USS Benfold (DDG 65)

USS BENFOLD is the 15^th ship in the ARLEIGH BURKE - class of Guided Missile Destroyers and the first ship in the Navy named after Edward Clyde Benfold. In October 2015, the BENFOLD shifted her homeport from San Diego, Calif., to Yokosuka, Japan.

Crew List:

This section contains the names of sailors who served aboard USS BENFOLD. It is no official listing but contains the names of sailors who submitted their information.

About the Destroyer’s Name, about Edward Clyde Benfold:

USS BENFOLD (DDG 65) was named after Hospitalman Third Class Edward C. Benfold, USN. Born in Staten Island, New York on January 15, 1931, Petty Officer Benfold graduated from Audubon High School in Audubon, New Jersey. Petty Officer Benfold entered the service at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1950. After completion of recruit training in Great Lakes, Illinois, he was selected for "A" school training as a Hospitalman. In July 1951 he was designated as a Medical Field Technician and was ordered to duty with the Fleet Marine Force, Ground, Pacific.

He was killed in action while serving with the First Marine Division in Korea. "For gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a Hospital Corpsman, attached to a Company in the First Marine Division during operations against enemy aggressor forces in Korea on 5 September 1952..." he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. The citation continues:

"When his company was subjected to heavy artillery and mortar barrages, followed by a determined assault during the hours of darkness by an enemy force estimated at battalion strength, BENFOLD resolutely moved from position to position in the face of intense hostile fire, treating the wounded and lending words of encouragement. Leaving the protection of his sheltered position to treat the wounded when the platoon area in which he was working was attacked from both the front and the rear, he moved forward to an exposed ridge line where he observed two Marines in a large crater. As he approached the two men to determine their condition, an enemy soldier threw two grenades into the crater while two other enemies charged the position. Picking up a grenade in each hand, BENFOLD leaped out of the crater and hurled himself against the onrushing hostile soldiers, pushing the grenades against their chests and killing both the attackers.

Mortally wounded while carrying out this heroic act, BENFOLD, by his great personal valor and resolute spirit of self-sacrifice in the face of almost certain death, was directly responsible for saving the lives of his two comrades. His exceptional courage reflects the highest credit upon himself and enhances the finest traditions of the United States Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for others."

The photos below were taken by me and show the BENFOLD at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on March 10, 2008.

The photo below was taken by me and shows the BENFOLD at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on March 23, 2010.

The photos below were taken by me and show the BENFOLD at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on September 29, 2011, shortly after returning from a short 3-day underway period off southern California.

The photos below were taken by me and show the BENFOLD at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on May 10, 2012.

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the BENFOLD at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on December 27, 2014.

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the BENFOLD departing Naval Base San Diego, Calif., for her new homeport Yokosuka, Japan, on October 2, 2015. BENFOLD made a brief stop at Pearl Harbor, Hi., October 8-9, and arrived at Yokosuka on October 19.

The photos below were taken by Hagen Wagner and show the BENFOLD at Fleet Activities Yokosuka, Japan, on July 28, 2017.

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the BENFOLD undergoing a Drydocking Selected Restricted Availability (DSRA) at the Yokosuka Naval Shipyard, Japan, on August 3, 2019.

General Characteristics:	Keel Laid: September 27, 1993
	Launched: November 5, 1994
	Commissioned: March 30, 1996
	Builder: Ingalls Shipbuilding, West Bank, Pascagoula, Miss.
	Propulsion system: four General Electric LM 2500 gas turbine engines
	Propellers: two
	Blades on each Propeller: five
	Length: 505,25 feet (154 meters)
	Beam: 67 feet (20.4 meters)
	Draft: 30,5 feet (9.3 meters)
	Displacement: approx. 8.300 tons full load
	Speed: 30+ knots
	Aircraft: None. But LAMPS 3 electronics installed on landing deck for coordinated DDG/helicopter ASW operations.
	Armament: two MK 41 VLS for Standard missiles, Tomahawk; Harpoon missile launchers, one Mk 45 5-inch/54 caliber lightweight gun, two Phalanx CIWS, Mk 46 torpedoes (from two triple tube mounts)
	Homeport: Yokosuka, Japan
	Crew: 23 Officers, 24 Chief Petty Officers and 291 Enlisted