America's WWII Pacific Theather Comeback: The Battle of Midway

What's up?

It's me, Don Toliver. If I could describe the open hair, but I would describe it just very seamless. It's like you clip it onto your ear and then sometimes you can forget it's there, but it's not going anywhere because it's like clipped.

It's kind of crazy. If I could bring my music with me wherever I go, it would just make life easier and seamless without interruption. To be able to have the music on hand like that without any interruptions would be great.

Check out Bose.com for more. Holiday magic is in the air and DSW has got all the shoes to make your season extra merry. Believe you've got parties to attend and lists to check twice.

So DSW is taking care of the details like gifts to make their eyes all aglow. Styles that bring joy to your world. Brands everyone wants like UGG, Nike, Birkenstock and more. And deals to make your budget bright.

Find the perfect shoes for you and yours at a DSW store near you or DSW.com. Ryan Reynolds here from mid mobile with the price of just about everything going up during inflation. We thought we'd bring our prices down.

So to help us, we brought in a reverse auctioneer, which is apparently a thing. Mid mobile unlimited premium wireless. How did it get 30? 30? 30?

30? 20? 20? 20?

20? 15? 15? 15? 15? Just 15 bucks a month? Sold!

Give it a try at midmobile.com slash switch. $45 up from payment equivalent to $15 per month. New customers on first three month plan only. Taxes and fees extra.

Speeds lower above 40 gigabytes in detail. This episode is brought to you by Navy Federal Credit Union. With the new cash rewards plus card, you can keep things pretty simple. Like unlimited 2% cash back on every purchase. No spend categories. And now when you spend 2K, you get $200 and a Walmart Plus annual membership.

The new cash rewards plus card. Learn more at navyfederal.org. Navy Federal Credit Union. Their members are the mission.

Navy Federal is insured by NCUA. Music This is Lee Habib and this is our American stories and we love to tell stories about everything. And one of our favorite subjects, American history. Up next, a story about one of the most important battles of the 20th century. On December 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor was attacked by Japanese forces and our Pacific fleet, it was nearly wiped out. We entered World War II down and out and looking for a major victory. That victory would come at Midway, a small island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

Here's writer Anne Claire to tell the story of this major battle. Music The tiny 2.4 square mile Midway Atoll was annexed by the U.S. in 1867. The descriptively, if not really imaginatively, named eastern and sand islands in the atoll weren't inhabited.

And they weren't useful for resources, but their allure lay in their strategic location. The atoll was about halfway between Asia and the U.S., or I suppose you could say Midway between them, and pretty close to Hawaii. And in 1940, work began on getting that area set up with air and submarine facilities. Music Now the famous Battle of Midway was actually not the first time in World War II that the atoll came under fire. On December 7, 1941, shortly after attacking Pearl Harbor, Japanese forces also attacked Midway.

The engagement was fairly short, but there was still loss of life. One notable case was Lieutenant George H. Cannon, who became the first U.S. Marine to earn a Medal of Honor in World War II. Now six months later, in May of 1942, the Japanese goals toward Midway were more ambitious. Now, Admiral Yamamoto of the Japanese Navy had his eyes set on the destruction of Midway's defenses and the occupation of the atoll by Japanese forces.

He set the date for the attack, June 4, with Midway hopefully flattened and occupied by the seven. Music Now there were of course lots of facets to the plan, but part of it at least revolved around the American commander, Admiral Nimitz, kind of falling for a little misdirection. Because the Japanese forces were going to split up. Yamamoto sent a smaller force to attack Alaska's Aleutian Islands just before the main attack on Midway. If the American forces were drawn up to Alaska, that would open up the southern Pacific areas around Midway and around Hawaii for Yamamoto's forces to come in and do what they wanted to.

Music Thankfully though, American cryptanalysts had broken the Japanese naval codes. They had an idea that Midway was the main target and so Admiral Nimitz planned a surprise of his own. Music Now, even knowing that Midway was the goal, the Americans were at a disadvantage because the Japanese had four aircraft carriers to bring to Midway.

The U.S. had two operational ones in the Pacific, the Hornet and the Enterprise. The Yorktown was still there, but it was at Pearl and it had been pretty damaged at the Coral Sea. The shipyard workers at Pearl had said that it was going to take three months to really get the Yorktown up and ready to go out and fight again. To which Admiral Nimitz responded he was going to need it in three days instead. And pretty amazingly, as can be said for a lot of the work done by shipyard workers and other supporting people during the wartime, they made it happen.

