USS ''Bennion'' (DD-662) was a of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

. The ship was named for

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Mervyn S. Bennion Mervyn Sharp Bennion (May 5, 1887 – December 7, 1941) was a United States Navy captain who served during World War I and was killed while he was in command of battleship during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in World War II. He posth ...

who was killed in action during the Japanese

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, j ...

, while in command of . Captain Bennion was posthumously awarded the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...

. ''Bennion'' was launched 4 July 1943 by Boston Navy Yard, sponsored by Captain Bennion's widow. It was commissioned 14 December 1943.

Service history

On 5 January 1945, ''Bennion'' encountered two Japanese ''Matsu'' class destroyers, ''Hinoki'' and ''Momi'', both returning to China after the aircraft carrier was torpedoed and sunk by . Other US destroyers joined in the short fight, and both Japanese destroyers turned away, only for ''Momi'' to be caught, torpedoed and sunk by TBM Avengers of Task Force 77 shortly afterwards. ''Hinoki'' was later caught and sunk with all hands by gunfire of and three other destroyers. ''Bennion'' departed

Philadelphia, Pa. Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

3 March 1944 escorting the light aircraft carrier to the Pacific. Arriving at

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Re ...

22 March, she trained and patrolled in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

an waters until 29 May 1944. Moving westward she served as a fighter director and radar picket ship during the following campaigns:Destroyer History Foundation
/ref> * Marianas Operation (10 June 1944 – 27 August 1944) * Tinian Capture and Occupation (24 July 1944 – 1 August 1944) * Western Caroline Islands Operation (31 August – 14 October 1944) * Leyte Operation (10 October 1944 – 29 November 1944) * Luzon Operation (12 December 1944 – 1 April 1945) * Iwo Jima Operation (15 February 1945 – 16 March 1945) * Okinawa Gunto Operation (

Task Force 54 Task may refer to: * Task (computing), in computing, a program execution context * Task (language instruction) refers to a certain type of activity used in language instruction * Task (project management), an activity that needs to be accomplished ...

, 17 March 1945 – 30 June 1945) * Third Fleet Operations Against Japan (10 July 1945 – 15 August 1945) During the

Battle of Surigao Strait The Battle of Leyte Gulf ( fil, Labanan sa golpo ng Leyte, lit=Battle of Leyte gulf; ) was the largest naval battle of World War II and by some criteria the largest naval battle in history, with over 200,000 naval personnel involved. It was fou ...

, in October 1944, ''Bennion'' assisted in, and was responsible for the torpedo that sunk the Japanese battleship ''Yamashiro''.
Future

Chief of Naval Operations The chief of naval operations (CNO) is the professional head of the United States Navy. The position is a statutory office () held by an admiral who is a military adviser and deputy to the secretary of the Navy. In a separate capacity as a memb ...

Lieutenant (junior grade)

James L. Holloway III James Lemuel Holloway III (February 23, 1922 – November 26, 2019) was a United States Navy admiral and naval aviator who was decorated for his actions during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. After the Vietnam War, he was poste ...

, served on the ''Bennion'' as officer in charge of the destroyer's main fire director. The full extent of ''Bennions contribution to sinking the '' Yamashiro'' was not recognized until 2010. ''Bennion'' returned to Puget Sound Navy Yard 27 October 1945 and went out of commission in reserve at Long Beach, Calif., 20 June 1946. The ship was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register 15 April 1971. She was sold 30 May 1973 and broken up for scrap.

Awards

''Bennion'' received the Presidential Unit Citation for her actions off Okinawa (1 April – 1 June 1945), and eight

battle star A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star inch (4.8 mm) in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or ser ...

References

External links

navsource.org: USS ''Bennion''Veterans Newsletter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bennion (Dd-662) World War II destroyers of the United States Ships built in Boston 1943 ships Fletcher-class destroyers of the United States Navy