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A great sea battle and a great American Naval victory. My Dad’s Commander was the sole survivor of the attacking torpedo bombers.
He was determined. He once told his pilots that "if we run out of gas, we'll p*ss in the tanks."
Waldron traded the lives of 29 of his 30 men, including his own, for an American victory in the Pacific. Yes, the Japanese fighters slaughtered the low & slow torpedo bombers - but they were pulled down from their normal "at-altitude" Combat Air Patrol (CAP) positions, burning up precious ammunition and fuel, just in time for the American dive bombers to show up for the party, at 20,000 feet. Too bad, so sad, Japanese fleet.
The FReeper Foxhole Remembers John Waldron and The Battle of Midway (6/4/1942) - June 4th, 2003
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-vetscor/922901/posts
The Great Generation. The Japs (using language of the 40’s) never knew what was coming.
Midway was the turning point of the war in the Pacific. It took a combination of our reading the Japanese codes, the valor and sacrifice of many young naval aviators and some incredible good luck. Navy dive bombers were lucky to catch the Japanese planes on their carrier deck being refueled and rearmed. Two Japanese carriers were quickly turned to flaming hulks and sunk. A third Japanese carrier was sunk later.