Henry Pease Jenks was born in Chicago, Illinois, on 31 May 1914 and enlisted in the United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 on 8 October 1940. After undergoing Reserve Officer training, he was appointed Ensign

Ensign (rank)

Ensign is a junior rank of a commissioned officer in the armed forces of some countries, normally in the infantry or navy. As the junior officer in an infantry regiment was traditionally the carrier of the ensign flag, the rank itself acquired the name....

 on 6 June 1941 and reported to cruiser

Cruiser

A cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...

 Atlanta

USS Atlanta (CL-51)

USS Atlanta of the United States Navy was the lead ship of the Atlanta class of 11 light cruisers. She was the third Navy ship named after the city of Atlanta, Georgia. Designed to provide anti-aircraft protection for US naval task groups, Atlanta served in this capacity in the naval Battles of...

 (CL-51), soon to be commissioned. In June 1942, Jenks served in Atlanta, during the epochal Battle of Midway

Battle of Midway

The Battle of Midway is widely regarded as the most important naval battle of the Pacific Campaign of World War II. Between 4 and 7 June 1942, approximately one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea and six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States Navy decisively defeated...

 and later during the landings on Guadalcanal

Guadalcanal

Guadalcanal is a tropical island in the South-Western Pacific. The largest island in the Solomons, it was discovered by the Spanish expedition of Alvaro de Mendaña in 1568...

, first American amphibious operation of the war. In the great Naval Battle of Guadalcanal

Naval Battle of Guadalcanal

The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, sometimes referred to as the Third and Fourth Battles of Savo Island, the Battle of the Solomons, The Battle of Friday the 13th, or, in Japanese sources, as the , took place from 12–15 November 1942, and was the decisive engagement in a series of naval battles...

, 13 November 1942, in which the Japanese move on the island was frustrated, Atlanta was torpedo

Torpedo

The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...

ed in the early stages of the action and damaged severely by enemy gunfire. She survived the night, but was scuttled next day off Lunga Point

Lunga Point

Lunga Point is a promontory on the northern coast of Guadalcanal, the site of a naval battle during World War II. It was also the name of a nearby airfield, later named Henderson Field....

. Lieutenant (j.g.) Jenks was killed in the battle, for which his gallant ship received the Presidential Unit Citation.

Namesake

In 1943, the destroyer escort

Destroyer escort

A destroyer escort is the classification for a smaller, lightly armed warship designed to be used to escort convoys of merchant marine ships, primarily of the United States Merchant Marine in World War II. It is employed primarily for anti-submarine warfare, but also provides some protection...

 USS Jenks

USS Jenks (DE-665)

USS Jenks was a Buckley-class destroyer escort of the United States Navy, named in honor of Lieutenant Henry P. Jenks ....

(DE-665) was named in honor of Lt.(jg) Jenks sponsored by his mother, Mrs. M. L. Jenks.