Milton H. Beckworth

BECKWORTH, MILTON H., 91, Orlando, Fl., passed away on Thursday, November 8, 2007. He was born in Lyons, Georgia on July 3, 1916 to George and Effie Beckworth. He moved to Orlando in 1959, retiring as a Captain after a 22 year carrer in the U.S. Army. Mr. Beckworth joined the Army in 1937 as an enlisted man stationed in Hawaii. A sergeant of the 35th Infantry Guard, assigned to a heavy weapons company, he was at Wheeler Field on the morning of December 7, 1941 and witnessed the attack on Pearl Harbor. He was sent to Officer Candidate School and returned to the South Pacific as a lieutenant. He was instrumental in the formation of the Alamo Scouts, a Special Reconnaissance Unit of the Sixth Army, which was vital to intelligence gathering in the Southwest Pacific Theater. The Alamo Scouts, considered the foundation of the Special Forces, worked in perhaps the most successful rescue in the U.S. military history, the Raid on Cabanatuan. Mr. Beckworth was one of the first 3 Alamo Scouts and took part in the first reconnaissance missions behind enemy lines. He later served as a trainer for recruits who wanted to join the elite unit. At the end of World Warr II, he was sent to fight in the Korean War where he served until his retirement in 1957. After a 22 year career, Mr. Beckworth moved to Orlando where raised his family. He was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Aldora. He is survived by his daughters, Linda McNamara and Susie Watts; grandson, Judson McNamara, Corporal, U.S. Army; granddaughters, Elizabeth Watts and Laura Watts, both of Orlando; and sister, Mary Tomlin of Lyons, Georgia. The family will receive friends Sunday, Nov. 11, 2007, at Woodlawn Funeral Home Chapel in Gotha, Florida, from 6-8PM. A service to celebrate the life of Mr. Milton H. Beckworth will be held on Mon, Nov. 12, 2007 at 2PM, also at Woodlawn Funeral Home. Interment will follow at Woodlawn Memorial Park, where he will receive full military honors. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, 3319 Maguire Blvd. Orlando, FL 32803. Arrangements by Woodlawn Memorial Park & Funeral Home, 400 Woodlawn Cemetery Road, Gotha, FL 34734. 407-293-1361