83 years ago today.....

[iveofione]

.....was the start of the Battle of Midway, one of the most decisive battles in American naval history and the battle that irrevocably broke Japan's eastern expansion in the Pacific. It had been planned as a trap for our navy to destroy what was left of our fleet after Pearl Harbor and establish a Japanese base in Hawaii to attack west coast cities. But instead code breakers and some clever subterfuge had given Americans the knowledge to spring a trap of their own. The loss of 4 major aircraft carriers in less than 24 hours was a blow the IJN never recovered from and turned the war for America into an offensive struggle rather than a defensive one. I was only 4 at the time but remember the adults joy that we had finally won a battle after 6 months of defeats.

Both of my uncles were in the island hopping campaign that saw some of the fiercest fighting in the war and both returned unscathed. And I never heard either of them speak a word about what they saw or what they did.

 

[adamcu280]

I’ve spent a lot of time on research projects in the Central Pacific, from Pearl Harbor to Midway to Wake to the Marianas. It’s always sobering to realize that I’m sailing over historic battlefields that few people appreciate at the time. I was in awe during the four hours I spent on Midway.

I still haven’t figured out how to process being in a place that I’ve read about and seen historical footage of, all in black and white, while experiencing it in present day color and conditions. This ancient blog post of mine has my thoughts on being on Saipan on the 68th anniversary of the US invasion.

A Report from Saipan

June 15, 2012, Saipan, CNMI. We got a bit rained on in the morning and never ended up finding any whales, but we caught a couple of aku and I got to play my first game of Ultimate frisbee in four y…

adamcu.wordpress.com

And another photo I took on Saipan in 2017.

 

[Brute]

I've spent time in the Marshall's, Micronesia and the Mariana's both for work and pleasure...while I've never been to Midway, I did spend several days teaching a cylinder inspection course for the scba's for the fire dept at the airfield on Wake Island...the fishing and diving was fantastic (my fee for the course)...dove on the USS Saratoga and several other WWII wrecks in Bikini Atoll, worked on a Nat Geo shark film on Eniwetok Atoll, dove in Kwajalein, Majuro, Pohnpei, Yap, Guam and Okinawa...

While silently cruising above various relics of the war, it was a sobering reminder of the lives lost all over the Pacific.

 

[adamcu280]

I've spent time in the Marshall's, Micronesia and the Mariana's both for work and pleasure...while I've never been to Midway, I did spend several days teaching a cylinder inspection course for the scba's for the fire dept at the airfield on Wake Island...the fishing and diving was fantastic (my fee for the course)...dove on the USS Saratoga and several other WWII wrecks in Bikini Atoll, worked on a Nat Geo shark film on Eniwetok Atoll, dove in Kwajalein, Majuro, Pohnpei, Yap, Guam and Okinawa...

While silently cruising above various relics of the war, it was a sobering reminder of the lives lost all over the Pacific.

We caught one of the largest wahoo I’ve ever seen just off the reef at Wake. Also biopsied some Sei whales.

I can’t dive but I’ve snorkeled a bunch of sites in the Marianas. Also, when visiting the local historical office on Saipan (not the museum in Garapan), correctly identified a Type 99 magazine that was incorrectly labeled as coming from a BAR.

One year there was a military archaeological dive expedition from Flinders University at the same condo facility. They were mapping the wrecks in the lagoon. I had a lot of fun nerding out with them after work.

 

[Brute]

We caught one of the largest wahoo I’ve ever seen just off the reef at Wake. Also biopsied some Sei whales.

I can’t dive but I’ve snorkeled a bunch of sites in the Marianas. Also, when visiting the local historical office on Saipan (not the museum in Garapan), correctly identified a Type 99 magazine that was incorrectly labeled as coming from a BAR.

One year there was a military archaeological dive expedition from Flinders University at the same condo facility. They were mapping the wrecks in the lagoon. I had a lot of fun nerding out with them after work.

This was the modus operandi for fishing in Wake...as soon as you tossed the dock lines and headed out the short channel to the ocean, a pair of jet heads with 7" skirts were let out in the harbor with ss leaders on Penn Senator 14/0's spooled with 200 lb test mono...an ono would slam a lure just as we cleared the channel outside the harbor, followed by a dozen more in a couple hours.

I got into a kayak in the lagoon, tossed a rapala out on my spinning rig, and tried to paddle across the lagoon...bonefish would crush the plug so frequently that I had to reel in in order to make it across the lagoon...

The fishing was fantastic...

 

[ColinShots]

I highly recommend Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History series on the war in the Pacific, “Supernova in the East.” It’s six episodes, and each episode is about five hours, so it’s a time commitment. It is fantastic though.

 

[CRO]

I had a neighbor for over 25yrs that was on the Yorktown. He never mentioned any of the event except to say he was there. I believe it was the only US carrier sunk.

 

[SKYKO]

I highly recommend Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History series on the war in the Pacific, “Supernova in the East.” It’s six episodes, and each episode is about five hours, so it’s a time commitment. It is fantastic though.

