This Military Service Page was created/owned by
Tommy Burgdorf (Birddog), FC2
to remember
Check, Leonard Joseph, LCDR.
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Casualty Info
Home Town Williston, ND
Last Address 845 B Ave Coronado, CA (Wife Margaret P. Check)
Casualty Date Jan 04, 1945
Cause KIA-Killed in Action
Reason Air Loss, Crash - Sea
Location Pacific
Conflict World War II
Location of Interment Honolulu Memorial - Honolulu, Hawaii
Guadalcanal Campaign (1942-43)/Battle of Rennel Island
From Month/Year
January / 1943
To Month/Year
January / 1943
Description The Battle of Rennell Island took place on 29-30 January 1943. It was the last major naval engagement between the United States Navy and the Imperial Japanese Navy during the Guadalcanal campaign of World War II. It occurred in the South Pacific between Rennell Island and Guadalcanal in the southern Solomon Islands.
In the battle, Japanese naval land-based torpedo bombers, seeking to provide protection for the impending evacuation of Japanese forces from Guadalcanal, made several attacks over two days on US warships operating as a task force south of this island. In addition to approaching Guadalcanal with the objective of engaging any Japanese ships that might come into range, the U.S. task force was protecting an Allied transport ship convoy carrying replacement troops there.
As a result of the Japanese air attacks on the task force, one U.S. heavy cruiser was sunk, a destroyer was heavily damaged, and the rest of the U.S. task force was forced to retreat from the southern Solomons area. Partly because they turned back the U.S. task force in this battle, the Japanese successfully evacuated their remaining troops from Guadalcanal by 7 February 1943, leaving it in the hands of the Allies and ending the battle for the island.
My Participation in This Battle or Operation
From Month/Year
January / 1943
To Month/Year
January / 1943
Last Updated: Mar 16, 2020
Personal Memories
Memories On 13 November, aviators from Enterprise helped to sink Hiei. When the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal ended on 15 November 1942, Enterprise had shared in sinking 16 ships and damaging eight more. The carrier returned to Nouméa on 16 November to complete her repairs.
Sailing again on 4 December, Enterprise trained out of Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides, until 28 January 1943, when she departed for the Solomons area. On 30 January, her fighters flew combat air patrol for a cruiser?destroyer group during the Battle of Rennell Island. Despite the destruction of most of the attacking Japanese bombers by Enterprise planes, USS Chicago was sunk by aerial torpedoes.
