re: The most decisive victory in American military history took place 84 years ago today…

Hal Holbrook was great in that movie.

You're all wrong. The most decisive victory in American military history is the Battle of Schrute Farms.

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Nimitz did not act stupidly on this day.

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I love the reference but the man who was in tactical command for much of the battle was Raymond Spruance -- probably the most humble flag officer in the history of the U.S. military. It was he and not Halsey who should have been given a fifth star due to Midway and his victory two years later in the Philippine Sea. Halsey got the headlines but he botched Leyte Gulf in '44, turning what should have been an overwhelming strategic victory into "only" a decisive tactical victory. And then he sailed his fleet into not one but two violent typhoons.

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Never forget Torpedo 8!

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Brave men for sure. One thing that’s bothered me for years is how their airplane, the TBD Devastator gets a bit of a bad rap. Yes, it was slow. But that’s not because it was obsolete; rather it was because torpedo bombers had to be slow. Plane dropped torpedoes of that time had to be dropped very low and at slow speed to have any chance of hitting their target. Torpedo bombers had to come in at 100’ or less and no more than 110 MPH. Anything more than 100’ off the deck or more than 110 MPH, and the torpedo would have zero chance of making a successful run on the target. Basically, this meant any torpedo bomber was a sitting duck when attacking an enemy fleet with its CAP (combat air patrol) in the air.

And on top of all that, sadly for the Americans, the Mk.13 torpedo being used by USN was quite worthless. It failed to detonate the majority of the time. So not only were the men of Torpedo 8 on a virtual suicide mission, they went into it with very little chance of actually inflicting any real damage to the IJN, even if their torpedoes found their mark.

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time. So not only were the men of Torpedo 8 on a virtual suicide mission, they went into it with very little chance of actually inflicting any real damage to the IJN, even if their torpedoes found their mark.

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Sadly, yes, but it wasn’t in vain. The sacrifice of VT-8 and VT-6 as well as other squadrons prevented the Japanese from using their flight decks to launch aircraft against TF-16 and TF-17 which was already on the way.

The Japanese combat air patrol (CAP) was playing defense all that morning taking off, attacking squadrons of US planes, landing, refueling, rearming, and taking off again so the Japanese never had a chance to prepare for their offensive attack.

My dad was there, on USS Enterprise CV6.

Yes, I own all three. I want to do a reread, but gosh they’re huge books.

No, I’m not familiar with “Six Frigates”

Next up on my reading list is a reread of With the Old Breed and then Hirohito’s war by Francis Pike. Carlin references that book a ton in his podcast series “Supernova in the East” so I want to give that one a try.

Surviving Dive Bomber from Midway at Pensacola Air Museum.



The Last Survivor
Among the aircraft that took part in this battle was SBD Dauntless Bureau Number 21106. Flown by a Marine Corps crew from Midway Island on June 4, 1942, it engaged in combat and returned with its fuselage marked by bullet holes from the encounter. This aircraft is the only known Dauntless still preserved today that flew in the battle itself.

After Midway, 21106 remained in service for a time before being reassigned as a training aircraft. Because submarine threats made coastal waters unsafe, Navy pilots trained instead on carriers stationed in Lake Michigan. It was during one of these training missions in 1943 that the Dauntless crashed into the lake, where it remained for six decades.


Nice Video Inside