They got the Yorktown sailing in time. Music Now the commanders in charge, Rear Admiral Frank Fletcher aboard the Yorktown, to whom Nimitz gave overall tactical command, and Rear Admiral Raymond Spruance aboard the Enterprise, both moved their ships into position to quietly await the anticipated attack. And hopefully Admiral Yamamoto wouldn't see them coming, wouldn't know they were there. Now, of course, one of the tricks with naval battles at this time was finding the other force because the ocean's a pretty big place. So the planes would have to go out, you know, hopefully with good weather and hopefully just get a look at where exactly the enemy were coming from.

And they could end up just missing each other completely. So flights from Midway made daily searches, scanning the seas for the Japanese fleet. Now at 545 on June 4th, a patrol plane called in. Enemy planes had been spotted. Shortly thereafter, PBY spotted the main body of Japanese ships, including some carriers. Music So, first of all, Midway Atolls defending planes took off.

They weren't going to be caught grounded like American forces in the Philippines and other places had been. The Japanese planes met them. Records show that the American planes were pretty well swarmed, each pilot trying to shake from one to five Japanese fighters apiece. And it was a pretty intense fight for the American planes because the Japanese Zeros had the double advantage of being more maneuverable and also having more seasoned pilots. One of Midway's groups of pilots had only had a week of training in their planes before the attack. Now, of the 27 American planes that were defending the Atoll, by the end of the battle at this stage, 15 of them were missing, 7 were severely damaged. And by 630 AM, the first bombs were already falling on Midway itself with the result of all of the above ground structures being destroyed or damaged.

They had done their best. The Japanese forces weren't checked. And most of Midway's fighters were gone. Three of the Japanese carriers were still either undamaged or at least not damaged enough to actually hamper them. So, that was the first stage of the battle, but there was a lot more to come. Now, though, the planes from the Enterprise, the Hornet, and the Yorktown, still waiting quietly out of sight, had to come in and have their say. And you're listening to writer Anne Claire tell the story of the Battle of Midway. And imagine starting out a mission with 27 planes, and by the end of it, 15 are missing and 7 are damaged.

Those are some really tragic odds. When we come back, more with Anne Claire on the Battle of Midway, here on Our American Stories. Folks, if you love the stories we tell about this great country, and especially the stories of America's rich past, know that all of our stories about American history, from war to innovation, culture, and faith, are brought to us by the great folks at Hillsdale College. A place where students study all the things that are beautiful in life, and all the things that are good in life. And if you can't get to Hillsdale, Hillsdale will come to you with their free and terrific online courses. Go to hillsdale.edu to learn more.

Hi, this is Lee Habib here. Do you wake up every morning dreading that first step out of bed because of foot pain? I know I used to. Living with plantar fasciitis felt like a constant battle. Then I tried Power Step, the number one podiatrist recommended in soles clinically proven to relieve pain. I was skeptical at first, but from the moment I put them in my shoes and sneakers, I felt the difference. Support and comfort exactly where I needed it and when I needed it, especially those really long walks I take each day with my wife. My foot pain vanished and even my back and knee pain was eased. Now I can go through my day pain free. Go to powerstep.com slash OAS and use code OAS for 15% off your first order.

That's powerstep.com slash OAS and use code OAS for 15% off your first order. Welcome to the world of Bose Ultra Open Earbuds, the perfect gift for the music lover in your life. They're designed to give you complete openness to your surroundings while providing rich, private sound. Want to hear what that sounds like? Picture this, a walk on a sunny winter day. You can hear the satisfying crunch of snow beneath your feet and your favorite holiday song playing.

That's the magic we're talking about. Hear life and music at the same time. Bose Ultra Open Earbuds.

Own the gift game and check out Bose dot com slash iHeart to shop now. I don't know if you know this, but when you don't have time to read The Washington Post, you can listen to it. Almost every article has a listening option. And right now you can become a Washington Post subscriber for just 50 cents a week. It's an incredible deal. Stay on top of what's happening by signing up at Washington Post dot com slash pod.

That's Washington Post dot com slash p o d. Attention, parents and grandparents. Are you searching for the perfect gift for your kids this holiday season? Give the gift of adventure that will last all year long. A Guardian Bike, the easiest, safest and quickest bikes for kids to learn on. Kids are learning to ride in just one day, no training wheels needed. What sets Guardian Bikes apart?

Designed especially for stability. They're low to the ground with a wide wheelbase and ultra lightweight frames offering superior control and balance. This design gives young riders the ability to learn in just one day without tears or frustration. Guardian Bikes are the only kids bikes designed and assembled in a USA factory, ensuring top notch quality and durability. They were also featured on Shark Tank and are the New York Times wire cutter top kids bike pic for 2024. Join the hundreds of thousands of happy families by getting a Guardian Bike today. Their holiday sales have begun offering the biggest deal of the year. Save up to 33 percent on bikes.

