This Military Service Page was created/owned by
Gary Cook (Doc), HM1
to remember
Cook, Carlton Hubbard, BM2c.
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On 10 February 1945, the USS Dortch sortied in a scouting line ahead of Task Force 58 for the strike on the Tokyo Bay area of 16 and 17 February 1945.
On the following day, the Dortch with the USS Clarence K. Bronson (DD-668) attacked and seriously damaged an enemy picket vessel. The Dortch received 14 casualties in the action.
PO2 Carlton Cook died on the early morning of 18 Feb 1945, followng the engagement.
Western Caroline Islands Operation/Battle of Peleliu
From Month/Year
September / 1944
To Month/Year
October / 1944
Description The Battle of Peleliu, codenamed Operation Stalemate II, was fought between the United States and the Empire of Japan in the Pacific Theater of World War II, from September–November 1944 on the island of Peleliu, present-day Palau. U.S. Marines of the First Marine Division and later soldiers of the U.S. Army's 81st Infantry Division, fought to capture an airstrip on the small coral island. This battle was part of a larger offensive campaign known as Operation Forager which ran from June–November 1944 in the Pacific Theater of Operations.
Major General William Rupertus, USMC—commander of 1st Marine Division—predicted the island would be secured within four days. However, due to Japan's well-crafted fortifications and stiff resistance, the battle lasted over two months. In the United States, it was a controversial battle because of the island's questionable strategic value and the high casualty rate, which exceeded all other amphibious operations during the Pacific War. The National Museum of the Marine Corps called it "the bitterest battle of the war for the Marines".