-
Please take a moment and update your account profile. If you have an updated account profile with basic information on why you are on Air Warriors it will help other people respond to your posts. How do you update your profile you ask?
Go here:
Edit Account Details and Profile
Lest we forget: June 4th 1942
- Thread starter A4sForever
- Start date
If you guys/gals haven't read A Dawn Like Thunder: The True Story of Torpedo Squadron 8 by Robert Mrazek, I cannot recommend it too strongly to you. Waldron, VT-8 CO, knew the jap fleet was SW of the course given by their incompetent CAG, so he risked courts-martial and took them on his own direction where they found the jap carriers and were all shot down making their [totally alone & unescorted] low-level torpedo attacks. His action brought the rest of the attack groups down to the correct area where McClusky's divebombers sank 3 carriers within 10 minutes. Later, Marc Mitscher gundecked his after-action report so as not to divulge to Adm Nimitz that the Midway attack force had initially flown a course 45 degrees NW of where they should have gone. Later, the remnants of VT-8 get Avengers and fly as land-based attack a/c from Henderson Field at Guadalcanal. Their planes destroyed, they man machine gun units as part of Chesty Puller's battalion at Bloody Nose Ridge. It's 566 pages of incredible history. I think I said all this once before last year, but I hope also it's obvious I'm fairly passionate about it.
markkyle66
Active Member
I can't imagine what what it would've been like to be Tex Gay having been downed and clinging to a cushion in the ocean with a large portion of the Japanese fleet in view... and then hearing the divebombers overhead and watching them make their runs on the carrier he tried to torpedo...only to feel the concussive blasts in the water.
Up here in Newport we had a commeration ceremony for Midway. The guest speaker was Jon Pashall who wrote the book "Shattered Sword" which is the text we use at the War College for Midway.
Recommend checking the book out if you're interested in the battle.
The authors go into great detail about the battle especially from the Japanese perspective.
http://www.amazon.com/Shattered-Swo...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1275760214&sr=8-1
The authors' website: http://www.shatteredswordbook.com/
Recommend checking the book out if you're interested in the battle.
The authors go into great detail about the battle especially from the Japanese perspective.
http://www.amazon.com/Shattered-Swo...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1275760214&sr=8-1
The authors' website: http://www.shatteredswordbook.com/
The Marine General at the DC commemoration stole the show... awesome speaker. Great Ceremony.
Great post...was surprised yesterday AM when a local FM station reported a news item relative to a small ceremony down in Key West, involving, of course, USN, and centering on the significance of the day...ie, Battle of Midway. Station then followed up with a ten minute telephone interview with a Naval War College prof who explained the roles played by Adm's Spruance & Fletcher...very interesting!
And to semi-close it out -- at least until next year ... this is what it was all about.
Midway in the top, Eastern (the original runway, now defunct) in the lower, taken from my 'office' @ 35,000' on the way to Tokyo (is that irony, or what???):
Image by A4sForever
Image by A4sForever
And NOW that the J's and the USA are generally 'newest best friends' ... it kinda makes one wonder what it was all about ... ???
With the exception of truth & honor ... and that ALWAYS COUNTS FOR EVERYTHING ... I'm gonna guess: probably not too much else ... ???
WAR!! What is it good for??? Absolutely NUTHIN' .. !!!
Midway in the top, Eastern (the original runway, now defunct) in the lower, taken from my 'office' @ 35,000' on the way to Tokyo (is that irony, or what???):
Image by A4sForever
Image by A4sForever
And NOW that the J's and the USA are generally 'newest best friends' ... it kinda makes one wonder what it was all about ... ???
With the exception of truth & honor ... and that ALWAYS COUNTS FOR EVERYTHING ... I'm gonna guess: probably not too much else ... ???
WAR!! What is it good for??? Absolutely NUTHIN' .. !!!
Views from this week.
100602-N-7498L-010 PEARL HARBOR (June 2, 2010) More than 100 people, including American and Japanese World War II veterans attended a ceremony commemorating the 68th anniversary of the Battle of Midway. The Battle of Midway, fought over and near the Midway atoll approximately 1,500 nautical miles Northwest of Hawaii, represents the strategic high water mark and turning point of the Pacific war. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Mark Logico/Released)
100602-N-7498L-021 PEARL HARBOR (June 2, 2010) More than a million Laysan Albatrosses, also known as "gooney birds" overwhelmingly occupy the entire Midway atoll. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Mark Logico/Released)
100602-N-7498L-010 PEARL HARBOR (June 2, 2010) More than 100 people, including American and Japanese World War II veterans attended a ceremony commemorating the 68th anniversary of the Battle of Midway. The Battle of Midway, fought over and near the Midway atoll approximately 1,500 nautical miles Northwest of Hawaii, represents the strategic high water mark and turning point of the Pacific war. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Mark Logico/Released)
100602-N-7498L-021 PEARL HARBOR (June 2, 2010) More than a million Laysan Albatrosses, also known as "gooney birds" overwhelmingly occupy the entire Midway atoll. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Mark Logico/Released)
Essentially -- no. WW2 Facilities @ Midway Island, National Parks Service
Most of the current structures on Sand Island (the 'western' island, significantly built up @ 1943) did not exist during the June 1942 battle. In any case, Eastern Island is where most of the U.S. 'air activity' originated and therefore it was where the attention of Kido Butai was focused. The airfield complex that existed in 1942 on Eastern is now abandoned and desolate and most of the Eastern Island structures are gone -- see closest island in color pix taken from my office ... ).
Originally, the atoll functions were basically divided as such: VP and submarines on Sand Island, all other Naval Air on Eastern Island. Then ... during/after WW2, there was a LOT of dredging, filling and the creation of the present airfield on Sand Island w/ the accompanying facilities/structures.
Image by A4sForever
This is the 'same view' as above ... just a slightly different altitude/angle and separated by @ 50 years in time. In 1942 -- Eastern Island was where 'the battle' was fought when Midway was attacked ... see b&w pix from the period below -- courtesy of UNCLE.
As A4s said.
Most of the concrete buildings on Midway, and so many other islands, were built by the Sea Bees using portland cement, sand from the beach and salt walter. All that sodium cloride simply ate the rebar and the buildings crumbled of their own accord. Not atall belittling the Sea Bees, they used what they had, and did what they had to do. My brother was a Sea Bee, may God rest his soul.
Saw this on another board today and thought an appropriate link to this thread. Here's a copy of Adm Spruance's FITREP in Aug of 42. That Fletcher is a pretty hard grader 
http://www.slideshare.net/NHHC/adm-spruances-fitrep-after-battle-of-midway?from=share_ema
http://www.slideshare.net/NHHC/adm-spruances-fitrep-after-battle-of-midway?from=share_ema
Guess he needed to nail the other two carriers to get the other 4.0!
BzB
BzB