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Midway, Coral Sea, and remembering those who came before us ...

A4sForever

A4sForever

BTDT OLD GUY
pilot
Contributor
O.K. ... we ALL missed the anniversary of Coral Sea ... Midway's comin' ... mebbe we can all do better ??? :)

Better men than us paved the way for Naval Aviation as we know/appreciate it today ... let us hope we could do as well ... :thumbup_1


Lady LEX biting it in the Coral Sea ...
 
Schnugg

Schnugg

It's gettin' a bit dramatic 'round here...
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
Concur.

CIMG0039.jpg

Awarded to my Great Uncle.
 
Catmando

Catmando

Keep your knots up.
pilot
Super Moderator
Contributor
A4sForever said:
O.K. ... we ALL missed the anniversary of Coral Sea ... Midway's comin' ... mebbe we can all do better ??? :)

Better men than us paved the way for Naval Aviation as we know/appreciate it today ... let us hope we could do as well ... :thumbup_1
....
Click to expand...
Did somebody say Midway, or Battle of Midway?

God bless these men.............
 

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A4sForever

A4sForever

BTDT OLD GUY
pilot
Contributor
Catmando said:
Did somebody say Midway, or Battle of Midway?

God bless these men.............
Click to expand...

Roger that: God Bless these tough, stalwart, selfless, heroic men ...

This is supposedly a shot of one of my Uncles in 1941 ... I cannot verify that, other than it was ID'd as him by a couple of sources after I started researching it ... he didn't make it out of the BofMidway ... my (deceased) WW2 Army Dad used to tell me stories about the only brother who went to college ... :)

 
Catmando

Catmando

Keep your knots up.
pilot
Super Moderator
Contributor
A4sForever said:
Roger that: God Bless these tough, stalwart, selfless, heroic men ...

This is supposedly a shot of one of my Uncles in 1941 ... I cannot verify that, other than it was ID'd as him by a couple of sources after I started researching it ... he didn't make it out of the BofMidway ... my (deceased) WW2 Army Dad used to tell me stories about the only brother who went to college ... :)

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Good stock, A4s. But not surprising. :)

Not all made it. Indeed many (and in some squadrons, most) did not make it. But thank God they made a great difference - for their fellow men, their country .... and for all of us, even today. Let us never forget their great sacrifice!
 
BusyBee604

BusyBee604

St. Francis/Hugh Hefner Combo!
pilot
Super Moderator
Contributor
Uss midway (cva/cv-41)

A4sForever said:
O.K. ... we ALL missed the anniversary of Coral Sea ... Midway's comin' ... mebbe we can all do better ??? :)

Better men than us paved the way for Naval Aviation as we know/appreciate it today ... let us hope we could do as well ... :thumbup_1
Click to expand...
My beloved "Halfway Boat"! Named in honor of the "tide-turning" victory 4-6 June, 1942. I had the honor of serving on her from Jan. '70-July '72. Made the '71 combat deployment as ships Ordnance/G Division Off, & the '72 combat deployment as ships Weapons Dept Off. Also both cruises as OinC C1A "COD Squad".
She fared well during my tour, I reported aboard at the tail end of a 4-yr overhaul/conversion which gave her a new 4-acre flight deck, allowing operations with any modern Air Wing.
Amazingly, her 3 original catapults were replaced by 2 new bow cats (the 1 waist cat removed to provide space for up-to-date equipment). With only 2 cats, she managed to fare favorably in launch efficiency with the 4-cat FORRESTALs. MIDWAY/CVW-5 earned the Presidential Unit Citation (PUC) for the '72 cruise which terminated with the end of the "air war" & return of our POWs. I think the Navy heros (all personnel) of the '42 battle would be proud of the 50-year career of their battle namesake. If any of you AWs have the opportunity to tour the MIDWAY Museum in San Diego, it's worth your time. MIDWAY lives on!
BzB
 

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A4sForever

A4sForever

BTDT OLD GUY
pilot
Contributor
Fog said:
My first crew chief (Chief Naylor) flew as gunner for Ens. Gay in the Battle of the Coral Sea. Their CV was sunk & he was re-assigned to another squadron afterwards. Gay then went to VT-8, and the rest, as they say, is history. This is a no-shit true story.
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Amazing ... I've never researched it; but I never knew that Gay flew @ Coral Sea ... makes sense, I just never knew it.
 
O

Owen

Member
Geo Gay

I don't think Gay flew at Coral Sea. I remember being
amazed at him telling the story of his Midway experience.
One of the things that jumped out was that not only was
he dropping a torpedo for the first time but it was also
the first time he ever took off with one on a TBD.
 
