Lieutenant Commander William Edwin Hank (25 September 1902 – 14 November 1942) was an officer in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Born at

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...

, Hank graduated from the

Naval Academy A naval academy provides education for prospective naval officers. List of naval academies See also

* Military academy {{Authority control Naval academies, Naval lists ...

in 1925. During the years before World War II, he served at various shore stations and in , , and . Commissioned a lieutenant commander in 1940, Hank took command of ''Laffey'' (DD-459) 1 April 1942. He received the

Navy Cross The Navy Cross is the United States Naval Service's second-highest military decoration awarded for sailors and marines who distinguish themselves for extraordinary heroism in combat with an armed enemy force. The medal is equivalent to the Army ...

for his skillful handling of the ship during the

Battle of Cape Esperance The Battle of Cape Esperance, also known as the Second Battle of Savo Island and in Japanese sources as the , took place on 11–12 October 1942, in the Pacific War, Pacific campaign of World War II between the Imperial Japanese Navy and United ...

. Hank received a second Navy Cross for heroism during the

Naval Battle of Guadalcanal The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal took place from 12 to 15 November 1942 and was the decisive engagement in a series of naval battles between Allies of World War II, Allied (primarily American) and Imperial Japanese Armed Forces, Imperial Japan ...

12–13 November. As ''Laffey'' fought the Japanese battleship ''Hiei'', she was sunk by large caliber gunfire and a torpedo. Lieutenant Commander Hank was reported missing and presumed dead 14 November. His ship received the Presidential Unit Citation and he was awarded his second Navy Cross. (DD-702) was named for him, and was named for his ship.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hank, William Edwin 1902 births 1942 deaths United States Navy officers United States Navy personnel killed in World War II Recipients of the Navy Cross (United States)