This Military Service Page was created/owned by
Henry Kaczmarek (Doc KAZ), HM3
to remember
Kaczmarek, Henry, SN.
If you knew or served with this Sailor and have additional information or photos to support this Page, please leave a message for the Page Administrator(s) HERE.
Hank was medically retired from Republic Steel in 1977 after 2 heart attacks brought on by Insulin Dependent Diabetes that he contracted in the mid-50's. Doctors were never able to bring his disease under control, and it aged him prematurely.
He was in a diabetic coma for 95days in 1963. He was survived by his wife Catherine (31 years), and 3 children. Were he alive today he would be a grandfather to 6, and a Great Grandfather to 3
He was a member of the Brownshidle Post of the American Legion in Tonawanda, NY, where his wife was Auxiliary President for several years.
Other Comments:
Both of his sons followed him into the Department of the Navy.
The older, Henry ---a Navy Corpsman,(Pharmacy Tech and Fleet Marine Force Field Corpsman) and served 8.5 years,the younger,Paul-- a Truck and Bus driver with the Marines for 4 years.
His Grand-daughter Alison is an Air Force Veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, and daughter in law Wanda a 20 year Navy Retiree (HM convert to DP1 (SW) and veteran of Operation Desert Storm.
Leyte Campaign (1944)/Battle of Leyte Gulf
From Month/Year
October / 1944
To Month/Year
October / 1944
Description The Battle of Leyte Gulf, also called the Battles for Leyte Gulf, and formerly known as the Second Battle of the Philippine Sea, is generally considered to be the largest naval battle of World War II and, by some criteria, possibly the largest naval battle in history.
It was fought in waters near the Philippine islands of Leyte, Samar and Luzon from 23–26 October 1944, between combined US and Australian forces and the Imperial Japanese Navy. On 20 October, United States troops invaded the island of Leyte as part of a strategy aimed at isolating Japan from the countries it had occupied in Southeast Asia, and in particular depriving its forces and industry of vital oil supplies. The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) mobilized nearly all of its remaining major naval vessels in an attempt to defeat the Allied invasion, but was repulsed by the US Navy's 3rd and 7th Fleets. The IJN failed to achieve its objective, suffered very heavy losses, and never afterwards sailed to battle in comparable force. The majority of its surviving heavy ships, deprived of fuel, remained in their bases for the rest of the Pacific War.
The Battle of Leyte Gulf consisted of four separate engagements between the opposing forces: the Battle of the Sibuyan Sea, the Battle of Surigao Strait, the Battle of Cape Engaño and the Battle off Samar, as well as other actions.
It was the first battle in which Japanese aircraft carried out organized kamikaze attacks. By the time of the battle, Japan had fewer aircraft than the Allied forces had sea vessels, demonstrating the difference in power of the two sides at this point of the war.
