Harry F . Bauer Harry Frederick Bauer ( July 17 , 1904 – September 5 , 1942 ) was an naval officer in the United States Navy . Born at Camp Thomas in Lytle , Georgia , Bauer , the son of a U . S . Army First Sergeant , graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1927 . During career he served at shore stations , including a tour as instructor at the US Naval Academy , and an Ensign assigned to duty aboard the USS " Arkansas " . By 1931 Harry had been promoted to Lieutenant Junior Grade and continued his service on the Arkansas . During his service on the Arkansas , he was awarded a Letter of Commendation by the Secretary of the Navy . He subsequently served on the USS Babbitt and on the USS Elliott . In June 1934 he was reassigned to the Naval Academy for post graduate work and as an instructor . On 1 January 1935 , Jackie and Harry ’ s only child , Emilie , was born . In 1936 he was assigned as Aide and Flag Lieutenant to the Commander Cruisers , Scouting Force and from there he went to the USS Tracy as executive officer . [ Note : In 1927 , the United States Naval Academy did not award academic degrees to their graduates . Instead , they were commissioned in the Armed Forces as Officers . This was changed by an Act of Congress approved on 8 July 1937 and supplemented by the Navy with Bureau of Navigation Bulletin Number 251 , 28 August 1937 . Officers who were graduates of the Naval Academy were allowed to apply for the award of a Bachelor of Science degree . In 1937 while assigned to the Tracy , Harry applied for his degree and it was granted In February 1939 he was assigned to the Office of the Detail Officer at the Bureau of Navigation , Department of the Navy , Washington D . C . On 1 July 1941 he was promoted to Lieutenant Commander . He remained in Washington until he assumed command of the USS Gregory on 1 January 1942 . Bauer was commissioned Lieutenant Commander July 1 , 1941 and took command of fast transport January 1 , 1942 . While acting as combat transports for Marines off Guadalcanal during the night of 4 - September 5 , 1942 , On 4 September Gregory and Little were returning to their anchorage at Tulagi after transferring a Marine Raider Battalion to Savo Island . The night was inky - ' black with a low haze obscuring all landmarks , and the ships decided to remain on patrol rather than risk threading their way through the dangerous channel . As they steamed between Guadalcanal and Savo Island at ten knots , three Japanese destroyers ( Yudachi , Hatsuyuki , and Murakumo – entered the Slot undetected to bombard American shore positions . At 0056 on the morning of 5 September , Gregory and Little - saw flashes of gunfire which they assumed came from a Japanese submarine until radar showed four targets — apparently a cruiser had joined the three DD ' s . While the two outgunned but gallant ships were debating whether to close for action or depart quietly and undetected , the decision was taken out of their hands . A Navy pilot had also seen the gunfire and , assuming it came from a Japanese submarine , dropped a string of five flares almost on top of the two APD ' s . Gregory and Little , silhouetted against the blackness , were spotted immediately by the Japanese destroyers , who opened fire at 0100 . Gregory brought all her guns to bear but was desperately overmatched and less than 3 minutes after the fatal flares had been dropped - was dead in the water and beginning to sink . Two boilers had burst and her decks were a mass of flames . Harry Bauer , himself seriously wounded , gave the word to abandon ship , and Gregory ' s crew reluctantly took to the water . Harry , making the ultimate sacrifice , ordered two companions to aid another crewman yelling for help and was never seen again ; for his brave and gallant conduct he posthumously received the Silver Star , the Purple Heart , and promotion to Commander ( Page 71 ) . His memorial marker is in Arlington National Cemetery . The destroyer , which earned a Presidential Unit Citation in 1945 for action in the Okinawa Campaign was named for him .