Stanley G . Benner Stanley Graves Benner ( July 5 , 1916 – October 26 , 1942 ) was an officer of the United States Marine Corps during World War II who received the Silver Star . Biography . Benner was born on July 5 , 1916 in Arlington , Massachusetts . He lived in Boston , Mass . , until 1940 . Enlisting in the United States Marine Corps Reserve on August 21 , 1940 , he reported for active duty at Quantico , Va . , on November 8 , that same year . After training at the Marine Corps ' recruit depot at Parris Island , S . C . , he arrived at Guantanamo Bay , Cuba , on January 21 , 1941 . While there , he participated in maneuvers on the Puerto Rican Island of Culebra . Transferred to the Marine Corps Base at Parris Island , S . C . , on April 12 , he served there — receiving a promotion to private first class on May 26 , — until shifting duty station to what would later become Camp Lejeune at New River , N . C . , on September 28 . Benner was promoted to corporal on October 11 , 1941 and to Sergeant on April 1 , 1942 . Ordered to the field on May 8 , 1942 , Sgt . Benner joined Company " A " , 1st Battalion , 7th Marines , and , after traveling by rail to San Diego , Calif . , sailed for the South Pacific in late May . After arriving at Tutuila , the battalion reinforced other elements of the 7th Marines already on garrison duty in the Samoan Islands . It remained there , serving as a reserve amphibious force , during the initial landings on Guadalcanal in early August . While on Samoa , Sgt . Benner accepted appointment as second lieutenant on August 4 . Heavy Japanese pressure against American forces on and around Guadalcanal — particularly the naval action that sank four Allied cruiser s on the night of 8 – August 9 , — prompted a call for more reinforcements . Following a Japanese infantry attack along the Tenaru River on August 21 , a sign that the enemy was trying to retake Henderson Field , the 7th Marines sailed from Samoa on September 4 , for Espiritu Santo in the New Hebrides . Upon arrival on the 12th , the regiment received orders to move to Guadalcanal as soon as possible . Departing the New Hebrides on the 14th , the transports spent four days at sea dodging enemy naval forces before anchoring off Kukum , Guadalcanal , on September 18 . Later that same day , the 7th Marines took up a position astride " Bloody Ridge " , guarding the perimeter ' s southern flank from there down to the Lunga River . Over the next few weeks , Lt . Benner ' s unit took part in the fierce fighting along the Matanikau River , including the desperate amphibious evacuation west of Point Cruz on September 27 , and the far more successful spoiling attack west of the river between 7 and October 9 . The 1st Battalion then returned to their original positions on " Bloody Ridge . " Meanwhile , in a series of hard fought air and sea battles around Guadalcanal , the Japanese managed to reinforce their position on the island . After several night convoy runs , nicknamed the " Tokyo Express " , the Japanese had assembled enough troops to attempt another assault on the defending marines . After swinging inland through the jungle , the Japanese 4th Infantry Regiment closed the perimeter ' s southern flank on the night of October 24 . When the Japanese arrived , only Benner ' s 1st Battalion remained to face them because the 2d Battalion had been pulled out to reinforce the perimeter ' s western flank the day before . The assault , coming under cover of heavy rain and darkness , surged out of the jungle just after midnight on the 25th . The Japanese , throwing grenade s and firing rifle s and machine gun s , repeatedly charged the marine positions but were beaten back by American small arms , mortar , and artillery fire . The enemy kept the pressure on the ridge throughout the night , at one point forcing a salient into the leathernecks ’ line , but were eventually driven back with heavy losses . The Japanese resumed the attack the following evening , throwing fresh troops into the fray . Artillery , mortars , small arms , and canister - firing 37 - millimeter guns cut down the repeated Japanese assaults , forcing the decimated units to withdraw . Lt . Benner led his platoon in the fierce two days of combat on “ Bloody Ridge , ” and directed its fire against repeated assaults of enemy forces greatly superior in number . In so doing , contributing to the “ rout and virtual annihilation of a Japanese regiment ” he was killed in action in the early morning hours of October 26 . Awards . For his “ conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity ” in command of his platoon , Benner was awarded the Silver Star , posthumously . Namesakes . The destroyer escort USS " Benner " ( DE - 551 ) was named for Second Lieutenant Benner , but her construction was cancelled in 1944 before it could begin . In 1944 , the destroyer USS " Benner " ( DD - 807 ) , in commission from 1945 to 1970 , was named in his honor .