A ceremony was held in Fremantle to commemorate the Battle of the Coral Sea.

The Battle of the Coral Sea had helped to form an “unshakeable bond” between Australia and the United States which has continued into the 21st century, the Mayor of Fremantle, Peter Tagliaferri, has told a commemoration gathering.

The 62nd anniversary of the battle was acknowledged with a special wreath-laying ceremony at the Fremantle War Memorial, near the US torpedo last month.

For more than 60 years, the Australian American Association has honoured the memory of those who paid the supreme sacrifice in the Coral Sea in early May, 1942, during World War II.

Mr Tagliaferri described the battle as a turning point in the war in the Pacific, easing the threat of Australia being invaded and laying the foundation for ensuing Allied counter-offensives.

“At the time, the tally of Japanese victories seemed unending, as their Imperial Army had already swept through Malaya, Singapore, the Dutch East Indies and the Philippines,” he said.

“But in May, 1942, a Japanese invasion fleet bound for Port Moresby, was intercepted by a taskforce of US and Australian ships, marking history’s first naval battle fought by carrier-borne aircraft.

“During the five-day battle, 543 Allied servicemen were killed or wounded, 66 Allied planes were lost, the USS Lexington and two other ships were sunk and the USS Yorktown suffered major damage – but despite these significant losses, the battle repelled the Japanese fleet and shattered the myth of Japanese invincibility during the war.

“And it’s important to remember those who sacrificed their lives for the sake of the generations that followed, through remembrance ceremonies such as these.”

Numerous dignitaries paid their respects at the ceremony, including US Consul Mark McBurney, Portuguese Consul Jose Augusto Madeira, Japanese Consul General Hiroyuki Ariyoshi, British Consul General Hugh Dunnachie MBE and Indonesian Consul Mukhlis Yunus, along with Mayor Tagliaferri, Federal Minister for Ageing Julie Bishop, Shadow Veterans’ Affairs Minister Mark Bishop, South Metropolitan MLC Kate Doust and MLC Ray Halligan.

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