Ben Kiehn - Bessie, OK
Posted by: 
hamquilter
N 35° 23.184 W 098° 59.290
14S E 501074 N 3915894
Ben Kiehn is a folk hero in the town of Bessie, and he is honored by this community for his selfless act.
Waymark Code: WM11EQC
Location: Oklahoma, United States
Date Posted: 10/09/2019
Views: 1
Ben Kiehn was the cashier at the bank which stood on this location back in 1928. On January 24th, he, the bank clerk and customer were in the bank when two robbers entered. When placed in the vault, Ben grabbed a revolver the bank kept there, and got in a shoot-out with the robbers. One was wounded and later died, but in the battle, Ben Kiehn was shot and killed. The link below give a fascinating video of this story.
A large monument is located across the street from this location, and here on the site of the bank, engraved bricks have been placed in a wall documenting the event and honoring Ben for what he did. The bricks read:
In memory of
Ben Kiehn
who on
Jan. 24, 1928
gave is life
on this spot
to defend
the trust of
this community