Dan Carlin's Hardcore History stuff, all of it is just engrossing. Count Down to Armageddon, Ostt Front, the Kahn series, on and on. Sorry for the thread drift!

 

[Mike Cline]

I had a neighbor for over 25yrs that was on the Yorktown. He never mentioned any of the event except to say he was there. I believe it was the only US carrier sunk.

Twelve aircraft carriers were sunk by the enemy during World War II. The following US Navy ships were sunk or damaged in action during World War II:
https://www.military.com/history/us...missioned-us-aircraft-carrier-sunk-enemy.html
Battleships (BB): USS Utah (AG-16)
Aircraft carriers (CV): USS Lexington (CV-2), USS Yorktown (CV-5), USS Wasp (CV-7), USS Hornet (CV-8), USS Princeton (CVL-23), USS Gambier Bay (CVE-73), USS St. Lo (CVE-63), USS Liscome Bay (CVE-56), USS Ommaney Bay (CVE-79), USS Bismarck Sea (CVE-95).

 

[adamcu280]

Twelve aircraft carriers were sunk by the enemy during World War II. The following US Navy ships were sunk or damaged in action during World War II:
https://www.military.com/history/us...missioned-us-aircraft-carrier-sunk-enemy.html
Battleships (BB): USS Utah (AG-16)
Aircraft carriers (CV): USS Lexington (CV-2), USS Yorktown (CV-5), USS Wasp (CV-7), USS Hornet (CV-8), USS Princeton (CVL-23), USS Gambier Bay (CVE-73), USS St. Lo (CVE-63), USS Liscome Bay (CVE-56), USS Ommaney Bay (CVE-79), USS Bismarck Sea (CVE-95).

Yorktown was the only CV sunk at Midway.

 

[ColinShots]

Dan Carlin's Hardcore History stuff, all of it is just engrossing. Count Down to Armageddon, Ostt Front, the Kahn series, on and on. Sorry for the thread drift!

Not to help continue the thread drift, but every Hardcore History series (and the one Blitz episodes) are so good. I give Ghosts of the Ostfront and Blueprint for Armageddon an annual listen.

 

[Bakerite]

The Unauthorized History of the Pacific War is an awesome podcast with episodes on YouTube (maps, photos and video). My father was on an oiler that sailed from Aruba with oil from Venezuela to wherever the Pacific fleet was for most of the war. I have always been fascinated with the history of the US Navy and Merchant Marine.

 

[Brian Miller]

Not to get too far off topic but when staying on Oahu we have made a point of visiting the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, aka the Punchbowl. It's a solemn place, very moving and somewhat overwhelming for me. This gentleman documented his visit to the Memorial much better than I have had the presence of mind to do.

eGuide to the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific -- Punchbowl

One of the most interesting features is the mosaic mural map gallery detailing battles and campaigns of the Pacific Theater during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.
The first time there we joined a group being led by a volunteer giving a presentation about each map.
The second time we visited the Memorial, we discretely followed a young Marine being led through the WWII gallery by his grandfather stopping at maps to relate his experiences as a sailor in the Pacific Campaign.

Honolulu Memorial - American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC)

The Honolulu Memorial is located within the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, also known by many as the Punchbowl, in Hawaii. The names of nearly 29,000 service members are […]

www.abmc.gov

 

[DimeBrite]

Joseph Rochefort and his team of codebreakers won the Battle of Midway. They broke enough of the JN25 Japanese naval code to convince US Naval command that Midway would be attacked in force with a concurrent feint to the Aleutian Islands. Hero!

 

[albula]

They are called the greatest generation for a good reason. My Dad landed on Normandy as the commander of an artillery company. He lost a number of his men there while waiting 5 days for their artillery weapons to arrive. He also was sent to the campaign in Northern Africa. He never once mentioned an utterance about his experiences during the war and we learned about them from Mom. We asked him if he would like to go to France for the 50 year commemoration of the landing in Normandy and he said that the only thing he would like to see was the foxhole he dug and lived in for 5 days but he knew he would never find it.

 

[Mike Cline]

My father served in the US Navy from 1937-45. He enlisted in the reserves in Long Beach, CA when he was 18. He soon transferred to active duty and landed a fortuitous assignment. He became a gunner’s mate on the USS Mount Vernon. He served aboard her from the time it was converted from a passenger liner—the SS Washington until the end of the war. He mustered out as a Chief Petty Officer in charge of an entire forward anti-aircraft division on the ship. The talk of war museums above reminded me of the stories he’d tell us kids about the exotic places the ship visited during the war. (See the list of cruises in the WP article linked above). I was fortunate to visit one of those places-Darwin, NWT, AU several years ago. The Darwin War Museum is a remarkable tribute to the hardships the Japanese caused the Aussies in Darwin. Fortunately the USS Mount Vernon never saw combat action and I don’t think my father ever fired a shot in anger but he did get to sail around the world three times during his time in the service.

My Father - Top Center