No code needed. Plus, get free shipping and a free bike lock and pump with your first purchase after signing up for their newsletter. Visit GuardianBikes.com to take advantage of these deals and secure your holiday gifts today.

Happy riding! Deciding on what to listen to is hard. Using Zumo to stream music from iHeart90's radio is easy.

Or play iHeart Country or Hip Hop Beats. Your choice, all for free. Stream easy with Zumo Play. Get live and on demand entertainment with no logins, no signups, no accounts, no hassle. This November, get cozy and stay in for movie night with Air Force One starring Harrison Ford and Glenn Close.

And The Art of War starring Wesley Snipes. All streaming free on Zumo Play. Go to Play.Zumo.com now. Life is hard.

Zumo is easy. And we return to our American stories and the story of the Battle of Midway. When we last left off, the first stage of the Battle of Midway had resulted in what appeared to be a Japanese victory. But the tide was about to change in a major way.

Here again is Anne Claire to tell this story. Now after the initial attack on the Midway Atoll, Japanese Admiral Nogumo, who was kind of running operations there at the battle, must have thought things were going quite well. The goal had been to engage Midway quickly and stealthily enough that the American Navy wouldn't be able to intervene in time. And as far as his patrols had told him after these first hits on the Atoll, he had succeeded.

More importantly, they hadn't spotted any American aircraft carriers and they weren't really expecting to. Now when his pilots radioed in that another strike at Midway itself was necessary after that initial assault, he began making preparations. To do this, the planes and the hangars needed to be re-armed though with bombs rather than torpedoes.

Now this was a little bit of a process. According to one of my sources, it would likely take maybe 40 minutes. It would take a little while to get all the planes re-armed. But again, since there hadn't been any enemy aircraft carriers sighted, that wasn't a big deal necessarily. But as they were re-arming the planes, word came in. At least one American aircraft carrier had been spotted after all.

Now, Nogumo faced a difficult choice. He needed to shift his attention to this carrier. However, his planes returning from Midway needed to refuel and re-arm. And there were still those in the hangar that were being ready for another assault on the ground. So, he made his choice.

And this was a choice that would greatly impact the outcome of the battle and of history as well. He decided that they would wait the return of the Midway attack unit and then carry out an air attack. So it was all a matter of timing. Could the Japanese get their planes in the air in time to attack the US ships?

Or would his four carriers be caught with their flight decks full? Now meanwhile, as they're trying to figure all this out, the US task forces were waiting quietly. Word came that the Japanese carriers had been sighted.

And so, they prepared to enter the fray. In spite of there being a pretty uncooperative wind, the Enterprise and Hornet launched their scout bombers, torpedo planes and fighters. The Yorktown's planes were temporarily held in reserve. Unfortunately, the American pilots didn't know their targets had moved. Now the Enterprise and Hornet did not break radio silence to inform their pilots of this. So the Hornet's fighters and bombers turned south and they missed the Japanese carriers completely, exhausting their fuel and a lot of them having to land in the sea. However, the torpedo squadron from the Hornet had become separated from the main group.

They turned north and they discovered the enemy carriers. This torpedo squadron was supposed to be supported by other planes, but they didn't have them and they went in to attack anyway. One by one, the torpedo planes fell.

Of 15, none made it. None made it back to their ship. Now less than an hour behind the Hornet's torpedo squadron came the Enterprise's torpedo planes. These planes came in, again, without fighter protection, but also, they attacked anyway.

And it's unlikely that most of them even had a chance to drop their torpedoes and try and make a hit. Now unlike the previous attackers, the Yorktown's pilots did have some fighter protection at first. However, they were quickly engaged by enemy aircraft and yet another torpedo squadron began its approach pretty well alone.

There were a lot of heavy losses in these different groups, but there was some success. Of the three carriers under torpedo attack, all had been at least hit. And also, the valiant efforts of these torpedo planes had two results that had a really huge impact on the battle. First, the Japanese carriers were kept busy maneuvering and they weren't able to launch their own bombers. And secondly, the Japanese fighters were flying low, focusing on the torpedo attacks. Which meant they were unprepared for the approach of high-flying U.S. dive bombers.

They met very little opposition until after they dropped their bombs and had scored at least 11 direct hits. Simultaneously, the Yorktown's dive bombers attacked the carrier to the east. Scoring at least five direct hits, they wreaked havoc on the carrier's flight deck. As the surviving U.S. planes returned to their respective carriers, the Guomo's powerful fleet was left with three carriers hit and in flames. But the planes that returned to the Yorktown didn't have a whole lot of time to celebrate.

