Damascus site. Livingston’s death was the only fatality among the 22 men wounded during the explosion.

Hutto said the first step of his EAST project was to name a street after David Livingston. 

The Association of Air Force Missileers donated $1,555 to place the Damascus Titan II Historical Marker to honor the life of Senior Airman David Livingston. Youth of the Month Ben Hutto, a South Side Bee Branch senior, made the memorial project possible. Livingston’s two sisters attended the ceremony. Eric Schlosser, author of “Command and Control,” the book on the event which was later made into a movie, also spoke.

“I started by contacting Van Buren County Judge Dale James and the nearby landowners,” he said. “It was a bit of a process. But in the end, we were able to dedicate Livingston Lane on April 11. The sign is on private land but is visible from the highway (U.S. Highway 65). Livingston Lane is the old access road to the missile complex.

“I was very pleased with the dedication,” Hutto said. “We had many state and local dignitaries there as well as members of the Association of Air Force Missileers and former members of the 308th Strategic Missile Wing. We also had David Livingston’s two sisters, who were the most important people to me. They were so gracious and willing to talk about their brother.” 

Gatlin said the historic marker has been ordered but may take up to a year to receive and install it. The marker will be placed at the Stacks Law Firm, which is just about a quarter mile south of the missile complex site, and will be visible from the highway. Interested persons will be able to park at the law firm and read the plaque. Ryan Stacks is a member of the South Side School District Board and his father, John Stacks, owns the property where the law firm is located.

Gatlin said it was through a series of “bizarre twists and turns of how all of this came together … truly a case of the universe aligning. Ben did a great job of coordinating all of this. He was just the right person for the job.”

Hutto played basketball in high school and was involved in a number of school activities: Beta Club; Quiz Bowl, which he served as team captain; Chess Club; Library Club; and esports, in which he played video games competitively against other schools. He also played clarinet in the school band and participated in the WOLF (Work-based Learning Opportunities Leading to Future Employment) program, which involves students helping special needs students learn to prepare for their future.

“I’ve gained something from each one of my extracurricular activities,” Hutto said. “I joined the EAST Initiative in ninth grade, but this was the first year I was able to take on a project and complete it. EAST was definitely a 10/10 experience.”

Hutto is the 18-year-old son of Marcus and Amy Hutto; he has one sister, Blair, 20, who attends the University of Central Arkansas. He will attend UCA in the fall to major in cybersecurity. He has accepted more than $43,000 in scholarships. 

“My dream is to have my own cybersecurity company and work in the healthcare industry,” he said.