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Contact Info
Home Town Muskegon, MI
Last Address In 1992, Don and Tish moved to the Indian River Colony Club in Viera, FL. They moved to Ocala, FL, in 2006 and in 2011, moved to Gainesville and resided at The Village.
Date of Passing Oct 19, 2015
Location of Interment Florida National Cemetery (VA) - Bushnell, Florida
Captain Donald Alfred Dertien, USN (Ret.) Pearl Harbor Survivor, Veteran of WWII, Korea and Vietnam era.
Donald enlisted in the Navy in 1940, and he was commissioned an ensign in 1941 after successfully completing the Navy's "90-day wonder program" on the USS Arkansas (BB-33). He was stationed at Pearl Harbor and was aboard the USS Farragut (DD-348), at the time of the attack. The Farragut was berthed in a nest of destroyers in East Loch, Pearl Harbor, at the time of the Japanese attack on 7 December 1941. He was stationed on the Farragut until 1943 and was then transferred to another destroyer, the USS Halford (DD-480), until the end of the war. During his wartime service, he was awarded 11 battle stars including Guadalcanal, Wake Island, Coral Sea, Marianas Islands Campaign (Navy Commendation Medal) and Leyte Gulf (Bronze Star with Valor). In his quiet and humble manner, he was proud to have served his country at a crucial time in its history and to have been a Pearl Harbor survivor.
The brightest moment during this tumultuous time was when he married Tish on April 6, 1943, at St. James Cathedral in Seattle, WA, with shipmates from the USS Halford as the wedding party. They celebrated their 72nd wedding anniversary this past April.
After the conclusion of WWII, he returned to Muskegon for a short time only to discover that he missed the Navy and re-enlisted shortly thereafter. His Navy career included tours in Rhode Island, California, Washington, D.C., Japan, Korea and the Panama Canal Zone. He also served on the USS Rodman (DMS 21) and USS Helena (CA-75), and was the commanding officer of the USS Cony (DDE-508) during NATO Operation Mariner, USS Luzon (ARG-2) and USS Graffias (AF-29).
In between ship assignments, he earned his Bachelor's and Master's degrees and was the last Superintendent of the U.S Naval Weapons Plant in Washington, D.C. Near the end of his naval career, he was assigned to the Panama Canal Company in the role of Chief of the Navigation Division. The following year he was promoted to Marine Director, responsible for all direct operations of the canal. In December 1968, he retired from the U. S. Navy after more than 28 years of distinguished service attaining the rank of Captain in 1962.
He launched a second career with the Panama Canal Company, first as the Chief of the Executive Planning Staff then serving as the first civilian Marine Director. During this time he served as a technical advisor in the drafting and negotiation of the Panama Canal Treaty. He retired from the Panama Canal Company in 1976.
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 During his wartime service, he was awarded 11 battle stars including Guadalcanal, Wake Island, Coral Sea, Marianas Islands Campaign (Navy Commendation Medal) and Leyte Gulf (Bronze Star with Valor). In his quiet and humble manner, he was proud to have served his country at a crucial time in its history and to have been a Pearl Harbor survivor.
