Battle of Midway Anniversary
509th Bob writes to remind us that today is the 71st Anniversary of the beginning of the Battle of Midway which lasted from June 4th – June 7th 1942. About six months after Pearl Harbor and seven weeks after the Doolittle Raid, the Japanese sought to extend their security perimeter a bit by taking Midway Island and drawing the Navy into an ambush. The US had, however broken the Japanese Naval codes and knew their plan and Nimitz was waiting for Yamamoto.
When the smoke cleared, four Japanese carriers were at the bottom of the sea – the entire strength of the task force–Akagi, Kaga, Soryu, and Hiryu, with 322 aircraft and over five thousand sailors. The Japanese also lost the heavy cruiser Mikuma. American losses included 147 aircraft and more than three hundred seamen.
Analysts often point to Japanese aircraft losses at Midway as eliminating the power of the Imperial Navy’s air arm, but in fact about two-thirds of air crews survived. More devastating was the loss of trained mechanics and aircraft ground crews who went down with the ships. Some historians see Midway as the turning point in the Pacific theater of the war, after which Americans rode straight to Tokyo; others view it as a cusp in the war, after which initiative hung in the balance, to swing toward the Allies in the Guadalcanal campaign. Either way, Midway ranks as a truly decisive battle.
And it was a pretty exciting movie, convinced me that I didn’t want to join the Navy.
Category: Historical
Between the kamikazi’s and the sodomy, who has the time for the Navy.
Go Army.
Once a Chief … Always a Chief – Helping a USS Midaway Retired Chief FOLEY, Ala. (NNS) — Twelve members of the Naval Hospital Pensacola (NHP) Chief Petty Officers Association (CPOA) went to the home of 94-year-old Charles “Chuck” Wheeler, retired chief and Battle of Midway veteran, to help with the everyday tasks he is no longer able to complete, May 29. A 28 year veteran, Wheeler served as an aviation ordinanceman aboard the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise CV-6 from May 1941 to Feb 1944. During that time, the Enterprise participated in numerous engagements against the Japanese Navy including the Battle of Midway, the Battle of the Eastern Solomons, the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands and various other air-sea engagements during the Guadalcanal Campaign. “I don’t have the words to express my gratitude in relations to what you all are doing for me,” said Wheeler. “Any little thing helps me tremendously. I used to be able to mow the lawn, pick up blown down limbs and leaves and maintain the place.” “Once a Chief, Always a Chief” has significant meaning to the U.S. Navy eternal brotherhood of chief petty officers. When the NHP CPOA was approached about the opportunity to assist Wheeler, they embraced it whole heartedly. “As soon as this was presented to the chiefs, no one in the association hesitated for a second,” said Chief Hospital Corpsman Chi Patrick. “[Helping] is what we do. When a fellow chief needs help, we just do it.” At Wheeler’s home, the chiefs split up into groups to accomplish several tasks such as mowing the lawn, removing a section of an old fence and digging up fence posts. “We’re just doing some yard work and simple home beautification for a retired chief,” said Chief Hospital Corpsman Chris McKenzie. “The fact that he, as a chief, paved the way for who I am today, blows my mind. To think what [veterans] went through so that we could have the luxury that we have today makes me feel really honored to be here.” About halfway through the morning, Wheeler came outside to talk… Read more »
The number of losses on both sides in the conflict in WWII are staggering, the magnitude unimaginable. I have wondered how any branch of any military could loose so many, and yet be able to continue fighting.
It was definitely a different era.
what a friggin battle!!
Correction in Title Above: “Helping a Midway Retired Chief”
Can’t forget about the loss of the USS Yorktown and the USS Heermann.
After surviving two separate attacks by the surviving Japanese aircraft of the Hiryu, (both times claimed to have been sunk) the Yorktown was being towed back towards Pearl Harbor when on 7 June she was discovered by a Japanese sub. The sub fired off some torpedoes which split the Heermann in half and struck the already severely damaged Yorktown. The Yorktown, now listing too heavily to save, was then sunk by American destroyers.
The courage of those in who fought in WWII should never be forgotten.
Here’s a link to photos of the role of the Enterprise at Midway.
http://www.navsource.org/archives/02/06a.htm
” convinced me that I didn’t want to join the Navy.”
Seeing how sailors live while underway was enough to convince me to go Army.
I’ve said it before – I can understand why people enlist in the Navy.
What I can’t understand is why they re-enlist!
Why walk 20 miles, just to dig a hole to sleep in, so you can walk back those 20 miles to your previous sleeping hole? Thats why I went Navy – a dry rack to sleep in and hot meals daily – and those port visits.
my daddy was assigned too the Arizona on 7 dec 41 and was on shore leave when pearl was attacked. he was the assigned too the Big E in 42 until 43 and only spoke about his time in service once! he met my mom at Tripler!
It was a different era. I can’t imagine today that people would accept losses like were seen in World War II. Heck, D-Day alone, I believe the number of KIA on June 6, 1944 alone was near the total for the Iraqi War.
The courage of our military in World War II is amazing. Their dedication and belief in what they fought and died for can’t be denied.
