IJN HIRYU. Note the cavernous hole left in the forward
flight deck by U.S. bombers from ENTERPRISE and YORKTOWN.
By Special Service Ensign Oniwa Kiyoshi - U.S. Navy photo NH 73065, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2009298
Copyright © 2019
by Ralph F. Couey
Written content only
On June 4, 1942 naval and air forces of the United States and Imperial Japan met in what has been called one of the most crucial and history-altering battles in history. The fight took place northeast of a small atoll of two islands called Midway. Japan intended to invade and occupy Midway to provide a staging area for continual bombing attacks on military installations in Hawai'i and possibly an eventual invasion and occupation of O'ahu itself. The U.S. Navy, still reeling from the losses suffered at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, made a desperate stand based on seemingly thin intelligence gleaned from intercepts and decryptions of Japanese communications.
In the six months since Pearl Harbor, the Japanese carrier force, known as Kido Butai (mobile force) had enjoyed an unchallenged mastery of the seas. Admiral Chuichi Nagumo had taken his powerful fleet from Hawai'i to Sri Lanka in the Indian Ocean without losing a single ship. The U.S. Navy, on the other hand, was vastly outnumbered in every ship and aircraft type. After the loss of Lexington and the critical damage to Yorktown during the Coral Sea battle, there were only two battle-worthy carriers in the Pacific. Fortunately, two of Nagumo's carriers were sent back to Japan. Shokaku was heavily damaged at Coral Sea, and Zuikaku's air group suffered severe losses and needed replenishment of planes and pilots.
To make a long story short, Admiral Chester Nimitz took an informed gamble and placed his remaining ships northeast of Midway, where they were able to ambush the Japanese fleet. Admiral Nagumo made several bad decisions during the battle which created tremendous opportunities for the U.S. Navy. By the end of the battle, Japan had lost four carriers and a goodly number of aircraft and, more importantly, skilled and experienced pilots. The victory stopped Japan's eastward expansion, and in August, the American invasion of Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands began a westward offensive that ended in Tokyo Bay in September of 1945.
The Battle of Midway was first cinematized in 1976 starring Charleton Heston and Henry Fonda. It followed the iconic 1970 film Tora! Tora! Tora! which fully unwrapped the attack on Pearl Harbor. Both movies relied heavily on combat footage shot during the war, and shooting locations aboard U.S. Navy ships. While Tora was amazingly accurate, Midway was a little schmaltzy thanks to the invention of Heston's character and personal drama which had very little to do with the battle itself. Nevertheless, it was a noble effort for its day and time, and proved to be the last "big" World War II movie until "Saving Private Ryan."
This month, a new Midway movie debuted in theaters. It is an independent film, since none of the major studios wanted anything to do with such an expensive item. Reading reviews prior to seeing the movie myself, I was expecting to be underwhelmed. Not so.
One of the entertaining things about movies these days is seeing the maturation of CGI. While there isn't anything as jaw-dropping as seeing a young Carrie Fisher in the Star Wars epic Rogue One, the special effects folks did an amazing job. It still gives that "real, but not real" kind of vibe, but there are several moments during battle sequences ring truer than any fuzzy World War II footage could ever produce. The characters in the movie are true to history, and are portrayed in a way appropriate to that time and place. Some of the criticism levied involves the dialogue, but people in June 1942 are never going to talk in the same way as 21st century Manhattan.
Due to time and money limits, there are some parts missing from the historical narrative. Most notably, none of the fighter squadrons are mentioned in this movie, and no mention is made of the abominable communications problems that prevented the fighters from being around to protect the torpedo bombers as they were mercilessly cut from the skies. Still, considering that this film covers huge events ranging from 1937 through Pearl Harbor and Coral Sea as well as the eponymous battle, enough time is spent on those events for the viewer to understand the context of Midway and its important place in history.
Context is so very important in any consideration of history. So many things change, politically, culturally, technologically, so one must evaluate historical events from the standpoint of their placement on the timeline of history. In 1941, radio news was in its infancy, so Americans relied on published sources, newspapers and magazines, to supply the news people needed and desired. Today, the news cycle is continuous, and we consider it normal for major events to be reported live, as they happen. Very little escapes the eye of a camera whether the expensive equipment used by networks or someone's cellphone. It's easy to take today's access for granted and hard to realize and appreciate the limitations of the past. Also, during World War II, a lot of breaking news was censored out of concern for giving aid and comfort to the enemy, and eroding support for the war, and the government at home. The blood and violence of Vietnam was a constant companion on the evening news during that conflict. But it wasn't until the invasion of Tarawa in 1943 that Americans at home were allowed to view pictures of American war dead. Even today, those images are shockingly graphic, dead U.S. Marines lying on a beach, their bodies clearly infested by maggots.
