It's the 60th Anniversary of the Battle of Midway

It's hard to believe for us old goats, but it was it was 60 years ago that the Battle of Midway took place. It's probably worth setting the stage for America's reaction to that great battle, for I'm not sure anyone born after World War II can fully understand the gut feeling that Americans had at that time. The war was not going all that well in Europe, and there was a new war-word in our vocabulary, a Nazi war-word blitzkrieg. At the same time in the South Pacific the Japanese were literally steaming across the face of the earth. Not only had our fleet been severely damaged at Pearl Harbor, but now Singapore and Hong Kong, which were key British fortress seaports for the Allies, had fallen. We were solidified and determined as a nation, but there was real concern. We now knew we would not win this war in a few months, and we knew there would be casualties. America needed a lift. And then came Midway.

At the Battle of Midway the United States Navy caught the Japanese fleet exactly the way they wanted them. It is a long and fascinating story, how we had cracked the Japanese code and how some high-risk decisions had been made by the Navy, When our Navy pilots found the enemy carriers, the Japanese planes were in the air, away from the area. And enough American planes got through the blanket of anti-aircraft fire to sink the most ominous of Nippon's big aircraft carriers. Not only was it a strategic turning point in World War II, but it also told all America we could win this war. We needed that, and Midway gave it to us.

Interestingly, one of Hall County's new citizens - Joe Auman is his name and he lives out at Lanier Village - flew at the Battle of Midway, and in a later battle was credited with diving through all the flak to drop a bomb that sank another Japanese aircraft carrier. The Battle of Midway took place 60 years ago ... but it's one of those historic days that's well worth remembering.

This is Gordon Sawyer, from a window on historic Green Street.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2002/7/191893