Monument to the Battle of Midway

At Midway on June 4, 1942, one of the most decisive naval battles in military history was fought, a day presented as one when the American spirit reached unparalleled heights and in so doing saved democracy for the western world. The American forces included the United States Pacific Fleet and Pacific Ocean Areas under Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, with Task Force 17 under Rear Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher and Task Force 16 under Rear Admiral Raymond A. Spruance, including the carriers Yorktown, Enterprise, and Hornet with their fighter, bombing, scouting, and torpedo squadrons, along with cruisers, destroyers, and an oiler group. Also engaged were Midway Island aircraft, including Marine Fighting Group 22, VMSB-241, a detachment of VII Army Air Corps squadrons with B-26 Marauder and B-17 Flying Fortress bombers, naval shore based aircraft including a VT-8 detachment and PBY Catalina flying boat squadrons, Midway local defenses of Marine and patrol units, a Midway submarine force, and support forces including codebreakers at Pearl Harbor, seaplane tenders, Yorktown salvage units, a Midway relief fueling unit, and Pearl Harbor Navy Yard. Walter Lord later wrote that they had no right to win, yet they did, changing the course of a war and adding Midway to a small list of names that inspire by example.

Naval Academy, Maryland · United States