This Fallen Navy Profile is not currently maintained by any Member.
If you would like to take responsibility for researching and maintaining this Fallen profile please click
HERE
Casualty Info
Home Town Wilkes-Barre, PA
Last Address 10 Park St Wilkes-Barre, PA
Casualty Date May 13, 1945
Cause KIA-Killed in Action
Reason Other Explosive Device
Location Pacific Ocean
Conflict World War II
Location of Interment Saint Mary's Cemetery - Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
Official Badges
Unofficial Badges
Additional Information
Last Known Activity:
On 13 May, 1945, several enemy dive-bombers attacked the picket station off Okinawa and one completed a successful kamikaze attack on USS Bache (DD-470). The wing of the plane struck near number two stack, catapulting the plane down on the main deck amidships, with its bomb exploding about seven feet above the main deck. Forty-one of the crew were killed (16 missing in action) and 32 were injured. All steam and electrical power were lost. Fires were brought under control within 20 minutes and she was towed to Kerama Retto, Okinawa, for temporary repairs.
SK1 Alestek was killed in action. He was originally buried overseas. His remains were returned to the US in February 1949 for burial by his family.
Comments/Citation:
Service number: 6006240
The information contained in this profile was compiled from various internet sources.
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.
