their sinking ship, the battleship USS South Dakota then appeared out of the darkness and steamed through the men in the water. A liferaft was apparently thrown by the South Dakota's crew, but Captain Stormes was not seen again after the battleship's passage. The battle continued: Gwin, Walke & Benham were all heavily damaged, with Walke soon following Preston to the Savo Sound graveyard. The two remaining destroyers were ordered to retire, but Benham would also sink on the 15th. In the ensuing climactic battleship action, was exposed by searchlight and bore the brunt of heavy enemy fire. Washington then rejoined the fray and quickly inflicted overwhelming & fatal damage to the Japanese battleship Kirishima (the core of the bombardment force) while herself remaining unscathed. The Japanese had again scored heavily, but in doing so had lost a battleship and a destroyer, and, more important, had abandoned their mission of bombarding Henderson Field into uselessness. Awards Preston earned two battle stars for World War II service. References * External links USS Preston website at Destroyer History Foundation history.navy.mil: USS Preston http://www.navsource.org/archives/05/379.htm Mahan-class destroyers World War II destroyers of the United States Shipwrecks in Ironbottom Sound Ships built in Vallejo, California 1936 ships Maritime incidents in November 1942