Link, Arlo M., S1c

Fallen

Service Photo

Service Details

Last Rank
Seaman 1st Class

Last Primary NEC
SN-9700-Seaman - Infantry, Gun Crews, and Seamanship Specialists

Last Rating/NEC Group
Seaman

Primary Unit
1942-1943, SN-9700, USS Helena (CL-50)

Service Years
1941 - 1943

Official/Unofficial US Navy Certificates

Cannon Cockers Card

Order of the Golden Dragon

Neptune Subpoena

Panama Canal

Last Photo

Personal Details

Home State

Iowa

Year of Birth
Not Specified

This Military Service Page was created/owned by Bersley H. Thomas, Jr. (Tom), SMCS to remember Link, Arlo M., S1c.

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.

Casualty Info

Home Town Lotts Creek	Last Address Not Specified

Casualty Date Jul 06, 1943
Cause Hostile, Died	Reason Other Explosive Device
Location Solomon Islands	Conflict World War II/Asiatic-Pacific Theater/Northern Solomon Islands Campaign (1943-44)/Battle of Kula Gulf
Location of Interment Not Specified	Wall/Plot Coordinates Not Specified

Official Badges

Unofficial Badges

Military Association Memberships

Military Order of Foreign Wars of the United States

United States Navy Cruiser Sailors Association


	1941, Military Order of Foreign Wars of the United States [Verified] - Assoc. Page
	1943, United States Navy Cruiser Sailors Association [Verified] - Assoc. Page
	1945, Military Order of the World Wars (MOWW)

Photo Album (More...)

1941-1942, SN-9700, ...

1942-1943, SN-9700, ...

Central Pacific Campaign (1941-43)/Battle of the Coral Sea
From Month/Year May / 1942	To Month/Year May / 1942
Description The Battle of the Coral Sea, fought during 4–8 May 1942, was a major naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II between the Imperial Japanese Navy and naval and air forces from the United States and Australia. The battle was the first action in which aircraft carriers engaged each other, as well as the first in which neither side's ships sighted or fired directly upon the other. In an attempt to strengthen their defensive positioning for their empire in the South Pacific, Japanese forces decided to invade and occupy Port Moresby in New Guinea and Tulagi in the southeastern Solomon Islands. The plan to accomplish this, called Operation MO, involved several major units of Japan's Combined Fleet, including two fleet carriers and a light carrier to provide air cover for the invasion fleets, under the overall command of Japanese Admiral Shigeyoshi Inoue. The US learned of the Japanese plan through signals intelligence and sent two United States Navy carrier task forces and a joint Australian-American cruiser force, under the overall command of American Admiral Frank J. Fletcher, to oppose the Japanese offensive. On 3–4 May, Japanese forces successfully invaded and occupied Tulagi, although several of their supporting warships were surprised and sunk or damaged by aircraft from the US fleet carrier Yorktown. Now aware of the presence of US carriers in the area, the Japanese fleet carriers entered the Coral Sea with the intention of finding and destroying the Allied naval forces. Beginning on 7 May, the carrier forces from the two sides exchanged airstrikes over two consecutive days. The first day, the US sank the Japanese light carrier Shoho, while the Japanese sank a US destroyer and heavily damaged a fleet oiler (which was later scuttled). The next day, the Japanese fleet carrier Shokaku was heavily damaged, the US fleet carrier Lexington was critically damaged (and was scuttled as a result), and the Yorktown was damaged. With both sides having suffered heavy losses in aircraft and carriers damaged or sunk, the two fleets disengaged and retired from the battle area. Because of the loss of carrier air cover, Inoue recalled the Port Moresby invasion fleet, intending to try again later. Although a tactical victory for the Japanese in terms of ships sunk, the battle would prove to be a strategic victory for the Allies for several reasons. The battle marked the first time since the start of the war that a major Japanese advance had been checked by the Allies. More importantly, the Japanese fleet carriers Sokaku and Zuikaku – one damaged and the other with a depleted aircraft complement – were unable to participate in the Battle of Midway, which took place the following month, ensuring a rough parity in aircraft between the two adversaries and contributing significantly to the US victory in that battle. The severe losses in carriers at Midway prevented the Japanese from reattempting to invade Port Moresby from the ocean. Two months later, the Allies took advantage of Japan's resulting strategic vulnerability in the South Pacific and launched the Guadalcanal Campaign that, along with the New Guinea Campaign, eventually broke Japanese defenses in the South Pacific and was a significant contributing factor to Japan's ultimate defeat in World War II.

My Participation in This Battle or Operation
From Month/Year May / 1942	To Month/Year May / 1942

Last Updated: Mar 16, 2020

Personal Memories
Memories On 1 May, Chicago was ordered from Nouméa to join Commander, Southwest Pacific, and on the 4th she supported Yorktown in her strike against the Japanese on Tulagi, Solomon Islands during the Battle of the Coral Sea. On 7 May, she proceeded, with the Support Group, to intercept and attack the Japanese Port Moresby invasion group. The following day, the group underwent several Japanese air attacks, during which Chicago suffered several casualties from strafing, but drove off the planes and proceeded ahead until it was clear that the Japanese force had been turned back.