Fog

Fog

Old RIOs never die: They just can't fast-erect
None
Contributor
You guys renewed my own curiosity here. I googled George Gay and read as much as I could in a hour or so. There is no mention of his having participated in the Battle of the Coral Sea in any way. Gay was on the Hornet for the Doolittle raid, but apparently saw no combat between then & Midway. Chief Naylor was a great sailor, and he likely said he had flown w/ Gay earlier but was re-assigned to another squadron prior to Midway. I ask the board host to remove my post, as I never intended to BS any of the members here. If there's a mistake here - and there definitely seems to be one - it is my memory of events 42 years ago. I apologize for misleading anyone here.
 
BusyBee604

BusyBee604

St. Francis/Hugh Hefner Combo!
pilot
Super Moderator
Contributor
Woxof

Fog said:
You guys renewed my own curiosity here. I googled George Gay and read as much as I could in a hour or so. There is no mention of his having participated in the Battle of the Coral Sea in any way. Gay was on the Hornet for the Doolittle raid, but apparently saw no combat between then & Midway. Chief Naylor was a great sailor, and he likely said he had flown w/ Gay earlier but was re-assigned to another squadron prior to Midway. I ask the board host to remove my post, as I never intended to BS any of the members here. If there's a mistake here - and there definitely seems to be one - it is my memory of events 42 years ago. I apologize for misleading anyone here.
Click to expand...
No harm-no foul. Events of some 67 years ago inevitably get a bit skewed coming down through the years. The first hand true minute facts are known only to the heroic participants of the battle, and most if not all of them are passed. IMHO, no apology is warranted. Keeps on truckin'!:icon_tong
BzB
 
O

Owen

Member
Geo Gay

I see that Fog is from P'cola. There was a guy who volunteered
at NNAM for many years that was a crewman on the PBY that
picked Gay up. Gay was really exhausted when they landed to
rescue him. This sailor exited the waist blister, walked up the
fuselage and out the wing with a rope which he lowered to Gay.
He then "towed" Gay to the open blister where he was hauled
in. Really neat old gent; he's gone now but he sure had some
stories......
 
NavAir42

NavAir42

I'm not dead yet....
pilot
Midway- probably patrol aviation's greatest contribution to history when Lt Ady and the crew of his PBY Catalina report:

"PLANE REPORTS TWO CARRIERS, TWO BATTLESHIPS, BEARING 320 DEGREES, DISTANT 180 MILES, COURSE 135 DEGREES, SPEED 25 KNOTS"
 
O

Owen

Member
And don't forget Ens Jewel "Jack" Reid and his crew. I was
fortunate enough to meet him at NNAM several years ago
and hear the story first hand. He even posed for photos
beside his logbook which is on display in the Silver Eagles
exhibit.
 
A4sForever

A4sForever

BTDT OLD GUY
pilot
Contributor
Fog said:
You guys renewed my own curiosity here. I googled George Gay .... I apologize for misleading anyone here.
Click to expand...
No pwoblem (sic), GI ... you didn't mislead; the info was not yours ... but here's a pretty good FIRST PERSON after-action oral-history report from none other than:

link: LT (not ENS ?) GEORGE GAY (note his brief Coral Sea reference) Title: ORAL HISTORY - BATTLE OF MIDWAY


Recollections of Lieutenant George Gay, USNR -- sole survivor of Torpedo Squadron Eight (VT-8) -- describing his experiences during the Battle of Midway. He was subsequently awarded the Navy Cross and the Presidential Unit Citation for his actions in the battle. (... Adapted from Ensign George Gay, USNR, interview in box 11 of World War II Interviews, Operational Archives Branch, Naval Historical Center.)

Midway Atoll in 1941, looking west -- Eastern Island (w/ airfield) in the foreground:


photo by US NAVY

Midway Island today:

The first color picture shows Midway (Sand Island) and Eastern Island ... Eastern Island being the one w/ the JUN 1942 airfield (you can see what's left of it), with Midway/Sand possessing the 'best part' of the lagoon and therefore being home to the VP 'rons --- the PBY's. You can see the seaplane ramp ...

EVERY time overhead MIDWAY, I'd give a little 'historical review' over the PA to my captive audience in the passenger cabin -- that audience being usually 90% Japanese in the HNL-NRT route. :) Same for Okinawa, Guam, Saipan, Manila, Wake, and especially Iwo ... always respectful, but always the truth. Never got any complaints; sometimes compliments, occassionally a "do it again" request ... I suspect there's lots of ancestors 'bones' in those places ...

War: what is it good for??


photo by A4sForever
photo by A4sForever
 
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