Or think about the Courage of Torpedo 8 which flew off the Hornet. Cannon fodder. I get chills just thinking about their courage.
Andy Kravetz, reporter
Peoria (Ill.) Journal Star
akravetz@pjstar.com
http://archive.org/search.php?query=subject%3A%22Midway%2C+Battle+Of%2C+1942%22
Some radio broadcasts.
I’ve had the pleasure of meeting George Gay’s wife a few times in the course of my job. She is a wonderful and gracious woman. She let me stand in his office with photos of him from all over on the walls. She also gave me an autographed copy of his book. They were humbling meetings.
#1, completely inappropriate on this day. We owe those who fought this day 71 years ago more than we can repay.
Taxi of the sea!
It’s a shame there are no longer men(Marines) on US Navy ships, well minus the lsd’s. I wonder what sailors use for inspiration now days. Fatty dingdong chief with his coffee cup isn’t that inspiring.
🙂
I always told mu students that Midway was the most important battle of the Pacific war. The Japanese never won another battle at sea. They sunk a lot of our ships and killed many of our sailors but their Navy was never able to halt our march toward the Homeland. In the Battle of the Philippine Sea they came close to defeating the US force Taffy 3 but the horrific fight put up by destroyers and escort carriers convinced the Japs that they were up against the main US fleet and they turned about and fled the battle.
On the topic of courage, I will only say that this nation has never lacked men of dedication, honor, and selfless courage. Regardless of generation, courage seems to surface when it is needed. It was needed then and it is still needed today. As always American fighting men provide it when called on.
Don’t forget the Army contribution to the Midway battle. A detachment of Army Air Corps Martin B-26 Marauders medium bombers was attached to the Midway garrison and suffered heavy losses when they, along with Midway-based Marine planes, attacked the IJN carrier force several hours before the U.S. carrier planes began their attack on Nagumo’s force.
In addition, Hawaii-based Army Air Corps B-17 heavy bombers made numerous bombing runs against the IJN Midway amphibious invasion fleet as well as against the Nagumo carrier strike fleet. The B-17s did not cause really any damage to the Japanese fleets, but kept the Japanese harried and exhausted, and set them up for the later U.S. naval carrier plane attacks that destroyed them.
@17. I can’t recall how old I was when I first learned that the Army was in the Pacific. And I was shocked. Early on, when I thought of the Pacific Theatre in WWII, I thought only of the the USMC and USN. I bet my terribly wrong impression is carried by many others to this day. That’s the power of movies and TV, I guess. (And that snapshot from atop Mt. Surabachi didn’t hurt, either.)
Hey everyone. I’m mostly a lurker and very occasional commenter. A colleague of mine teaches a class at the U.S. Naval War College and also does speaking engagements. He (and another author) wrote a very detailed book about the battle of Midway. It’s a very interesting read. It’s called “Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway”. His name is Jon Parshall. I’m not gonna pimp any store, but I’m sure you can find it in a number of different places. Here’s a link to the site for the book: http://www.shatteredswordbook.com/
Very much agree with Lerxst. “Shattered Sword” is the most detailed account of the Battle of Midway currently available. “Miracle at Midway” is somewhat shorter but a great read as well.
One of the first military history books I ever read was a dusty copy of Walter Lord’s “Incredible Victory” about the battle of Midway. I devoured it at something like age 10 and must have read it three or four times.
It’s always struck me at how near a run it was. One bomb hit the Akagi and the whole ship went up. How would things have turned out if one of the dive bomber squadrons didn’t find the Japanese fleet? A few misses here and there and the whole thing changes.
I learned later that a lot of it wasn’t luck, necessarily. The US had a better scouting plan, better damage control procedures and training, and some better technology (some worse too). But still, when you weigh up the two sides, it doesn’t look good for the US at the start of the fight.
Midway was still a very near thing, and had the Japanese been able to discover the American carriers first (thinking Yorktown had been sunk at Coral Sea being another error) or if Nagumo had launched his reserve aircraft earlier instead of having a deck full of planes, fuel, and ordnance, the battle could have turned out very differently.
And the losses of the American aircrews was, in a word, staggering.
When Charlton Heston’s boy Eddie Albert dies, it’s quite emotional.
On topic, this was an amazing effort from the intelligence/cipher team to the aircrews, maintenance people, etc…from top to bottom. This was a battle where everything was right out there.
The battle may or may not have been the decisive naval turning point, I would disagree that initiative hung in the balance afterwards. The Japanese were no longer taking the initiative in expanding after this battle, they were seemingly limited to consolidating and defending their territorial gains without success as it turned out.
VOV–I look to this and Coral Sea as almost one and the same, because if Coral Sea hadn’t been fought to a draw, or had Yorktown in fact been sunk, it’s entirely possible Midway would have gone quite differently.
Loss of Midway would have meant the Japanese naval forces could have projected their power to Hawaii with ease, and possibly as far as the West Coast. Imagine Long Beach, San Fran, etc., all under threat from Japanese naval bombardment and carrier based air attack, to say nothing of Pearl.
Yes, it could have been THAT bad.