I like the battle of Wake Island. A small force of Army, Navy and Morrison Knudsen beat back a 15-ship Japanese flotilla. This was the first and only seaborne invasion that was defeated in the entire war. The commodore of the flotilla was embarrassed, humiliated, replaced and maybe worse.
The island was later taken by a much-bigger fleet, but the successful resistance took something of a bite out of the enemy and forced him to redeploy his forces from other commitments.
After two years of slavery the MK workers were executed and maybe eaten by the enemy.
Wake Island was never retaken, but used as a live-fire practice bombing target for rookie Navy pilots including President Bush.