[Retain Mike]

For us Navt veterans, Midway is probably as memorable as D-Day is for the Army.

[NFHale]

“...The dry-dock, repair shops, and tank farm were intact. The carriers, their escorts, and the submarines stood ready to take the offensive...”

And right there you see, even through the Havoc that Japanese naval air assets DID create, the mistake that they made.

There’s an amazing book that was published some years ago - “Descent into Darkness” - that details the salavage divers and their efforts to refloat and repair the battleships. Oklahoma was pulled right-side up by those same facilities that were not destroyed.

Worth the read if you can find it.

Also, breaking their codes and being able to read the Japs’ mail helped big time.

[2banana]

We really should have tried to understand the Japanese and offer them jobs...

[al_c]

My dad was just an infant at the time, so I was still many years from being born. But for some reason, the Pacific war … especially this battle … has always garnered my attention.

Thanks for posting this detailed article.

[broken_clock]

Yes, thanks to you for posting your well written essay.

[Dilbert56]

Just for fun, I posted this on FR many years ago and it has made the rounds: If Today's Media Reported the Battle of Midway.

[bus man]

Thank you for posting this, especially on this day. I never get tired of reading about Midway.

I know that hindsight is 20/20, but it always amazes me how poorly thought-out the Japanese plan of attack was. Imagine if they had sent their second-string carriers (Junyo, Ryujo, Zuiho, and Hosho) against Midway Island, while keeping their primary fleet carriers (Akagi, Kaga, Soryu, Hiryu, and if they had delayed another month, Shokaku and Zuikaku) a little bit apart, tasked solely with dealing with the American carriers, whenever they showed themselves. If they had done this, I honestly can't think of how they could have lost this battle.

And while it wasn't particularly funny for us at the time, it seems almost comical to me how we kept on bombing the battleship Haruna, yet could never hit the little sucker.

I noticed that Shattered Sword was not listed among your references. If you haven't already read it, I highly recommend it. Next to Incredible Victory, it is without a doubt the best Midway book I've ever read.

[Stevenc131]

Edwin T. Layton’s biography ‘And I Was There’ is a must read for background info on Pearl Harbor and Midway. In addition to intelligence information, Layton lays out the Naval bureaucratic infighting that got Joe Rochefort transferred to a dry dock command on the West Coast after his brilliant work predicting the Japanese attack on Midway (the worst sin is being right in the eyes of bureaucrats). Layton’s book shook things up to the extent that Rochefort finally got the official recognition he deserved, albeit in the 1980s.

[onedoug]

Victor Davis Hanson, “Carnage and Culture: Landmark Battles in the Rise to Western Power”

Has a very good chapter on the Battle of Midway.

[Rummyfan]

Midway turned the war in the Pacific. After this decisive battle, it was island-hopping and a terrible terrible grind to August 1945. But the strength of the Japanese Imperial Navy was broken and they never recovered. Hats off to the brave men who fought this battle, especially to the many who did not return.

[Liberty Valance]

bttt

[Jacquerie]

The United States should celebrate Midway as England celebrates Trafalgar.