Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class (SEAL) Darrik C. Benson, 28, of Angwin, Calif. PO 1st Class Benson joined the Navy after he graduated from St. Helena High School. He graduated 19th out of his class of Navy SEALs, and has served several tours in Afghanistan. Before he became a U.S. Navy SEAL, Darrik was known as a good student and an all-around nice kid in Angwin, a small town in California's Napa Valley where he grew up. At the end of his latest tour of duty next month, he planned to marry his girlfriend, Kara, and spend time with his 2-year-old son, Landon. "She's very broken up about this," Benson's mother, Claudia Benson, told the Santa Rosa Press Democrat. Benson had recently earned his commercial pilot's license to possibly fly airplanes after his military service ended. Linda Hansel, who taught Benson in eighth grade, remembered him as bright, outgoing and just a touch mischievous.
Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class (SEAL) Darrik C. Benson, 28, of Angwin, Calif. PO 1st Class Benson joined the Navy after he graduated from St. Helena High School. He graduated 19th out of his class of Navy SEALs, and has served several tours in Afghanistan. Before he became a U.S. Navy SEAL, Darrik was known as a good student and an all-around nice kid in Angwin, a small town in California's Napa Valley where he grew up. At the end of his latest tour of duty next month, he planned to marry his girlfriend, Kara, and spend time with his 2-year-old son, Landon. "She's very broken up about this," Benson's mother, Claudia Benson, told the Santa Rosa Press Democrat. Benson had recently earned his commercial pilot's license to possibly fly airplanes after his military service ended. Linda Hansel, who taught Benson in eighth grade, remembered him as bright, outgoing and just a touch mischievous.
