USS Preston (DD–379) was a in the United States Navy before and during World War II. She was the fifth Navy ship named for Lieutenant Samuel W. Preston (1840–1865). Preston was laid down on 27 October 1934 at the Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, California, and launched on 22 April 1936. She was sponsored by Mrs. Edward H. Campbell, commissioned on 27 October 1936. Preston was sunk at the Second Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, 14th November 1942. History Following shakedown, Preston operated briefly under the Chief of Naval Operations, then joined Battle Force, U.S. Fleet. Initially assigned to Destroyer Squadron 2 (DesRon 2), then shifted to DesRon 5, she conducted peacetime training exercises in the Pacific until 7 December 1941. Patrol and coastal escort duties along the west coast kept Preston in the eastern Pacific until 1 June 1942. Then setting a westward course she headed for Hawaii in the screen of the aircraft carrier . Arriving on 6 June, her group, TG 11.1, departed again the next day to rendezvous with Task Force 17 (TF17) and deliver planes, pilots, and material to the carriers and as that force refueled and rested after the Battle of Midway. On 13 June, Preston returned to Pearl Harbor and for the next four months conducted type exercises and performed patrol and escort work in the Hawaiian area. She joined TF 16 on 4 October, and on 15 October sailed for the Solomon Islands. On 24 October, TF 16 rendezvoused with TF 17, formed TF 61, and continued on. Two days later, Preston, in the carrier screen, introduced her guns to the enemy at the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands. Downing two planes, she emerged unscathed from her first engagement and retired to Nouméa. Rearmed, she headed back to the Solomons for her second and last fight. Final battle On the evening of 14 November, Preston, with TF 64, sailed along the western end of Guadalcanal to intercept another Japanese run down the “Slot” to bombard Henderson Field and land reinforcements. Swinging around Savo Island, the force, two battleships preceded by four destroyers, entered the channel between Savo and Cape Esperance. At 23:00, the battleship picked up the on her radar, and, at 23:17, the Third Battle of Savo Island began. Sendai, accompanied by the destroyer Shikinami, had been following the Americans, but projectiles drove them off. Soon after, however, the battle was