This Military Service Page was created/owned by
Kent Weekly (SS/DSV) (DBF), EMCS
to remember
Geletka, Michael Christopher, CPO USN(Ret).
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.
Contact Info
Last Address Scarborough, Maine
Date of Passing May 10, 2008
Official Badges
Unofficial Badges
World War II/Asiatic-Pacific Theater
From Month/Year
December / 1941
To Month/Year
September / 1945
Description The plan of the Pacific subseries was determined by the geography, strategy, and the military organization of a theater largely oceanic. Two independent, coordinate commands, one in the Southwest Pacific under General of the Army Douglas MacArthur and the other in the Central, South, and North Pacific (Pacific Ocean Areas) under Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, were created early in the war. Except in the South and Southwest Pacific, each conducted its own operations with its own ground, air, and naval forces in widely separated areas. These operations required at first only a relatively small number of troops whose efforts often yielded strategic gains which cannot be measured by the size of the forces involved. Indeed, the nature of the objectivesùsmall islands, coral atolls, and jungle-bound harbors and airstrips, made the employment of large ground forces impossible and highlighted the importance of air and naval operations. Thus, until 1945, the war in the Pacific progressed by a double series of amphibious operations each of which fitted into a strategic pattern developed in Washington.
My Participation in This Battle or Operation
From Month/Year
January / 1943
To Month/Year
December / 1943
Last Updated: Mar 16, 2020
Personal Memories
Memories 7 Jun, 1943 USS Harder (Cdr. S.D. Dealey) departs Pearl Harbour for her 1st war patrol. She is ordered to patrol off Honshu, Japan. 21 Jun, 1943 USS Harder (Cdr. S.D. Dealey) torpedoes and damages the Japanese oiler Kyoei Maru No.3 (1189 GRT) east of Daiozaki, Japan, in position 34º30'N, 137º32'E. (see map) 23 Jun, 1943 USS Harder (Cdr. S.D. Dealey) torpedoes and damages the Japanese seaplane carrier Sagara Maru (offsite link) (7189 GRT) off southern Honshu in position 33º45'N, 138º10'E. The Sagara Muru is beached and finally destroyed on 4 July 1943 by the USS Pompano. (see map) 7 Jul, 1943 USS Harder (Cdr. S.D. Dealey) ends her 1st war patrol at Midway.