They were quickly warned to take off again and head over to the Enterprise. Because word came that Japanese forces were headed to attack the Yorktown. So, in spite of anti-aircraft fire and defending fighters, Japanese planes managed to land three 250 kilogram bombs on the Yorktown before being shot down. The explosions on the aircraft carrier started fires and extinguished all but one of the Yorktown's boilers. Now, the carrier's crew set to work and soon actually got the carrier limping along again and able to start refueling her surviving fighters.

Then, word came from one of the accompanying ships, the Pensacola, which had been monitoring radar that more Japanese planes were approaching. Now, the Yorktown launched her planes and the ships that screened her set up a heavy curtain of anti-aircraft fire to protect the wounded carrier. Only two Japanese torpedoes hit home, but they were enough.

Attempts to restore power failed and everything went dark below the decks. Fearing that the Yorktown would just capsize completely, orders were given to abandon ship. Lieutenant Joseph Pollard, who was a flight surgeon, shared memories in writing of abandoning the Yorktown, describing how hard it was to even stand on the slick deck, searching for life preservers, trying to find a way to get the wounded safely off of the ship. Now, ships stood by to rescue the survivors as, meanwhile, American planes had located the source of these attacks, that fourth Japanese aircraft carrier, the Hiryu. After six direct hits, that carrier was also in flames, which left U.S. pilots in control of the air.

The final stages of the Battle of Midway took the next couple of days. During it all, the Yorktown did remain afloat but crippled. Salvage crews even returned to the carrier, hoping to repair her enough to get her back home. And, in the process, finding and saving some wounded who'd been overlooked in the evacuation. Until about 1.35pm, when four torpedo wakes were sighted to the Yorktown store board's side. The impact was tremendous, but she still didn't sink right away.

But, at 3.30, someone noticed that the Yorktown's list was increasing again, and at 5.01, she disappeared into the sea. So, in spite of the loss of the Yorktown, and the many men who paid the ultimate sacrifice, the Battle of Midway wound up unquestionably being an American victory. Japan's loss of four aircraft carriers and over a hundred irreplaceable, trained pilots really derailed their plans for expansion in the Pacific, and was a major turning point in the war.

Which is probably one reason why Hollywood's made a few movies about it. And a special thanks to Anne Claire for setting on record what happened in the middle of the Pacific in the most important battle in our history. And to disarm and eliminate from competition four aircraft carriers is a big deal. And if you've ever seen an aircraft carrier, or been on one, you know you don't make them in a day or a week. And how important they are in navy battles, and how important it is to protect those carriers. And what they are, and what they mean, the significance of taking them out, well it was indeed the turning point in the war in the Pacific.

The story of Midway, the story of the greatest battle of the 20th century when it came to naval battles, here on Our American Stories. I have a way to make your morning more efficient. You can get caught up on the news in about seven minutes. That is my promise to you as the host of the seven podcast from the Washington Post. And in that time, I will run down seven stories, everything from the most important headlines to fascinating new information you might miss otherwise. My name's Hannah Jewell. Go follow the seven right now, wherever you're listening, and we will get you caught up. What's up?

It's me, Don Toliver. If I could describe the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds, I think I would describe it as very seamless. It can definitely be something that you can style. It's like earing chanting. Check out Bose.com for more. Deciding on what to listen to is hard. Using Zumo to stream music from iHeart90's radio is easy.

Or play iHeart Country or Hip Hop Beats. Your choice, all for free. Stream easy with Zumo Play. Get live and on-demand entertainment with no logins, no signups, no accounts, no hassle.

This November, get cozy and stay in for movie night with Air Force One starring Harrison Ford and Glenn Close and The Art of War starring Wesley Snipes. All streaming free on Zumo Play. Go to play.zumo.com now. Life is hard.

Zumo is easy. Hate has been winning for too long. It's at an all-time high. And too many people are facing too much hate all over this country. To turn the tide, we have to stand together. As a united team, we can change the momentum. It's time to take a time-out against hate. Visit StandUpToAllHate.org to help.

Join us in calling for a hashtag Time Out Against Hate by following at What's Up With Hate or posting the blue square emoji. The all-electric Chevy Equinox EV combines everything you need when you're ready to go EV. Starting at $34,995, the 2025 Equinox EVLT gives you an impressive balance of all-electric range, safety features for peace of mind and effortless technology, including the 17.7-inch diagonal display screen, all at a price you'll love. The Chevy Equinox EV is the fun-to-drive, all-electric SUV that gives you what you need to do exactly what you want. The manufacturer's suggested retail price excludes tax, title, license, dealer fees and optional equipment. To learn more, visit Chevy.com slash Equinox EV.