It was a different time and culture in 1941. People still trusted the government, and having survived the agony of the Great Depression and accompanying Dust Bowl, their eyes were far more focused inward. Waking up in the morning and not knowing how you were going to feed your family that day will do that to a person. The prevailing national opinion trended towards isolationism. There was little enthusiasm for getting involved in yet another European war. American attitudes toward Japan were highly colored (to coin a phrase) by racism. The typical image of a Japanese soldier was of a short, skinny guy with huge buck teeth and horrible vision. It was understood that if Japan dared attack, our Navy would sweep them aside like dust from a floor. What we didn't know and our government and military failed to appreciate was that Japan was a warrior culture going back hundreds of years. Armed with the kind of propaganda only a despotic government could produce, they were ready not only to fight, but to die gloriously for the Emperor. This attitude was manifested in the suicidal Kamikaze attacks beginning in 1944, and in the runup to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the statement by the Japanese government: "The 100 million people of Japan prefer death to the ignominy of surrender."
Historically, this has been one of our more serious blind spots. Although we are really good at combat, America is not by nature a warrior culture. Our practice has been to leave civilian life, go to war, and when the war is won, return to civilian life while the government makes friends with our former enemies. For that reason, we failed to anticipate Pearl Harbor, failed to anticipate the invasion of South Korea by the north, the passion, commitment, and skill of the Viet Cong, and the actions of Al Qa'ida. We have never been able to appreciate pure evil, and what groups and nations so infected are capable of doing.
Pearl Harbor shocked American senses. We had been attacked without warning, thousands of miles from Japan. It is interesting to consider that had the Japanese only attacked the Philippines and Malaysia if our response would have been so strong and united. Isolationist attitudes vanished, and Americans of all stripes volunteered in massive numbers. At home, our people endured restrictions on movement and rationing of basic essentials. They bought over $180 billion in War Bonds (2.3 trillion in today's money). They happily engaged in all manner of activities, like scrap drives and Victory Gardens in support of the war effort. The entire country was focused one thing: Victory.
The Tet Offensive in Vietnam, an American victory so overwhelming that the North Vietnamese government was in active discussion on how best to end the war, was not seen as such domestically. In an op-ed piece done by Walter Cronkite, the veteran and highly trusted newsman opined that despite the tremendous victory, that the battle proved that it was time for America to cut and run. The North Vietnamese government heart that, and shifted their plans accordingly. In World War II, The German Army launched a desperate attack in 1944 which they called the Ardennes Offensive, and we know more familiarly as The Battle of the Bulge. The Germans came frightfully close to rupturing the American and British front, but were defeated and pushed back by airpower, the stubborn resolve of the 101st Airborne, and a heroic drive into the flanks of the bulge by Patton's Third Army. Those two events, Tet and The Bulge, are remarkable similar. The biggest difference? In the wake of a bloody, but successful battle in 1944, Cronkite was not around to surrender the United States.
A few weeks ago, a meme appeared on Face Book. It said that in 1944, 18-year-old Americans attacked across a hostile beach, raked by automatic gunfire. Today, 18-year-olds require counseling if someone disagrees with them. We are a different people today, and while we have a lot of brave men and women in uniform, I can't help but think that if we had to go to war with the rest of the current crop of young adults, I think we'd lose.
When the movie ended today, I stood up, but found myself unable to leave the theater. I realized that I had unconsciously come to attention. In my own way, I was rendering honors to those magnificent youngsters, who would become known as The Greatest Generation. Yanked suddenly from a life of peace, they were thrust into the worst kind of combat, and yet performed magnificently. America exists today because they served, they fought, they died, and those who returned made this country into something that would honor that sacrifice.
Ken Burns is well-known as the best documentarian in history. Well-deserved, that. His program on World War II, called "The War," had as it's theme a song sung by Norah Jones, called "An American Anthem." When considering the heroism and valor of those who fought in World War II, and those who fought for Civil Rights a generation later, the lyrics are especially poignant and meaningful, especially...
What shall be our legacy?
What will our children say?
Let them say of me I was one who believed
What will our children say?
Let them say of me I was one who believed
In sharing the blessings I received
Let me know in my heart when my days are through
America, America,
I gave my best to you.
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