[DieHard the Hunter]

Excellent read — thanks for posting this thread, mate!

[magslinger]

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[Savage Beast]

For a beautifully written and unforgettable description of the meaning of the Battle of the Coral Sea, see Tales of the South Pacific by James Michener, Chapter 2, "Coral Sea."

Excerpts:

"A frightful Japanese broadcast has steeled us for the worst. It came though two nights before I left. A Japanese professor was describing New Zealand and how it would be developed by the Japanese...

Maoris, as true members of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, will be allowed special priveleges. White men will be used on the farms. He said that the lush fields, the wealth, the cities were in their grasp at last. The day of reckoning with insolent New Zealanders was at hand. Immortal Japanese troops would know what to do."

"The old men--well, your wife's father and mine, for example. They are stationed at the beaches. They know they dare not retreat. They have taken their positions now."

"The home guard is next. They have been digging in furiously. They occupy prepared positions near the cities and the best beaches. The regular army will be thrown in as the fighting develops. Everyone has decided to fight until the end. The cities and villages will be destroyed."

"Many families have gone to the hills. Cars are waiting to take the others at the first sign of the Jap fleet. My wife and the kiddies have gone. Your wife...said to tell you that she will stay until the last."

"It was my humble duty to assist in preparing the defenses of Auckland. I issued several thousand picks, crowbars, and axes. There were no other weapons."

[RU88]

Thanks for the post. I served on the U.S.S. Coral Sea (CV-43), home ported in Alameda, California from 1980 to 1983.

[shorty_harris]

I remember visiting Perth when I was in the Navy. A local veterans organization invited us over, and we were treated like royalty. The old WWII vets couldn’t thank us enough for our support during the war (like I had anything to do with it!). They were a great group of guys, and I thank them, and their whole country for their hospitality.

[jazusamo]

Good post, thanks!

[JDoutrider]

I'm the proud son of a Man who first escaped Davy Jones locker when the USS Lexington was sunk at the Battle of Coral Sea, only to be again be serving on USS Yorktown when she went down!

[Vinnie]

I had a cousin, Navy pilot, that went down in a torpedo bomber there.