American Heroes: Torpedo Squadron 8 (Battle of Midway,67 Years Ago Today)

Fox News ^ | 05/29/09 | Steven Tierney

[TonyInOhio]

The heroes of VT-8 knew the trouble they faced, yet they did their duty and gave their "last full measure of devotion". Their audacious attack drew the Japanese air cover away, allowing American dive bombers to fall on and destroy the best carriers and pilots in the Japanese fleet.

May God rest their souls.

[mavfin]

Let’s not forget VT-5 and VT-6 who also were decimated that day. (VT-8 from the Hornet, VT-6 from the Enterprise, and VT-5 from the Yorktown.) A few more came home from VT-5 and 6, but still most were sacrificed.

[SaxxonWoods]

Thanks for posting.

[rmlew]

VT-8 was just one of 4 squadrons, if you include the majority which were based on Midway itself. There were a total of 99 Torpedo Bombers and rigged two-engine bombers making torpedo runs. Only 7 made it home.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2264250/posts?page=33#33

[tophat9000]

Look on YouTube for the private John Ford tribune film for the VT8 family that was finally posted for the public

For those not in the know John Ford was doing a documentary film for the Navy and had film most of the VT8 squadron on Hornet just before the battle

[TonyInOhio]

Director John Ford was on the Hornet at Midway. He made a touching memorial film for the families of VT-8, entitled, appropriately, "Torpedo Squadron 8."

The Internet Archive has a copy, here. It runs about eight minutes, and it's a fascinating piece of contemporary history.

[TonyInOhio]

Look on YouTube for the private John Ford tribune film for the VT8 family that was finally posted for the public

Great minds think alike! I was posting a link to the film as you typed your reply. :)

[neodad]

ping

[neodad]

Midway is a fascinating study in how the fog of war, screw ups, mistakes, heroism, bad decisions, miracles, etc. can all mix together to change the course of the war in the 15 minutes it took for the dive bombers to cripple 3 carriers.

[mavfin]

True. They made a perfect coordinated attack...almost completely by dumb luck. The Zeroes were all down deimating the torpedo bombers, when the dive bombers finally found the carriers and rolled in on them. Definitely fifteen minutes that changed history.

[TonyInOhio]

[JRandomFreeper]

God bless the men that fly and fight.

/johnny

[Inyo-Mono]

My late Father, was in the Battle of Midway.

[eyedigress]

Great photograph.

[GRANGER]

The sacrifice of our torpedo squadrons were the key to victory. The Jap fighters were focused on destorying them and consequently failed to counter the dive bomber squadrons that sank four Jap carriers. Read “A Dawn Like Thunder” by Robert J Mrazek for the best account. God bless these men.

[tophat9000]

VT-8 was just one of 4 squadrons, if you include the majority which were based on Midway itself. There were a total of 99 Torpedo Bombers and rigged two-engine bombers making torpedo runs. Only 7 made it home.

Also technically VT-8 was not completely loss that day

There was a (four?) aircraft detachment of VT-8 training up on the new TBF and had not jointed up with the Hornet yet but was rushed to Midway and launched from Midway on a separate mission..

All but one TBF was lost but one shot-up TBF made it back to Midway... so much for the older TBD's being the issue... any America aircraft flying the slow and low torpedo run profile that day got total hell.

[Bender2]

Re: Director John Ford was on the Hornet at Midway.

Sorry, you are wrong.

John Ford was on the island of Midway, not the USS Hornet during the battle. He grabbed his 16mm film camera and used it to shoot most of his Academy Award winning 1941 semi-documentary The Battle of Midway That same year he also did the Torpedo Squadron documentary.

BTW from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ford : "Ford was present on Omaha Beach on D-Day. As head of the photographic unit for the Office of Strategic Services, he crossed the English Channel on the USS Plunkett (DD-431), anchored off Omaha Beach at 0600. He observed the first wave land on the beach from the ship, landing on the beach himself later with a team of US Coast Guard cameramen who filmed the battle from behind the beach obstacles, with Ford directing operations. The film was edited in London, but very little was released to the public. Ford explained in a 1964 interview that the US Government was "afraid to show so many American casualties on the screen", adding that all of the D-Day film "still exists in color in storage in Anacostia near Washington, D.C."

[TonyInOhio]

The doomed Hiyru, a few hours before she sank.

[TonyInOhio]

Sorry, you are wrong.

And not for the first time, I might add. :)

Thanks for the correction.

[an amused spectator]

Commander John C. Waldron:

"If we run out of gas, we'll p*ss in the tanks!"

(After much reflection on this quote, I think Waldron may have been referring to the inordinately high alcohol content of many Navy pilots' "emissions".)