Actually, there were three survivors from Torpedo 8. In the months before the battle, the squadron began converting from the Devastator to the new Avenger. Part of the unit was sent to train on the Avenger while Waldron and tbe rest of Torpedo 8 shipped out on the USS Hornet, still flying the Devastator.
There were hopes the Avenger detachment would catch up with their squadron mates at Pearl Harbor, but the Hornet sailed one day before the new aircraft and their crews arrived. The decision was made to fly them to Midway and operate them from the island’s air strip. The Avenger element actually launched the first attack on the Japanese fleet, with losses that mirrored what Waldron would experience a short time later. Five of the six Avengers were lost and only two crew members survived. I believe that one of them, w(Ret) Cmdr Harry Ferried, is still living. He was a 17-year-old radio operator when he flew into combat and earned a commission after the war. His pilot, Lt Ernest, also survived and went on to command NAS Oceana before retiring. He died in 2009.
Wow! I knew about the avengers at midway getting decimated but one aircraft.I didn’t know they were part of the same squadron.I learned something new about the battle of midway.Never too old to learn.Thanks.