I relocated to the Crystal City Hilton for my early Saturday morning flight after a conference in Quantico. I wear RED because of an experience I had boarding a Delta 737 to travel back to Hawaii from Washington DC. RED Friday serves as a reminder to Remember Everyone Deployed. Marine spouses in North Carolina had band together to bring awareness to the fact that their Marines were deployed. I have been wearing RED on Friday's since 2010 when I was a "civilian Marine" working on MARFORPAC/FMFPAC staff. My father's USNA class (42) graduated 12/19/41 with 564 Naval Officers 75 of them were at the Battle of Midway.Īfter the intelligence analysts of "Station Hypo" (Pearl Harbor) confirmed the of objective of the Combined Japanese Naval Task Force - 1st Fleet, 2nd Fleet, 5th Fleet, and 11th Air Fleet all available US Naval Forces were repaired & vectored for engagement IVO Midway Island 1,300 mi to the northwest of Oahu. USS New Orleans was a cruiser escort for Enterprise after successfully providing Anti-Aircraft fire - with an augmented crew from other ships incapable of activating their AA batteries, on Sunday December 7th, 1941 and providing AA fire support to Yorktown at Coral Sea. Yorktown's aircraft and crews were transferred to the Midway AOR by Hornet and Enterprise departing PH on May 28th. Admiral Chester Nimitz informed the shipyard that Yorktown must depart Oahu within 3 days of entering the Dry Dock. Halsey immediately ordered this force to move north of the Santa Cruz Islands to intercept the IJN fleet and keep them from supporting the invasion force.80 Years ago - The Battle of Midway - My Dad's second WW II Battle star.Īfter the Battle of Coral Sea his ship picked up sailors and marines from the carrier Lexington and transferred them to Noumea New Caledonia, before joining Yorktown during her 3900 mile transit back to Dry Dock 1 in Pearl Harbor. The US now had two aircraft carriers, one battleship, six cruisers, and fourteen destroyers in their strike team – the odds were only 2 to 1 against them, which was not bad by 1942 standards. On October 24, Enterprise (CV-6) and South Dakota (BB- 57) arrived from Pearl Harbor along with their escorts, in effect doubling the firepower of the US Navy in the area. Unfortunately for them, VADM “Bull” Halsey had just been given command of the US South Pacific Force. On October 11, a massive naval force left Truk to provide cover for the invasion forces with four aircraft carriers, four battleships, ten cruisers, and 30 destroyers.
Their tactical goals were to gain control of Henderson airfield on Guadalcanal, eliminate the 10,000 American troops on the island and destroy all allied warships in the Solomons area. There had been many smaller naval clashes in the Solomon Islands area but in late October, the Japanese decided to launch a major offensive. US military planners were determined to keep the supply lines open with Australia while the Japanese were just as determined to cut them. The stakes became improbably high for this remote island and it became a national test of willpower.
WHEN DID THE YORKTOWN SORTY FROM PEARL HARBOR CODE
Navy had broken a key Japanese naval code (JN-25) and was aware of his invasion plans.ĭuring September and October, both the Japanese and the American forces on and around Guadalcanal had escalated the fighting in an almost piecemeal fashion, with reinforcements pouring in on both sides. Achieving complete surprise over the Americans was his key prerequisite for success.
Due to battle damage following the Battle of Coral Sea, his Carrier Strike Force consisted of only four fleet aircraft carriers guarded by just a handful of cruisers and destroyers. His invasion plan was complex and included a second operation against the Aleutian Islands near Alaska, dividing his naval forces.
Fleet Admiral Yamamoto was tasked with creating a plan to invade and hold the island. Sinking America’s aircraft carriers and seizing Midway Island, the only strategic island besides Hawaii in the eastern Pacific, was seen as the best means of eliminating this threat. The raid, while militarily insignificant, showed the existence of a gap in the defenses around the Japanese home islands. aircraft bombed Tokyo and other major cities. Japanese political leadership and senior military commanders were stung by the Doolittle Raid of April, 1942 when sixteen U.S.