Darrik C. Benson: Doing What He Loved, Extortion 17
A Navy SEAL Petty Officer First Class with the Naval Special Warfare Development Group, posthumously advanced to Chief Petty Officer. He gave his life on August 6th, 2011, in the Extortion 17 helicopter crash in Wardak Province, Afghanistan, at the age of 28.
Service Record
- Branch
- USN
- Unit
- SEAL Team 3, Naval Special Warfare Development Group (NSWDG)
- Station Assigned
- Oceana, VA
- Hometown
- Angwin, CA
- Family
- Survived by his fiancee, Kara, and his son, Landon.
- Fallen On
- August 6th, 2011
Born on October 3rd, 1982, in Angwin, California, Darrik graduated from St. Helena High School in 2001 and enlisted in the U.S. Navy just months later, setting his course toward the SEAL Teams while still barely out of his teens.
Darrik earned his Trident and rose through the ranks to Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer First Class, serving with SEAL Team Three before earning assignment to the Naval Special Warfare Development Group, the Navy's most elite special mission unit. He was posthumously advanced to Chief Petty Officer in recognition of his service and sacrifice.
Darrik made his home in Virginia with his fiancee, Kara, and their young son, Landon, building a family even as the demands of the Teams kept him constantly deployed. In a statement after his death, his family remembered him as "our son, brother, uncle, friend and hero" who "died doing what he loved" alongside "some of the bravest men this world has ever known."
On August 6, 2011, Petty Officer Benson was aboard the CH-47 Chinook helicopter callsign Extortion 17, part of a Naval Special Warfare quick reaction force responding to support U.S. Army Rangers engaged with insurgent forces in Wardak Province. When the helicopter was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade, all 38 aboard were killed, the greatest single-incident loss of life in Naval Special Warfare history.
Chief Petty Officer Darrik C. Benson gave his life at just 28 years old, leaving behind a fiancee, a young son, and a family who called him a hero. He died doing what he loved, alongside the brothers he trusted with everything.
To learn more about Darrik C. Benson and other fallen heroes, please visit:
On behalf of myself and everyone at BoneFrog Coffee, I want to express our deepest condolences to the family of Darrik Benson, who gave his life for our country. Words cannot capture the weight of this loss or the gratitude we feel for his courage and sacrifice. He was more than a warrior, he was a brother, a patriot, and a young father who died doing what he loved. His sacrifice will never be forgotten, and his memory will live on in our hearts and in the values we strive to uphold. To his family and all those who loved him, we share in your grief and stand with you, honoring his legacy with unwavering respect and gratitude.
Long Live The Brotherhood!!
Tim Cruickshank LCDR, USN (SEAL) Ret. and the BoneFrog Coffee Team