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bigpigeon.us webpage  WWII Japan > Japan Lashes Out > Netherlands Indies Lost, © 2026 by Robert A. Christiansen​, updated by RAC 28 Dec 2025
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​Among Japanese conquests in early 1942 were the Netherlands East Indies, then a Dutch colony and today the nation of Indonesia.
 In the Netherlands Indies, a hastily-organized coalition of American, British, Dutch and Australian forces, known as ABDA, attempted to resist, but were easily brushed aside with the loss of thousands of Allied lives.
The United States contributed most of the remainder of the Asiatic Fleet as well as army air force units and a battalion of ground troops to ABDA operations. Almost all personnel were killed or captured.

Among the Unites States losses was the United State's original aircraft carrier, the USS Langley, ferrying Army Air Force aircraft and crews for the defense of Java. The Langley was torpedoed south of Tjilatjap, Java on 27 Feb '42 and was then scuttled.
1942 Japanese Capture of the Dutch East Indies
Japanese Capture of the Dutch Indies
Sources for Big Pigeon's WWII Japan > Japan Lashes Out > Netherlands Indies Lost webpage:
  • The webpage header photo, USS Langley - CV-1 is courtesy of pinterest.com.
  • The Japanese Capture of the Indies map is courtesy of DeDuijn at wikibooks.org.
🇺🇸 Pottawattamie Area WWII Dead — WWII Japan > Japan Lashes Out > Netherlands Indies Lost webpage​:​​ 03-04 - WWII Japan > Japan Lashes Out > Netherlands Indies Lost: (seven dead, updated 2 Jun 2025)
† Baker, Delmar Eugene, SN 321-35-78, US Navy, Montgomery Co.
  • Joined crew of destroyer USS Peary (DD-226) 24 Apr 1940; KIA 19 Feb 1942, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia; Peary sunk by Japanese dive bombers; 93 died, 49 survived.
  • First Air Attack on Darwin.
  • WWII Japan > Japan Lashes Out > Netherlands Indies Lost
† Christensen, Lester Angus, SN 316-61-17, US Navy, Pott. Co.
  • heavy cruiser USS Houston (CA-30), the US Asiatic Fleet flagship; KIA 1 Mar 1942, Battle of Sunda Strait, between Java & Sumatra, Netherlands Indies; Houston sunk by Japanese destroyer torpedoes, 793 died.​
  • WWII Japan > Japan Lashes Out > Netherlands Indies Lost @ sinking of USS Houston
† Davis, Joseph Simpson, SN 321-43-19, US Navy, Adams Co.
  • ​heavy cruiser USS Houston (CA-30), the US Asiatic Fleet flagship; KIA 1 Mar 1942, Battle of Sunda Strait, between Java & Sumatra, Netherlands Indies; Houston sunk by Japanese destroyer torpedoes; 793 died.
  • WWII Japan > Japan Lashes Out > Netherlands Indies Lost @ sinking of USS Houston
† Field, John Henry, SN 316-56-23, US Navy, Pott. Co.
  • At US Navy Receiving Station, Cavite, Philippines Feb-Dec 1941; transferred to destroyer USS Peary (DD-226) 14 Dec 1941; transferred to destroyer tender USS Black Hawk (AD-9) for treatment 12 Jan 1942; DNB 19 Jan 1942, on Black Hawk in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia; malaria.
  • WWII Japan > Japan Lashes Out > Netherlands Indies Lost
† Kaiser, Bernard Richard, SN 603-02-37, US Navy, Cass Co.
  • heavy cruiser USS Houston (CA-30), the US Asiatic Fleet flagship; KIA 1 Mar 1942, Battle of Sunda Strait, between Java & Sumatra, Netherlands Indies; Houston sunk by Japanese destroyer torpedoes; 793 died.​
  • WWII Japan > Japan Lashes Out > Netherlands Indies Lost @ sinking of USS Houston
† Koebel, Kenneth L., SN 0-421-117, US Army Air Force, Pima Co., AZ & Pott. Co.
  • 13th or 33rd Pursuit Sqdn., en route to Java, Dutch East Indies on old aircraft carrier USS Langley (CV-1); KIA 1 Mar 1942, 430 miles south of Java; Langley sunk by Japanese air attack; 177 Army Air Force survivors transferred to destroyer USS Edsall (DD-219), which then headed towards Java; Edsall sunk by Japanese surface ships; most Edsall survivors left in the water; of the survivors rescued by the Japanese, most – maybe all – subsequently died in captivity or were executed.
  • WWII Japan > Japan Lashes Out > Netherlands Indies Lost
† Stranathan, Dale Chester, SN 316-26-66, US Navy, Mills & Pott. Cos.
  • destroyer USS Peary (DD-226); KIA 19 Feb 1942 during first air attack on Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia; Peary sunk by Japanese air attack; 93 died, 49 survived.
  • WWII Japan > Japan Lashes Out > Netherlands Indies Lost