Naval Battle of Guadalcanal
Cushing screened transports safely into Guadalcanal November 12, 1942 and was in the van of the force that moved out to intercept the Japanese fleet in the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal on the night of November 13. As the range closed, she suddenly sighted three enemy destroyers at 3,000 yards. In the bitter gunfire which followed Cushing received several hits amidships, resulting in a gradual power loss, but she determinedly continued to fire her guns at the enemy, launching her torpedoes by local direction at an enemy battleship. ... Fires, exploding ammunition, and the inability of Cushing to shoot any longer made the abandon ship order unavoidable as the battle with the Japanese force continued. Her burning hulk was last seen from Guadalcanal when she sank about 3,500 yards southeast of Savo Island. ... Cushing lost 70 men killed or missing, some of them later rescued from the water, and many wounded, but with the task force she had aided in saving Henderson Field from a disastrous bombardment by a Japanese force.
