The Waterline May 17, 2012
Vol. XXIX No.20
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NEWS AND INFORMATION FOR THE NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION
‘The Most Stunning Blow in Naval History’
The Impact of the Battle of Midway Benjamin Christensen, NDW Waterline writer It's a question that is not easily answered, but what truly was the impact of the Battle of Midway? If one were to look at the sheer statistics, there's an obvious answer: the U.S. Navy lost one carrier and a destroyer to the Imperial Japanese Navy's (IJN) four carriers and heavy cruiser. However, its clear that Midway represented something so much more than just the sunken ships. In response to a question about what he would like people to remember about U.S. veterans who fought in the Battle of Midway retired Marine Corps Maj. Albert Grasselli paused and offered a succinct answer. “We won,” he said. The Battle of Midway is being commemorated this year for its 70th anniversary. The battle, which took place from June 4-8 1942, was a turning point in the Pacific War and arguably set the stage for the United States to help win the Second World War. A ceremony will be taking place at the Navy Memorial located in downtown Washington on June 4. The battle is noted as being the first decisive victory by the U.S. in the war with Japan. The IJN had already made broad strokes in the
Pacific, beginning with the attack on Pearl Harbor, the invasion of the Philippines, Malaya and Singapore, the Battle of Wake Island and recently a tactical victory at Coral Sea. What had changed at Midway? The Americans had scored a huge victory on the intelligence front by the cracking of JN-25, the Japanese navy's cryptography used for highimportance messages such as ship movements and commands. Adm. Chester Nimitz and his staff had taken a large gamble and won. The IJN no longer was seen as the invulnerable force it once was. As mentioned before, first and foremost there was the loss of four aircraft carriers: the Akagi, Kaga, Hiryu, and the Soryu. As the IJN had begun the Pacific war with 10 carriers, it was the largest and most developed carrier fleet in the world, and historians believe that they had the men and the aircraft to back them up. Following Midway, there was only the Shokaku and Zuikaku left available for offensive operations. However, with the loss of these carriers at Midway, the Japanese found themselves short of fleet carriers, and almost as important: trained aircrews. The loss of life at Midway was substantial: there were thousands of deaths, but they were overwhelmingly Japanese service members
See midway, Page 5
U.S. Navy photo courtesy National Archives and Records Administration
U.S. Navy Douglas SBD-3 "Dauntless" dive bombers from scouting squadron VS8 from the aircraft carrier USS Hornet (CV 8) approaching the burning Japanese heavy cruiser Mikuma to make the third set of attacks on her, during the Battle of Midway, June 6 1942. Mikuma had been hit earlier by strikes from Hornet and USS Enterprise (CV 6), leaving her dead in the water and fatally damaged.
As temps move up, keep Summer Safe Benjamin Christensen, NDW Waterline writer As we move into the summer months, there are many things that come about to enjoy: a day at the beach, a barbeque, even mowing the lawn. But with these previously forgotten activities of the summer comes new responsibility for all hands to remain safe. With the newfound warmth comes new dangers which require everyone's attention in order for the Navy to maintain operational readiness and efficiency: after all, a chain is only as strong as it weakest link. Jim Peake, the safety installation program director for Naval Support ActivityWashington has a series of helpful hints for Sailors to pay attention to.
"During the summer months, when we feel jolly and sometimes us older people want to feel young again, you're going out and doing things that you haven't done in six, seven, eight months and you might not use your basic safety practices," said Peake. Peake emphasizes the importance of safety, especially when it comes to children, during the summer months and beyond. One of the most important venues to maintain safety awareness in is around water: pools, beaches and beyond. Especially when it comes to water safety, a fun day at the pool can turn into a tragedy in the blink of an eye. "Always watch your kids [around the pool]" said Peake. "It only takes a matter of seconds for something to happen." When it comes to pool safety, there
Museum Kicks off Ocean Educational Program
are a number of important things to keep in mind: always swim with a buddy, no horseplay, be careful while diving, and maintain proper rescue equipment at all times. In the same vein is boating safety, where the one should be sure to maintain that rescue gear and properly-fitted life jackets, and an alert and of course, sober, operator. At the beach, it is important for all children to be properly supervised at all times, and never swim without a lifeguard present. One often ignored piece of advice is one concerning riptides: always swim parallel to the shore in order to escape a rip current, and then swim back in. Fighting a riptide will only tire one out and could prove to be danger-
More than one hundred-thirty students from two Prince William County schools recently visited the Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC) to complete their final exam for the Mission Ocean program. Mission Ocean is a year-long physical science curriculum for upper elementary and middle school students supported by the Chief of Naval Operations and funded by the Submarine Engineering and Design Command of the U.S. Navy. Developed in 1997 by the Center for Science and Technology Education at Purdue University Calumet, the program helps elementary school teachers deliver mathematics, science and technology lessons through collaborative teaching methods based on a deep-sea submarine research and rescue simulation.
See summer, Page 6
See Museum, Page 2
MC2 Gina Morrissette and MC1 Amy Kirk, NHHC Public Affairs
Inside Link directly to the NDW Facebook page on your smart phone
Around the Yard, Page 2
Book Review, Page 6