Howard Hartwell James Benson (October 8, 1888 – January 28, 1975) was a highly decorated officer in the United States Navy with the rank of Commodore.

[3] Benson graduated as passed midshipman with a Bachelor of Science degree on June 4, 1909, and was assigned to the battleship USS Vermont under the command of Medal of Honor recipient, Captain Frank F. Fletcher.

[2] In December 1915, Benson was detached from his command and ordered for temporary duty to the Washington Navy Yard, where he remained until March of the following year.

Meanwhile, the United States declared war on Germany and Benson, eager to see combat in Europe, approached his father, who was now a four-star admiral and Chief of Naval Operations.

He was ordered to France and assumed command of the destroyer USS Roe, which he led during anti-submarine patrols and protection of allied convoys in the waters infested by enemy submarines and mines.

[6][2] One month later, Benson joined the staff of Commander, Patrol Forces Three as aide to Rear Admiral Samuel Robison and remained in that capacity until the end of the war.

Benson was ordered back to the Naval Academy at Annapolis in September 1920 and assumed duty as an instructor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Physics under Commander Burrell C.

Benson took part in patrols in the Caribbean, visiting the Panama Canal Zone; Guantánamo Bay, Cuba; and Puerto Rico and served consecutively as ship's First Lieutenant and Navigator until March 1925.

Benson led his vessel to the Caribbean and conducted patrols off the Nicaraguan coast in order to protect lives and property of U.S. citizens and of other foreign nationals during the U.S. occupation of that country.

[15][16][17][2] In June 1929, Benson was ordered back to the United States and entered the Senior course at the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island.

[25][2] Benson returned to Annapolis for third tour in July 1938 and assumed command of USS Reina Mercedes, a station ship at the Naval Academy.

[26][27][28][2] Benson was subsequently ordered to the Philadelphia Navy Yard, where he assumed duty in connection with fitting out of the battleship USS Washington.

[29][2] These operations were in the Greenland and Norwegian Seas and the Arctic Ocean, and Benson held command of Washington until July 1942, when he was relieved by Captain Glenn B. Davis.

He served consecutively under Vice Admirals James L. Kauffman, William R. Munroe and Walter S. Anderson and supervised the complex operational and administrative functions of his command during the anti U-boat campaign.

[2] Commodore Howard H. J. Benson died on January 28, 1975, aged 86, in Greenbelt, Maryland and was buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia.