PREFACE
1 Cressman, Robert J. “Dauntless in War: Douglas SBD-2 BuNo 2106.” Naval Aviation News, Vol. 96, Issue 5 (Jul/Aug. 1994), 24.
2 Tillman, Barrett. The Dauntless Dive-bomber of World War II. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1976. Sixth printing, 1989, 4–6.
3 Ibid., 8–12.
CHAPTER 1: “WE WOULD HAVE ONE HELLUVA CELEBRATION”
1 Tillman, Barrett. The Dauntless Dive-bomber of World War II. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1976. Sixth printing, 1989, 1–6.
2 Ibid., 10.
3 Ibid., 10–11.
4 Ibid., 11–12.
5 Ibid., i.
6 Tillman, Barrett. Enterprise: America’s Fightingest Ship and the Men Who Helped Win World War II. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2012, 25.
7 Lundstrom, John B. The First Team: Pacific Naval Air Combat from Pearl Harbor to Midway. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1984, 5.
8 Leaming, Scouting Squadron Six, 15.
9 Stafford, The Big E, 7–8.
10 Donald Hoff oral history, 1–4.
11 Donald Hoff interview from “Vengeance at Midway,” Battle 360 video, Episode 2.
12 Stuart J. Mason oral history, 1.
13 Cressman, Robert J. and Michael Wenger. Steady Nerves and Stout Hearts: The Enterprise (CV6) Air Group and Pearl Harbor, 7 December 1941. Missoula, Montana: Pictorial Histories Publishing Company, 1989, 16.
14 Murray, Cdr. James F., USN (Ret.). Bombing Squadron Six in Action: A Radio-Gunner Looks Back. Unpublished memoirs, 1986, Naval Library, III–20.
15 Hoff oral history, 7–8.
16 Leaming, Scouting Squadron Six, 23–24.
17 Ibid., 20.
18 Cressman and Wenger, Steady Nerves and Stout Hearts, 15.
19 Ibid., 15.
20 Ibid., 11; Edward L. Anderson to Mark Horan, 28 April 1987.
21 Cressman and Wenger, Steady Nerves and Stout Hearts, 15.
22 Leaming, Scouting Squadron Six, 24.
23 Cressman and Wenger, Steady Nerves and Stout Hearts, 18.
24 Lord, Walter. Day of Infamy. New York: Bantam Books, 1957. Twenty-third printing, 1978, 23, 32, 47, 121. Other general sources for this section are: Jonathan Parshall and Anthony Tully, Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway, Washington, D.C.: Potomac Books, 2007, 6–13, 22–24; and Stan Cohen, East Wind Rain, Missoula, MT: Pictorial Histories Publishing Company, 1981, 12–14.
CHAPTER 2: “OUR WORLD WAS SHATTERED”
Primary sources for this chapter were the Enterprise Air Group action reports for December 7, 1941, including individual pilot statements.
1 Cressman and Wenger, Steady Nerves and Stout Hearts, 27.
2 Ibid., 27.
3 Ibid., 29.
4 Dickinson, Clarence E. The Flying Guns: Cockpit Record of a Naval Pilot from Pearl Harbor Through Midway. Washington: Zenger Publishing Co., Inc., 1942. Reprint, 1980, 3; Cressman and Wenger, Steady Nerves and Stout Hearts, 17–18.
5 Dickinson, The Flying Guns, 1.
6 Ibid., 9.
7 Cressman and Wenger, Steady Nerves and Stout Hearts, 18.
8 Ibid., 31; War Diary of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, 10 December 1941.
9 Dickinson, The Flying Guns, 11–12.
10 Cressman and Wenger, Steady Nerves and Stout Hearts, 31.
11 Ibid., 14.
12 Ibid.
13 Ibid., 14–16.
14 Dickinson, The Flying Guns, 17–21; Lord, Day of Infamy, 147–48.
15 Cressman and Wenger, Steady Nerves and Stout Hearts, 16, 30.
16 Roberts, Rear Adm. Wilbur E., USNR (Ret.). “Air Raid on Pearl Harbor X: This Is No Drill.” Unpublished memoir of 7 December 1941, courtesy of Mark Horan.
17 Cressman and Wenger, Steady Nerves and Stout Hearts, 22, 35.
18 Roberts, “Air Raid on Pearl Harbor,” 4–5.
19 Cressman and Wenger, Steady Nerves and Stout Hearts, 37.
20 Ibid., 38.
21 Roberts, “Air Raid on Pearl Harbor,” 6–8.
22 Ibid., 23.
23 Bresnahan, “Interview with Earl Gallaher.”
24 Leaming, Scouting Squadron Six, 30.
25 Richard Halsey Best oral history transcription, 1–7.
26 Ibid, 7–12.
27 Armstrong, Robert Bryan. “Armstrong, Robert Gordon. 1904–1980.” Privately published biography of Captain Armstrong written by his nephew, August 2007, 1.
28 Richard Best oral history transcription, 14–15.
29 McPherson, Lt. I. H. “I Fly for the Navy,” Salt Lake Tribune, December 7, 1942, A-5, 6.
30 Lane, Marica. “Veteran Recounts Service on USS Enterprise.” St. Augustine Times, April 24, 2006. Accessed http://staugustine.com/stories/042406/news_3789710.shtml on 27 December 2011.
31 Ibid.
32 Bresnahan, “Interview with Earl Gallaher”; Tillman, Enterprise, 36.
33 Bresnahan, “Interview with Earl Gallaher.”
34 Ibid.
35 Cressman and Wenger, Steady Nerves and Stout Hearts, 23.
36 Cleo J. Dobson diary, 7 Dec. 1941 to 12 Jan. 1942.
37 Allen J. Brost narrative. Accessed http://www.veteraneyes.com/pages/allen_brost.php?section=island on 4 April 2011.
38 Tony Schneider to Daniel Rush 1999 correspondence. Accessed http://www.cv6org/company/accounts/jdoherty/jdoherty–2.htm on 8 January 2011.
39 Richard Best oral history, 16; Cdr. James W. McCauley, Navy Department Interview of 23 June 1945, rough transcript, 4.
40 Richard Best oral history, 16.
41 Cressman and Wenger, Steady Nerves and Stout Hearts, 46.
42 Ibid., 46.
43 Dickinson, The Flying Guns, 41.
44 Ibid., 44.
45 Cressman and Wenger, Steady Nerves and Stout Hearts, 47.
46 Leaming, Scouting Squadron Six, 37.
47 Bresnahan, “Interview with Earl Gallaher.”
48 Cressman and Wenger, Steady Nerves and Stout Hearts, 49.
49 Kleiss, VS-6 Log of the War, 26.
50 Richard Best oral history, 17.
51 Ibid., 19–20.
52 Ibid., 19.
53 Ibid., 20.
54 Kleiss, VS-6 Log of the War, 26; McPherson, “I Fly for the Navy,” December 7, 1942, A-5, 6.
55 Richard Best oral history, 21; Cressman and Wenger, Steady Nerves and Stout Hearts, 53; McCauley interview, rough transcript, 5.
56 Leaming, Scouting Squadron Six, 38.
57 Cressman and Wenger, Steady Nerves and Stout Hearts, 59–60; Lane, “Veteran Recounts Service on USS Enterprise.”
CHAPTER 3: THE STUFF
1 Orr, Timothy, Ph.D., and Laura Orr. “Jack ‘Dusty’ Kleiss and the Battle of Midway.” The Daybook (Hampton Roads Naval Museum), 2012 Vol. 15, Issue 4, 8.
2 Orr, “Jack ‘Dusty’ Kleiss and the Battle of Midway,” 8–9.
3 Ibid., 9.
4 Norman J. Kleiss oral history, 2.
5 Orr, “Jack ‘Dusty’ Kleiss and the Battle of Midway,” 9.
6 Schneider oral history; Captain Schneider interview with Paridon, National World War II Museum.
7 Gallaher, W. Earl, “I Remember Pearl Harbor,” 28–29, Walter Lord Papers.
8 Leslie, Maxwell F., to Thaddeus V. Tuleja, 21 July 1958, 8, Walter Lord Papers.
9 Weymouth interview with Paridon, National World War II Museum.
10 Captain Schneider interview with Paridon, National World War II Museum; Schneider to Rush, 1999.
CHAPTER 4: “I WAS REALLY UPSET”
1 Bresnahan, “Interview with Earl Gallaher.”
2 Ibid.
3 Richard Best oral history, 21.
4 Ibid., 22.
5 Cohen, Stan. East Wind Rain. A Pictorial History of the Pearl Harbor Attack. Missoula, MT: Pictorial Histories Publishing Company, 1994, 62–63.
6 Richard Best oral history, 22.
7 Ibid., 22.
8 Kleiss, VS-6 Log of the War, 27; Kleiss, Capt. Jack “Dusty,” USN (Ret.). “History from the Cockpit: Reflections of a World War II U.S. Navy Dive-bomber Pilot.” The Daybook (Hampton Roads Naval Museum), 2012 Vol. 15, Issue 4, 12.
9 Hoff oral history, 13.
10 Anderson, Edward Rutledge. “War Diary of Edward Rutledge Anderson, RM3/c U.S.N.R., Bombing Squadron Six, USS Enterprise,” 3–4.
11 “Edward Rutledge Anderson: The Anderson Family Book of Memories,” privately published in 2013 by his daughters, Janice Anderson-Gram and Gretchen Wilkinson, 4–5.
12 Ibid., 6.
13 McCauley interview, smooth transcript, 3.
14 Brost narrative.
15 McCauley interview, smooth transcript, 4.
16 Hoff oral history, 14.
17 Dickinson, The Flying Guns, 56.
18 Ibid., 58–61.
19 Cressman and Wenger, Steady Nerves and Stout Hearts, 64.
20 Blair, Clay, Jr., Silent Victory, 92.
21 Dobson diary, 7 Dec. 1941 to 12 Jan. 1942; Kleiss, VS-6 Log of the War, 29.
22 Dobson diary, 6 February 1942.
23 Kleiss, VS-6 Log of the War, 29.
24 Murray, Bombing Squadron Six in Action: A Radio-Gunner Looks Back, I-4.
25 McPherson, “I Fly for the Navy,” 9 December 1942, A-11.
26 Richard Best oral history, 38.
CHAPTER 5: “WE LOST AS MUCH AS WE GAINED”
Primary sources for this chapter were the Enterprise Air Group action report and additional flight leader reports by Lt. Cdr. W. R. Hollingsworth and Lt. R. H. Best.
1 Richard Best oral history, 24; Dobson diary, 7 Dec. 1941 to 12 Jan. 1942.
2 Murray, Bombing Squadron Six in Action, I-4.
3 Ibid.
4 Dobson diary, 12–15 January 1942.
5 Murray, Bombing Squadron Six in Action, I-5.
6 Dobson diary, 12–15 January 1942.
7 Schneider oral history.
8 Dobson diary, 17 January 1942.
9 Ibid., 18 January 1942.
10 Ibid., 26 January 1942.
11 Richard Best oral history, 25.
12 Bresnahan, “Interview with Earl Gallaher.”
13 Dobson diary, 26 January 1942.
14 Kleiss, VS-6 Log of the War, 45.
15 Dickinson, The Flying Guns, 71–72.
16 Murray, Bombing Squadron Six in Action, I-6.
17 Dobson diary, 14 January, 25 January 1942.
18 Richard Best oral history, 25.
19 Dickinson, The Flying Guns, 74.
20 Lundstrom, The First Team, 66.
21 Dickinson, The Flying Guns, 76.
22 Richard Best oral history, 26.
23 Dickinson, The Flying Guns, 84.
24 Lundstrom, The First Team, 70; Stafford, The Big E, 40.
25 Leaming, Scouting Squadron Six, 51.
26 Tillman, Enterprise, 49.
27 Bresnahan, “Interview with Earl Gallaher.”
28 Leaming, Scouting Squadron Six, 52.
29 Kleiss, VS-6 Log of the War, 32.
30 Dickinson, The Flying Guns, 87.
31 Tillman, Enterprise, 50.
32 Leaming, Scouting Squadron Six, 52.
33 Kleiss, VS-6 Log of the War, 32.
34 Dickinson, The Flying Guns, 89.
35 Dobson diary, 1 February 1942.
36 Murray, Bombing Squadron Six in Action, I-7.
37 Ibid., I-7.
38 Richard Best oral history, 26.
39 Mason, Stuart James, Jr. Oral history interview of 9 August 2000 with William J. Shinneman.
40 Richard Best oral history, 26–27.
41 Schneider oral history.
42 Murray, Bombing Squadron Six in Action, I-7.
43 Kleiss, VS-6 Log of the War, 38; McEniry, Col. John Howard, Jr. A Marine Dive-Bomber Pilot at Guadalcanal, Tuscaloosa: The University of Alabama Press, 1987, 21.
44 Dickinson, The Flying Guns, 93.
45 Dobson diary, 1 February 1942.
46 Bresnahan, “Interview with Earl Gallaher.”
47 Hackett, Bob, Sander Kingsepp, and Peter Cundall. “IJN Submarine Tender Yasakuni Maru: Tabular Record of Movement,” 1998–2010. Accessed at http://www.combinedfleet.com/Yasukuni%20Maru_t.htm on 20 July 2011.
48 McPherson, Lt. I. H. “I Fly for the Navy,” December 13, 1942, A-23; Tillman, Enterprise, 49.
49 Murray, Bombing Squadron Six in Action, I-8.
50 Dickinson, The Flying Guns, 99–100.
51 Murray, Bombing Squadron Six in Action, I-8.
52 Schneider oral history.
53 Schneider to Rush correspondence.
54 Schneider oral history.
55 Murray, Bombing Squadron Six in Action, I-9.
56 Leaming, Scouting Squadron Six, 53.
57 Murray, Bombing Squadron Six in Action, I-9.
58 Richard Best oral history, 27.
59 Ibid.
60 Lundstrom, The First Team, 62, 72.
61 Richard Best oral history, 27.
62 McPherson, Lt. I. H. “I Fly for the Navy,” December 13, 1942, A-23.
63 Kleiss, VS-6 Log of the War, 38.
64 McPherson, “I Fly for the Navy,” December 13, 1942, A-23.
65 Ibid.
66 McCauley interview, smooth transcript, 5; Brost narrative.
67 McPherson, “I Fly for the Navy,” December 13, 1942, A-23.
68 Ibid.
69 “John Doherty and Bombing Six.” Accessed http://www.cv6.org/company/accounts/jdoherty/ on 8 January 2011.
70 Ibid.
71 Kleiss, VS-6 Log of the War, 38.
72 Richard Best oral history, 27–28.
73 Ibid., 28.
74 Ibid., 28–30.
75 McPherson, “I Fly for the Navy,” December 13, 1942, A-23.
76 “John Doherty and Bombing Six.” Accessed http://www.cv6.org/company/accounts/jdoherty/ on 8 January 2011; Schneider to Rush correspondence.
77 Brost narrative.
78 Graetz, Ronald, “Memories from Navy Days,” 9.
79 Dobson diary, 1 February 1942.
80 Kleiss, VS-6 Log of the War, 126.
81 Anderson, “War Diary,” 7–8.
82 Ibid., 10, 13–16.
83 Stafford, The Big E, 45.
84 Lundstrom, The First Team, 74.
85 Stafford, The Big E, 46.
86 Dickinson, The Flying Guns, 103–5.
87 Richard Best oral history, 29.
88 Leaming, Scouting Squadron Six, 54.
89 Orr, “Jack ‘Dusty’ Kleiss and the Battle of Midway,” 10.
90 Richard Best oral history, 29.
CHAPTER 6: ISLAND RAIDERS
The primary sources for this chapter were Scouting Six and Bombing Six action reports of 23 February 1942 (VS-6, Wake Island), 24 February 1942 (VB-6, Wake Island), 25 February 1942 (VS-6, Wake Island); “Report of Attack on Marcus Island,” 5 March 1942 (VS-6); and “Attack on Marcus Island, 4 March 1942,” (VB-6).
1 Dobson diary, 3 February 1942.
2 Murray, Bombing Squadron Six in Action, I-15; Anderson, “War Diary,” 16.
3 McPherson, “I Fly for the Navy,” December 13, 1942, A-23.
4 Dobson diary, 6 February 1942; Anderson, “War Diary,” 17; Leaming, Scouting Squadron Six, 55.
5 Cressman, “Blaze of Glory,” 24.
6 Dobson diary, 8 February 1942.
7 Murray, Bombing Squadron Six in Action, I-16; Anderson, “War Diary,” 18.
8 Stafford, The Big E, 51.
9 Kleiss, VS-6 Log of the War, 56.
10 Dobson diary, 19 February 1942.
11 Leaming, Scouting Squadron Six, 57.
12 Dickinson, The Flying Guns, 114.
13 Bresnahan, “Interview with Earl Gallaher.”
14 Leaming, Scouting Squadron Six, 55. Some books list Teaff as losing his left eye, but fellow pilot Cleo Dobson clearly wrote in his diary of Teaff learning to reuse his good left eye. Dobson also wrote, “It is his right eye that is gone.” Dobson diary, 27 February 1942.
15 Bresnahan, “Interview with Earl Gallaher.”
16 McPherson, “I Fly for the Navy,” December 20, 1942, A-19.
17 Murray, Bombing Squadron Six in Action, I-18.
18 Dickinson, The Flying Guns, 116.
19 McCaul, “Dive-bomber at Midway,” 43–44.
20 Stafford, The Big E, 54; McCauley interview, smooth transcript, 6.
21 Lundstrom, The First Team, 115.
22 Kleiss, VS-6 Log of the War, 60–61.
23 Dickinson, The Flying Guns, 119–20; Leaming, Scouting Squadron Six, 58.
24 Cressman, Robert. A Magnificent Fight: Marines in the Battle for Wake Island. United States Government Printing, 1993, 253–54.
25 Dobson diary, 24 February 1942.
26 Stafford, The Big E, 55.
27 Kleiss, VS-6 Log of the War, 65; Dobson diary, 25 February 1942.
28 Mason oral history, 3.
29 Ibid., 3.
30 Ibid.
31 Kleiss, VS-6 Log of the War, 65.
32 Murray, Bombing Squadron Six in Action, I-19.
33 Lundstrom, The First Team, 117; Ostlund, Mike. Find ’Em, Chase ’Em, Sink ’Em: The Mysterious Loss of the WWII Submarine USS Gudgeon. Guilford, CT: The Lyons Press, 2006, 52.
34 Kleiss, VS-6 Log of the War, 65; Dobson diary, 2 March 1942.
35 Murray, Bombing Squadron Six in Action, I-21.
36 Orr, “Jack ‘Dusty’ Kleiss and the Battle of Midway,” 11.
37 Leaming, Scouting Squadron Six, 59–60.
38 Ibid., 60.
39 Ibid.
40 Kleiss, VS-6 Log of the War, 65.
41 Dickinson, The Flying Guns, 124.
42 Murray, Bombing Squadron Six in Action, I-21.
43 Stafford, The Big E, 55; Lundstrom, The First Team, 118–19.
44 Dobson diary, 4 March 1942.
45 Ibid.
46 Kleiss, VS-6 Log of the War, 65.
47 McCaul, “Dive-bomber at Midway,” 44–45.
48 Leaming, Scouting Squadron Six, 61; Bresnahan, “Interview with Earl Gallaher”; Dickinson, The Flying Guns, 126; Lt. C. E. Dickinson, Jr., 10 July 1942 Bureau of Aeronautics interview, 4.
49 Dickinson, The Flying Guns, 127–28.
50 Leaming, Scouting Squadron Six, 62.
51 Ibid., 62–63.
52 Ibid., 63.
53 Richard Best oral history, 30–31; Dickinson, The Flying Guns, 129.
54 Leaming, Scouting Squadron Six, i.
55 Ibid., 64; Murray, Bombing Squadron Six in Action, I-23.
56 Leaming, Scouting Squadron Six, i, 66.
57 Ibid., 67.
58 Ibid., 67–68.
59 Ibid., 68–69.
60 Ibid., 69.
61 Lundstrom, The First Team, 121; McCauley interview, rough transcript, 14.
62 Dobson diary, 5 March 1942.
63 Dickinson, The Flying Guns, 133.
64 Lundstrom, The First Team, 121.
CHAPTER 7: ARRIVAL OF THE “NEW BOYS”
1 Leaming, Scouting Squadron Six, 69–74.
2 Ibid., 74–75.
3 Ibid., 76.
4 Ibid., 77–80.
5 Ibid., 81.
6 Cressman, That Gallant Ship, 68–69.
7 Richard Best oral history, 31.
8 Anderson, “War Diary,” 24–25.
9 McPherson, “I Fly for the Navy,” December 13, 1942, A-23.
10 Tillman, The Dauntless Dive-bomber of World War II, 58.
11 Bridgers, John D., M.D. “On the Traveling Squad E-Base, Doolittle & Midway, 1941–1942.” Privately published “Memoirs and Personal Remembrances.” Accessed http://tk-jk.net/Bridgers/NavyYears/OnThe TravelingSquad.html on 5 February 2011.
12 Ambrose, The Pacific, 30; Bridgers, “On the Traveling Squad E-Base, Doolittle & Midway, 1941–1942.”
13 Bridgers, “On the Traveling Squad E-Base, Doolittle & Midway, 1941–1942.”
14 Anderson, “War Diary,” 25–26.
15 Murray, Bombing Squadron Six in Action, I-26.
16 Gee, “Remembering Midway” 2003 article.
17 Russell, No Right to Win, 128–29.
18 Rodenburg, Dennis. Eldor E. Rodenburg, Lieutenant Commander, U.S.N.R. World War II Dive-bomber Pilot and Landing Signal Officer. Privately published, 1.
19 Ibid, 2–3.
20 Mears, Carrier Combat, 19–20.
21 Ibid., 24.
22 Ibid., 26.
23 Ibid., 29–30.
24 Lundstrom, The First Team, 145.
25 Bridgers, “On the Traveling Squad E-Base, Doolittle & Midway, 1941–1942.”
26 Tillman, Barrett. “Where Are They Now? Bob Elder.” The Hook, Fall 1989, 12.
27 Ibid.
28 Ibid.
29 Murray, Bombing Squadron Six in Action, I-27.
30 Rear Admiral Lewis Hopkins oral history, interview of 15 January 2004, for Nimitz Museum.
31 Richard Best oral history, 32; Murray, Bombing Squadron Six in Action, I-27.
32 Murray, Bombing Squadron Six in Action, I-27.
33 Anderson, “War Diary,” 28.
34 Lundstrom, The First Team, 149.
35 Ibid., 150.
36 Anderson, “War Diary,” 29; Murray, Bombing Squadron Six in Action, I-28.
37 Benjamin Tappan interview with Weisheit, 1; Bridgers, “On the Traveling Squad E-Base, Doolittle & Midway, 1941–1942.”
38 Lundstrom, The First Team, 150; War Diary of Bombing Squadron Three, 18 April 1942.
39 Schneider oral history.
40 Murray, Bombing Squadron Six in Action, I-28.
41 Ibid., I-28; Richard Best oral history, 33–34.
42 Anderson, “War Diary,” 30–31.
43 McCaul, “Dive-bomber at Midway,” 44–45.
44 “Nips Boasted Japan Bomb-proof Just as Tokyo Raid Was Begun.” Charleston Gazette, April 24, 1943, 2.
45 Bridgers, “On the Traveling Squad E-Base, Doolittle & Midway, 1941–1942.”
46 Anderson, “War Diary,” 32.
47 Dickinson, The Flying Guns, 134.
48 Rodenburg, Eldor E. Rodenburg, 5; Ambrose, The Pacific, 30.
49 Ambrose, The Pacific, 7–9, 19–21.
50 Lundstrom and Sawruk, “Courage and Devotion to Duty,” 32.
51 Patterson to Lord, “Short History of William R. Pittman’s Experiences Through the Midway Battle,” 1, Walter Lord Incredible Victory research collection, Naval Historical Center.
52 Kleiss, VS-6 Log of the War, 72.
53 Cressman, “Blaze of Glory,” 27.
54 Ambrose, The Pacific, 31–32.
55 Rodenburg, Eldor E. Rodenburg, 5; Ambrose, The Pacific, 35.
56 Enterprise War Diary, 30 April 1942.
57 Lundstrom, The First Team, 287–88.
CHAPTER 8: “SOMETHING BIG WAS IN THE WORKS”
1 Dobson diary, 2 May–4 May 1942.
2 The key sources for the Japanese planning of the Midway operation are: Parshall and Tully, Shattered Sword, 47–69; Belote and Belote, Titans of the Seas, 80–83; and Symonds, The Battle of Midway, 90–105.
3 Dobson diary, 11 May 1942.
4 Enterprise War Diary, 13 May 1942; Richard Best oral history, 35–36.
5 Mears, Carrier Combat, 76–77.
6 Ibid., 77.
7 Anderson, “War Diary,” 36–37.
8 Hopkins oral history.
9 Richard Best oral history, 36.
10 Dobson diary, 20 May 1942; Kleiss, VS-6 Log of the War, 80.
11 Dobson diary, 21 May 1942.
12 VB-8 war diary, April 1942.
13 Griffin, Alexander. A Ship to Remember: The Saga of the Hornet. New York: Howell, Soskin, Publishers, 1943, 80–87.
14 Kleiss, VS-6 Log of the War, 80.
15 Reynolds, Clark G., and E. T. Stover. The Saga of Smokey Stover. Charleston: Tradd Street Press, 1978, 28.
16 Ibid., 29.
17 Fisher, Hooked, 73.
18 Lundstrom, Black Shoe Carrier Admiral, 217.
19 Symonds, The Battle of Midway, 379–86.
20 Parshall and Tully, Shattered Sword, 12–13; Lord, Incredible Victory, 12–14.
21 Lundstrom, Black Shoe Carrier Admiral, 230.
22 Forshee, Standby, Mark!, Chapter 12.
23 Ludlum, They Turned the War Around, 117; Conatser interview with Barde, 11 May 1966.
24 Murray, Bombing Squadron Six in Action, I-32.
25 Lanham to Lord questionnaire, Naval Historical Center.
26 Dickinson, The Flying Guns, 136.
27 Patterson to Lord, “Short History of William R. Pittman’s Experiences through the Midway Battle,” 2, Naval Historical Center.
28 Dobson diary, 27 May 1942.
29 Mason oral history, 4.
30 Griffin, A Ship to Remember, 94–96.
31 Statements of Ens. A. A. Devoe and Ens. F. C. Auman, 29 May 1942; Tillman, The Dauntless Dive-bomber of World War II, 58.
32 Richard Best oral history, 37.
33 Ibid., 37–38.
34 Tillman, The Dauntless Dive-bomber of World War II, 59; Bottomley 1966 questionnaire to Lord, Naval Historical Center.
35 Godfrey 1966 narrative of Midway to Lord, 1, Naval Historical Center.
36 Lane to Lord questionnaire, Naval Historical Center.
37 Tillman, The Dauntless Dive-bomber of World War II, 59.
38 Kleiss, “History from the Cockpit,” 12.
39 Ibid., 12–13.
40 Ibid., 13.
41 Holmberg narrative of Midway experiences, 2, Naval Historical Center.
42 Lundstrom, The First Team, 322.
43 John Lynch to wife, 2 June 1942, Naval Aviation Museum, Pensacola.
44 Bridgers, “On the Traveling Squad E-Base, Doolittle & Midway, 1941–1942.”
45 Holmberg narrative of Midway experiences, 3, Naval Historical Center.
46 Cressman, That Gallant Ship, 123.
47 Tillman, The Dauntless Dive-bomber of World War II, 62.
48 Lane to Lord questionnaire, Naval Historical Center.
49 Fisher, Hooked, 65, 76.
50 Roberts, “Many Planes Heading Midway,” 3.
51 Richard Best oral history, 38.
52 Dickinson, The Flying Guns, 138–40.
53 Kleiss, VS-6 Log of the War, 82.
54 Bresnahan, “Interview with Earl Gallaher.”
CHAPTER 9: “GOD, THIS IS IT!”
1 Kleiss, “History from the Cockpit,” 13.
2 Hopkins oral history; Rear Adm. Walter F. Rodee to Robert Barde, 18 October 1966.
3 Murray, “Midway: The View from a Bombing Six Rear Seat,” 41.
4 Conatser interview with Barde, 11 May 1966; Lundstrom, The First Team, 331.
5 Dickinson, The Flying Guns, 141; Kleiss, “History from the Cockpit,” 13.
6 Kleiss, “History from the Cockpit,” 13.
7 Childers, Lt. Col. Lloyd, USMC (Ret.), Ph.D. “Midway from the Backseat of a TBD.” The Hook, Vol. 18, August 1990, 36.
8 Capt. Joe R. Penland interview with Robert Barde, 18 May 1966; Capt. George Goldsmith to Mark Horan, 9 February 1987.
9 Griffin, A Ship to Remember, 123.
10 Gee, “Remembering Midway” 2003 article; Wood 1966 questionnaire to Lord, Naval Historical Center.
11 Fisher, Hooked, 77.
12 Tillman, The Dauntless Dive-bomber of World War II, 66.
13 Dickinson, The Flying Guns, 143.
14 Symonds, The Battle of Midway, 253–54; Mrazek, A Dawn Like Thunder, 112–13.
15 Murray, “Midway: The View from a Bombing Six Rear Seat,” 41.
16 Harold L. Jones to Mark Horan, 22 December 1986.
17 Dickinson, The Flying Guns, 143.
18 Capt. Frank A. Patriarca to Mark Horan, 12 May 1987.
19 Ambrose, The Pacific, 47–51.
20 Patterson to Lord, “Short History of William R. Pittman’s Experiences through the Midway Battle,” 2, Naval Historical Center.
21 Murray, “Midway: The View from a Bombing Six Rear Seat,” 41.
22 Hopkins oral history; Stuart J. Mason to Mark Horan, 20 October 1987.
23 McClusky, C. Wade. “Battle of Midway.” Recollections of 4 June 1942 mission as presented by Arnold Olson, Public Affairs Officers, USS Enterprise CV-6 Association. Accessed http://www.cv6.org/company/accounts/wmcclusky/ on 4 January 2011.
24 Best oral history, 39.
25 Tappan interview with Weisheit, 9; Gee, “Remembering Midway” 2003 article.
26 Moore oral history.
27 Lundstrom, The First Team, 334.
28 Fisher, Hooked, 78.
29 Gee, “Remembering Midway” 2003 article; Troy T. Guillory to Mark Horan.
30 Lundstrom, The First Team, 334.
31 Tillman, The Dauntless Dive-bomber of World War II, 66.
32 Ibid., 67; Schneider oral history.
33 Graetz, Ronald, “Memories from Navy Days,” 12.
34 Lundstrom, The First Team, 336.
35 Rodenburg, Eldor E. Rodenburg, 6.
36 Orr, “Jack ‘Dusty’ Kleiss and the Battle of Midway,” 11.
37 Rodenburg, Eldor E. Rodenburg, 6–7; Rodenburg to Horan, 1987 correspondence.
38 Murray, “Midway: The View from a Bombing Six Rear Seat,” 42; Penland interview with Barde; Capt. Tony F. Schneider, 2007 interview with Seth Paridon, the National World War II Museum oral history collection; Roberts, “Many Planes Heading Midway,” 1.
39 Richard Best oral history, 39.
40 Fisher, Hooked, 79.
41 Weisheit, Bowen P., Major, USMCR (Ret.). The Last Flight of Ensign C. Markland Kelly, Junior, USNR. Baltimore: The Ensign C. Markland Kelly, Jr., Memorial Foundation, Inc., 1993. Second edition, 1996, 14; Mrazek, Robert J. A Dawn Like Thunder: The True Story of Torpedo Squadron Eight. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2008, 126; Symonds, The Battle of Midway, 251.
42 Mzarek, A Dawn Like Thunder, 127.
43 Ibid, 128; Tappan interview with Weisheit, 28.
44 Woodson, “In the Rear Seat at Midway and Santa Cruz.”
45 Rodee interview with Weisheit, 2; Russell, Ronald W. No Right to Win: A Continuing Dialogue with Veterans of the Battle of Midway. New York: iUniverse, Inc., 2006, 136.
46 Lundstrom, The First Team, 345–47.
47 Ibid., 347; Gee, Capt. Roy P., USN (Ret.). “Remembering Midway.” Battle of Midway Roundtable, 2003.
48 Tappan interview with Weisheit, 25, 32; Tillman, The Dauntless Dive-bomber of World War II, 68; James E. Vose to Col. Robert E. Barde, 9 January 1967, 1.
49 Wood correspondence of 21 February 1967 to Lord, Naval Historical Center.
50 John J. Lynch to Col. Robert E. Barde, 1 June 1967; Fisher, Hooked, 80.
51 Lundstrom, The First Team, 347–48.
52 Symonds, Craig L. The Battle of Midway. New York: Oxford University Press, 2011, 389–90; Mitscher, Capt. M. A., “Report of Action—4–6 June 1942.”
53 Symonds, The Battle of Midway, 390–91.
54 Ibid., 390–91, 255–260.
55 Hovind to Lord questionnaire, Naval Historical Center; Rodee to Barde, 18 October 1966.
56 Tillman, The Dauntless Dive-bomber of World War II, 71.
57 Godfrey 1966 narrative of Midway to Lord, 4, Naval Historical Center; Charles S. Lane correspondence with Mark Horan, 27 May 1987.
58 Tillman, The Dauntless Dive-bomber of World War II, 71. Gunner Lloyd Childers stated in an account of Midway on the launch order that “VT-3 took off last.” Childers, Lt. Col. Lloyd, USMC (Ret), Ph.D., “Midway from the Backseat of a TBD,” The Hook, Vol. 18, August 1990, 36; Holmberg narrative of Midway experiences, 5, Naval Historical Center.
59 Tillman, The Dauntless Dive-bomber of World War II, 71.
60 Bridgers, “On the Traveling Squad E-Base, Doolittle & Midway, 1941–1942.”
61 Vice Adm. Schindler questionnaire to Walter Lord.
62 Tillman, The Dauntless Dive-bomber of World War II, 71; Lundstrom, The First Team, 349.
63 Holmberg narrative of Midway experiences, 6, Naval Historical Center; Gallagher interview notes with Lord, 19 April 1966, Naval Historical Center.
64 Lane correspondence with Horan; Austin Merrill interview with Paridon, National World War II Museum.
65 Bottomley 1966 questionnaire to Lord, Naval Historical Center.
66 Tillman, The Dauntless Dive-bomber of World War II, 72.
67 Captain Vernon Micheel interview with Seth Paridon, National World War II Museum; Patterson to Lord, “Short History of William R. Pittman’s Experiences through the Midway Battle,” 3, Naval Historical Center.
68 McClusky, “Battle of Midway.”
69 Hoff, “Vengeance at Midway,” Battle 360 video, Episode 2; Tillman, The Dauntless Dive-bomber of World War II, 70.
70 McClusky, “Battle of Midway.”
71 Anderson, “War Diary,” 40–41.
72 Dickinson Bureau of Aeronautics interview, 10 July 1942, 6; Dickinson, The Flying Guns, 145–46; Hoff, “Vengeance at Midway,” Battle 360 video, Episode 2.
73 Lundstrom, The First Team, 345–47; Symonds, The Battle of Midway, 266–69.
74 Statement of ARM3c Leroy Quillen, U.S. Navy, Bombing Squadron Eight, on first flight, June 4, 1942, search in plane 8-B-2. (Taken 5 June 1942.)
75 Lundstrom, The First Team, 343–44.
76 Murray, “Midway: The View from a Bombing Six Rear Seat,” 42; Tillman, The Dauntless Dive-bomber of World War II, 68; Robert Edward Laub interview with Robert Barde, 13 May 1966; McPherson, “I Fly for the Navy,” January 10, 1943, A-15.
77 Stephen B. Smith to Robert Barde, 3 February 1967.
78 “Oakland Flier Drifts 17 Days in Rubber Boat; Fails to Thumb Ride on Passing Jap Submarine,” Oakland Tribune, 9 September 1942.
79 Parshall and Tully, Shattered Sword, 214–16.
80 Tillman, The Dauntless Dive-bomber of World War II, 70.
81 Capt. Schneider 2007 interview, National World War II Museum.
82 Gallaher, “I Remember Pearl Harbor,” 24.
83 Hoff, “Vengeance at Midway,” Battle 360 video, Episode 2; Hoff oral history.
84 Richard Best oral history, 40.
85 McCarthy interview notes with Lord, 19 April 1966, Naval Historical Center.
86 Tillman, The Dauntless Dive-bomber of World War II, 72; Lundstrom, The First Team, 351.
87 Lundstrom, The First Team, 351; Parshall and Tully, Shattered Sword, 221.
88 Cressman, That Gallant Ship, 126.
89 Esders, Cdr. Wilhelm G., USN (Ret.). “Torpedo Three and the Devastator: A Pilot’s Recollection.” The Hook, Vol. 18, August 1990, 35.
90 Childers, “Midway from the Backseat of a TBD,” 37.
91 Ibid., 37–38.
92 Esders, “Torpedo Three and the Devastator: A Pilot’s Recollection,” 36.
93 Cressman, That Gallant Ship, 127.
94 Tillman, The Dauntless Dive-bomber of World War II, 73.
95 Leslie to Captain William H. Ashford, correspondence of 9 September 1947, Naval Historical Center.
96 Bresnahan, “Interview with Earl Gallaher”; Parshall and Tully, Shattered Sword, 224–27.
CHAPTER 10: FIVE MINUTES OF GLORY
1 Pittman narrative of Midway to Lord, 3, Naval Historical Center.
2 Floyd D. Adkins correspondence with Mark Horan, 23 October 1987.
3 Capt. Joe R. Penland interview with Robert Barde, 18 May 1966; Schneider questionnaire to Lord, 1966, Naval Historical Center; Capt. Schneider 2007 interview, National World War II Museum.
4 Schneider letter to Colonel Barde, 31 May 1966, Naval Historical Center; Capt. Schneider 2007 interview, National World War II Museum.
5 Schneider questionnaire to Lord, 1966, Naval Historical Center.
6 Tillman, The Dauntless Dive-bomber of World War II, 74.
7 McClusky, “Battle of Midway.”
8 Dickinson, The Flying Guns, 150.
9 Ibid., 151–53.
10 Snowden 1966 questionnaire to Lord, Naval Historical Center.
11 Kleiss, “History from the Cockpit,” 14.
12 Dickinson, The Flying Guns, 151; Tillman, The Dauntless Dive-bomber of World War II, 76.
13 Richard Best oral history, 40–41.
14 McClusky, “Battle of Midway”; Wildenberg, Destined for Glory, 209; Richard Best oral history, 41.
15 Gallaher, “I Remember Pearl Harbor,” 25.
16 Patterson to Lord, “Short History of William R. Pittman’s Experiences Through the Midway Battle,” 3, Naval Historical Center.
17 Tillman, The Dauntless Dive-bomber of World War II, 77.
18 Ibid., 179; Adkins to Horan correspondence.
19 Adkins to Horan correspondence.
20 Ibid; Patterson to Lord, “Short History of William R. Pittman’s Experiences through the Midway Battle,” 3.
21 Patterson to Lord, 3.
22 McClusky, “Battle of Midway.”
23 Tillman, The Dauntless Dive-bomber of World War II, 77; Cressman, Robert. With Steve Ewing, Barrett Tillman, Mark Horan, Clark Reynolds, and Stan Cohen. “A Glorious Page in Our History.” The Battle of Midway, 4–6 June 1942. Missoula, Montana: Pictorial Histories Publishing Company, 1990, 102; Gallaher, “I Remember Pearl Harbor,” 25; Bresnahan, “Interview with Earl Gallaher.”
24 Parshall and Tully, Shattered Sword, 234.
25 Cressman, et al, “A Glorious Page in Our History,” 102; Rodenburg to Lord.
26 Kleiss, VS-6 Log of the War, 88; Orr, “Jack ‘Dusty’ Kleiss and the Battle of Midway,” 10.
27 Snowden 1966 questionnaire to Lord, Naval Historical Center.
28 Parshall and Tully, Shattered Sword, 234–35.
29 Hoff, “Vengeance at Midway,” Battle 360 video, Episode 2.
30 Ibid; Cressman, et al, “A Glorious Page in Our History,” 102; Parshall and Tully, Shattered Sword, 235.
31 Hoff, “Vengeance at Midway,” Battle 360 video, Episode 2.
32 Dickinson, The Flying Guns, 152.
33 Ibid., 153–54; Dickinson Bureau of Aeronautics interview, 10 July 1942, 7.
34 Dickinson, The Flying Guns, 155.
35 Ibid., 156–57; Joseph F. DeLuca to Mark Horan, 8 September 1987.
36 McCarthy interview notes with Lord, 19 April 1966, Naval Historical Center.
37 Roberts, “Many Planes Heading Midway,” 6.
38 Ibid.
39 Richard Best oral history, 41.
40 Murray, “Midway: The View from a Bombing Six Rear Seat,” 42.
41 Ambrose, The Pacific, 53.
42 Buell, Dauntless Helldivers, 86; Captain Micheel interview with Paridon, National World War II Museum.
43 Ambrose, The Pacific, 54; Buell, Dauntless Helldivers, 86.
44 Bombing Squadron Six action report, 10 June 1942; Penland to Lord questionnaire, Naval Historical Center; Penland interview with Barde, 18 May 1966.
45 Hopkins oral history; Anderson, “War Diary,” 42.
46 Patterson to Lord questionnaire from 1966, Naval Historical Center; McPherson, “I Fly for the Navy,” January 10, 1943, A-15.
47 Goldsmith to Horan correspondence.
48 Mason oral history, 4.
49 Parshall and Tully, Shattered Sword, 248–50.
50 Richard Best oral history, 41.
51 Ibid., 42; Tillman, The Dauntless Dive-bomber of World War II, 78.
52 Lord interview notes with Roberts, 19 April 1966, Naval Historical Center; Roberts, “Many Planes Heading Midway,” 12. According to Roberts, Murr Arnold told him the pictures were confidential and he took the film. Roberts was at this time on the cruiser Portland after abandoning ship from Yorktown. He had taken his “water-soaked film to the ship’s photo lab to see whether it could be salvaged. After processing, the emulsion was peeling from the edges of the film, but in the centers of several frames there were images of the three burning carriers.”
53 Smith, Peter C. Midway: Dauntless Victory. South Yorkshire, England: Pen & Sword Maritime, 2007, 146.
54 Mark Horan research.
55 Murray, Bombing Squadron Six in Action, II-9.
56 Mark Horan research and interviews with Best.
57 Murray, “Midway: The View from a Bombing Six Rear Seat,” 42; Richard Best oral history, 42.
58 Murray, Bombing Squadron Six in Action, II-8.
59 Richard Best oral history, 42.
60 Cressman, et al, “A Glorious Page in Our History,” 104; Symonds, The Battle of Midway, 304–05.
61 Parshall and Tully, Shattered Sword, 241, 257–58.
62 Richard Best oral history, 42; Parshall and Tully, Shattered Sword, 253–54, 276, 280, 286–87.
63 Leslie to Lord correspondence, 8 March 1966, Naval Historical Center.
64 Tillman, The Dauntless Dive-bomber of World War II, 73; Wildenberg, Destined for Glory, 210; Gallagher 1966 questionnaire to Lord, Naval Historical Center.
65 Parshall and Tully, Shattered Sword, 236–37.
66 Leslie to Lord correspondence, 8 March 1966, Naval Historical Center.
67 Holmberg, 15 April 1966 narrative of Midway attack to Lord, 2, Naval Historical Center.
68 Tillman, The Dauntless Dive-bomber of World War II, 75; Holmberg to Thaddeus V. Tuleja of 9 June 1958, Walter Lord collection, 7–8; Leslie to Lord correspondence, 8 March 1966, Naval Historical Center.
69 Smith, Midway: Dauntless Victory, 147.
70 Parshall and Tully, Shattered Sword, 237–38.
71 Godfrey 1966 narrative of Midway to Lord, 3, Naval Historical Center; Hanson account of Midway published in Bellevue, Washington, newspaper, supplied to Lord, 3, Naval Historical Center.
72 Godfrey 1966 narrative of Midway to Lord, 3, Naval Historical Center.
73 Fred Bergeron oral history.
74 Ibid.
75 Ibid.
76 Isaman to Lord questionnaire, Naval Historical Center.
77 Cobb 1966 questionnaire to Lord, Naval Historical Center.
78 Smith, Midway: Dauntless Victory, 143.
79 Ibid., 143.
80 Lane to Horan correspondence, 27 May 1987.
81 Parshall and Tully, Shattered Sword, 238, 251.
82 Tillman, “Where Are They Now? Bob Elder,” 13.
83 Tillman, The Dauntless Dive-bomber of World War II, 75.
84 McCaul, “Dive-bomber at Midway,” 42–43.
85 Leslie to Lord correspondence, 8 March 1966, Naval Historical Center.
86 Tillman, “Where Are They Now? Bob Elder,” 13.
87 Gallagher 1966 questionnaire to Lord, Naval Historical Center.
88 Wildenberg, Destined for Glory, 164–67, 214.
89 Ibid., 167.
90 Tillman, The Dauntless Dive-bomber of World War II, 78.
CHAPTER 11: THE DEADLY FLIGHTS HOME
1 Tillman, The Dauntless Dive-bomber of World War II, 78.
2 Cressman, et al, “A Glorious Page in Our History,” 107; Cressman, That Gallant Ship, 129.
3 Holmberg, 15 April 1966 narrative of Midway attack to Lord, 2–3, Naval Historical Center.
4 Tillman, “Where Are They Now? Bob Elder,” 13; McCaul, “Dive-bomber at Midway,” 45–46.
5 Cressman, That Gallant Ship, 131.
6 Kleiss, VS-6 Log of the War, 89.
7 Gallaher to Lord 1966 correspondence, Naval Historical Center; Gallaher, “I Remember Pearl Harbor,” 27.
8 McClusky, “Battle of Midway;” Tillman, The Dauntless Dive-bomber of World War II, 79.
9 McClusky, “Battle of Midway.”
10 Ibid.
11 Patterson to Lord, “Short History of William R. Pittman’s Experiences Through the Midway Battle,” 3; Cressman, et al, “A Glorious Page in Our History,” 108.
12 Hoff oral history, 33–35.
13 Richard Best oral history, 42–43.
14 Murray, “Midway: The View from a Bombing Six Rear Seat,” 43–44.
15 Ibid., 44.
16 Dickinson, The Flying Guns, 157.
17 Ibid., 157–58.
18 Ibid., 160–61; Dickinson Bureau of Aeronautics interview, 10 July 1942, 13. Dusty Kleiss also caught a glimpse of this devastating explosion on Kaga. See Kleiss, “History from the Cockpit,” 14.
19 Cressman, et al, “A Glorious Page in Our History,” 109.
20 McCarthy to Lord 1966 correspondence, 1, Naval Historical Center.
21 Ibid.
22 Horan, “The Last Flight of Charles Rollins Ware.”
23 McCarthy to Lord 1966 correspondence, 1–2, Naval Historical Center.
24 Ibid., 2–3.
25 Ibid., 3.
26 Ibid., 4.
27 Ibid.
28 Ibid., 4–5.
29 Ibid., 5.
30 Ibid. Charlie Ware’s mother would remain in contact with the mothers of Carl Peiffer and Jim Shelton until 1946 as the grieving mothers wrote to each other every few months.
31 Kleiss, VS-6 Log of the War, 89.
32 Cressman, et al, “A Glorious Page in Our History,” 109.
33 Ibid., 109–10; Horan interview with Wilbur Roberts.
34 Patterson to Lord questionnaire, Naval Historical Center; Goldsmith to Horan, 9 February 1987.
35 McPherson, “I Fly for the Navy,” January 10, 1943, A-15.
36 Patterson to Lord questionnaire, Naval Historical Center; Goldsmith 1966 narrative of Midway to Lord, 1, Walter Lord Incredible Victory research collection, Naval Historical Center. Although Patterson made no mention of his own wounding to Lord, Goldsmith notes the wounding of his rear gunner in three accounts (Goldsmith to Lord, 1 March 1966; interview for an article shortly after Midway, published in McPherson, “I Fly For the Navy,” January 10, 1943, A-15; and Goldsmith to Horan, 9 February 1987).
37 Edward L. Anderson to Mark Horan, 28 April 1987.
38 Mason oral history, 4.
39 Cressman, et al, “A Glorious Page in Our History,” 110.
40 Mason oral history, 4.
41 Ibid., 4.
42 McPherson, “I Fly for the Navy,” January 10, 1943, A-15.
43 Ibid; Roberts, “Many Planes Heading Midway,” 9. In Roberts’s written account, he states that Steinman’s lip was ripped by a shard of aluminum, shrapnel from their own SBD, which ended up in his mouth.
44 Rodee interview with Weisheit, 3; Fisher, Hooked, 81; Russell, No Right to Win, 113.
45 Griffin, A Ship to Remember, 138; Cressman, et al, “A Glorious Page in Our History,” 113.
46 Guillory to Horan; Lynch to Barde, 1 June 1967.
47 Wood 1966 questionnaire to Lord, Naval Historical Center.
48 Vose to Barde, 9 January 1967.
49 Cressman, et al, “A Glorious Page in Our History,” 114; Lynch correspondence with Barde,1 June 1967.
50 Cressman, et al, “A Glorious Page in Our History,” 114.
51 Kenneth White letter shared on Battle of Midway Roundtable, Topic 265-02, August 2003; ARM3c Leroy Quillen statement, 5 June 1942.
52 Lynch to Barde, 1 June 1967.
53 Gee, “Remembering Midway,” 2003 article.
54 Buell, Dauntless Helldivers, 86; Captain Micheel interview with Paridon, National World War II Museum.
55 Cressman, et al, “A Glorious Page in Our History,” 109; Hopkins to Horan, 28 February 1987; Anderson, “War Diary,” 42.
56 Goldsmith 1966 narrative of Midway to Lord, 1, Naval Historical Center.
57 Ibid.
58 Cressman, et al, “A Glorious Page in Our History,” 114; Anderson to Horan, 28 April 1967.
59 McCarthy to Lord 1966 correspondence, 6, Naval Historical Center.
60 Ibid., 7.
61 Ibid.
62 Ibid., 7–8.
63 Esders, “Torpedo Three and the Devastator: A Pilot’s Recollection,” 36.
64 McCarthy to Lord 1966 correspondence, 8–9.
65 Ibid., 9–10; Cressman, That Gallant Ship, 139–41.
66 Dickinson, The Flying Guns, 162–63.
67 Ibid., 163–65; DeLuca to Horan, 8 September 1967; Dickinson Bureau of Aeronautics interview, 10 July 1942, 18.
68 Dickinson, The Flying Guns, 166; DeLuca to Horan.
69 Dickinson, The Flying Guns, 168.
70 Lundstrom, The First Team, 372–73.
71 Bridgers, “On the Traveling Squad E-Base, Doolittle & Midway, 1941–1942.”
72 Patterson to Lord questionnaire, Naval Historical Center.
73 Ibid.
74 Ludlum, They Turned the War Around, 131.
75 Goldsmith to Horan, 9 February 1987; Goldsmith to Lord, 1 March 1966. It is interesting to note that in both of these accounts, given twenty-four and forty-five years after Midway, Goldsmith wrote that the deflected Japanese bullet had come to rest in the mouth of his own gunner, Jim Patterson. As previously noted, however, Tex Conatser told his squadron intelligence officer that Steinman, the gunner for Roberts, was the one who had been wounded in the mouth. In an account given to a correspondent only months after the battle at Midway (McPherson, “I Fly for the Navy,” January 10, 1943, A-15), Bill Roberts stated that the bullet had glanced off an instrument panel, and went through Steinman’s lower lip and into his mouth. In the absence of direct statements on this event from either Steinman or Patterson, the fresher 1942 versions of this incident have been used in favor of Patterson being the bullet receipient.
76 Lundstrom, The First Team, 373.
77 Murray, “Midway: The View from a Bombing Six Rear Seat,” 44.
78 Ibid.
79 Richard Best oral history, 43.
80 Rear Adm. Clarence Wade McClusky interview with Robert Barde, 30 June 1966.
81 Tillman, The Dauntless Dive-bomber of World War II, 80.
82 Ibid., 80; Cressman, et al, “A Glorious Page in Our History,” 115.
83 Kleiss, “History from the Cockpit,” 15.
84 Ambrose, The Pacific, 55–56; Micheel to Lord.
85 Anderson to Horan, 28 April 1987.
86 Anderson, “War Diary,” 44–45.
87 Mason oral history, 5.
88 Ibid., 5; Anderson to Horan.
89 Mason oral history, 5; Stuart J. Mason to Mark Horan, 20 October 1987.
90 Braun 1966 questionnaire to Lord, Naval Historical Center.
91 Murray, “Midway: The View from a Bombing Six Rear Seat,” 44; Smith letter to Barde, 3 February 1967.
92 “His Torpedo Plane Pierced by 68 Bullets at Midway. Pilot Stephen Smith Returns for First Visit in 14 Months,” Mason City Globe-Gazette, July 6, 1942, 8.
93 Smith letter to Barde, 3 February 1967; Murray, Bombing Squadron Six in Action, III-23.
CHAPTER 12: THE JAPANESE STRIKE BACK
1 Holmberg, 15 April 1966 narrative of Midway attack to Lord, 3, Naval Historical Center.
2 Ibid; Merrill correspondence to Lord.
3 McCaul, “Dive-bomber at Midway,” 46–47; Lundstrom, The First Team, 387; Lane to Lord questionnaire, Naval Historical Center.
4 Hanson account of Midway published in Bellevue, Washington, newspaper, supplied to Lord, Naval Historical Center; Robert M. Elder interview with Barrett Tillman, National Naval Aviation Museum, 9 January 1989.
5 Ludlum, They Turned the War Around, 134.
6 Bridgers, “On the Traveling Squad E-Base, Doolittle & Midway, 1941–1942.”
7 Patterson to Lord questionnaire, Naval Historical Center.
8 Lundstrom, The First Team, 388.
9 Fisher, Hooked, 84.
10 Tillman, “Where Are They Now? Bob Elder,” 13.
11 Esders, “Torpedo Three and the Devastator: A Pilot’s Recollection,” 36.
12 Cressman, That Gallant Ship, 141; Leslie to Lord correspondence, 8 March 1966, Naval Historical Center.
13 Tillman, The Dauntless Dive-bomber of World War II, 82–83.
14 Holmberg, 15 April 1966 narrative of Midway attack to Lord, 4–5, Naval Historical Center.
15 Gallagher 1966 questionnaire to Lord, Naval Historical Center.
16 Childers, “Midway from the Backseat of a TBD,” 38.
17 Ibid.
18 Gallaher, “I Remember Pearl Harbor,” 27; Captain Micheel interview with Paridon, National World War II Museum.
19 Lane to Horan, 27 May 1987; Bottomley 1966 questionnaire to Lord, Naval Historical Center.
20 Godfrey 1966 narrative of Midway to Lord, 4, Naval Historical Center; Hoff oral history.
21 Murray, “Midway: The View from a Bombing Six Rear Seat,” 45; Murray, Bombing Squadron Six in Action, II-11.
22 Hanson narrative to Lord, 3, Naval Historical Center.
23 Lundstrom, The First Team, 391–94.
24 Ludlum, They Turned the War Around, 137.
25 Ibid., 137; Bridgers, “On the Traveling Squad E-Base, Doolittle & Midway, 1941–1942.”
26 Lt. Cdr. Robert D. Gibson, USNR (Ret.), interview by William J. Shinneman, 10 July 1993, transcript, the Oral History Archive, American Airpower Heritage Museum, Midland, Texas, 6–7.
27 Goldsmith 1966 narrative of Midway to Lord, 2, Naval Historical Center.
28 Ludlum, They Turned the War Around, 131.
29 Tillman, The Dauntless Dive-bomber of World War II, 84.
30 Ludlum, They Turned the War Around, 137–38.
31 Ibid., 138.
32 Bridgers, “On the Traveling Squad E-Base, Doolittle & Midway, 1941–1942.”
33 Ibid.
34 Gibson interview with Shinneman, 7.
35 Lord interview notes with Roberts, 19 April 1966, Naval Historical Center; Roberts, “Many Planes Heading Midway,” 10–11.
36 Patterson to Lord questionnaire, Naval Historical Center; Goldsmith 1966 narrative of Midway to Lord, 1, Naval Historical Center; Goldsmith to Horan, 9 February 1987.
37 Goldsmith to Horan.
CHAPTER 13: THE FLYING DRAGON STRIKE
1 Hanson account of Midway published in Bellevue, Washington, newspaper, supplied to Lord, Naval Historical Center.
2 Don L. Ely to Mark Horan, 3 January 1987.
3 Jones to Horan, 22 December 1986.
4 Frank Patriarca interview with Mark Horan; Ambrose, The Pacific, 57; Buell, Dauntless Helldivers, 87.
5 Braun 1966 questionnaire to Lord, Naval Historical Center.
6 Hoff oral history, 224–25.
7 Oral Lester Moore oral history, CAF Museum.
8 Gee, “Remembering Midway,” 2003 article.
9 Ibid.
10 Tillman, The Dauntless Dive-bomber of World War II, 84; Reynolds, Clark G. The Fighting Lady: The New Yorktown in the Pacific War. Pictorial Histories Publishing Company, 1993 (third printing), 1–2.
11 Ludlum, They Turned the War Around, 139–40.
12 Ibid., 141.
13 Ibid.
14 Forshee, Standby, Mark!, Chapter 13.
15 Christie recollections to Horan.
16 Gallaher, “I Remember Pearl Harbor,” 28.
17 Tillman, The Dauntless Dive-bomber of World War II, 85; Gallaher, “I Remember Pearl Harbor,” 29.
18 Tillman, The Dauntless Dive-bomber of World War II, 85; Lundstrom, The First Team, 414.
19 Gallaher, “I Remember Pearl Harbor,” 29.
20 Gallaher to Lord, 1966 correspondence, Naval Historical Center; Tillman, The Dauntless Dive-bomber of World War II, 85; Gallaher, “I Remember Pearl Harbor,” 29–30.
21 Kleiss, “History from the Cockpit,” 15; Kleiss, VS-6 Log of the War, 89.
22 Buell, Dauntless Helldivers, 87; Ambrose, The Pacific, 58; Micheel interview with Mark Horan.
23 Tillman, The Dauntless Dive-bomber of World War II, 85.
24 Ibid., 86.
25 Richard Best oral history, 44.
26 McCaul, “Dive-bomber at Midway,” 46–47.
27 Braun 1966 questionnaire to Lord, Naval Historical Center.
28 Murray, Bombing Squadron Six in Action, II-13.
29 Murray, “Midway: The View from a Bombing Six Rear Seat,” 45.
30 Ibid., 45; Murray, Bombing Squadron Six in Action, II-21.
31 Tillman, The Dauntless Dive-bomber of World War II, 86.
32 Richard Best oral history, 44.
33 Lane to Horan, 27 May 1987.
34 Hanson newspaper account, Naval Historical Center.
35 Lane to Lord questionnaire, Naval Historical Center; Murray interview with Mark Horan. Murray originally believed that the number twelve Dauntless he saw lose its bomb before diving belonged to Ensign Stephen Hogan. Bombing Six’s SBDs, however, did not have numerals painted on their wings’ undersides as Bombing Three did.
36 Harrington and Frank, Rendezvous at Midway, 217; Cobb 1966 questionnaire to Lord, Naval Historical Center.
37 Bottomley to Horan.
38 Parshall and Tully, Shattered Sword, 326.
39 Kleiss, VS-6 Log of the War, 90.
40 Hanson newspaper account, Naval Historical Center.
41 Bresnahan, “Interview with Earl Gallaher”; Gallaher, “I Remember Pearl Harbor,” 30.
42 Kleiss, “History from the Cockpit,” 15.
43 Gee, “Remembering Midway,” 2003 article.
44 Ibid.
45 Fisher, Hooked, 87–88; Parshall and Tully, Shattered Sword, 329.
46 Fisher, Hooked, 88; Cressman, et al., “A Glorious Page in Our History,” 139.
47 Richard Best oral history, 44.
48 Murray, “Midway: The View from a Bombing Six Rear Seat,” 45; Richard Best oral history, 44.
49 Micheel to Walter Lord 1966 correspondence; Gallaher, “I Remember Pearl Harbor,” 31.
50 Murray, Bombing Squadron Six in Action, II-15.
51 Gallaher to Lord 1966 correspondence, Naval Historical Center.
52 Gallaher, “I Remember Pearl Harbor,” 31.
53 Lane to Horan, 27 May 1987.
54 Fred Bergeron oral history.
55 Murray, “Midway: The View from a Bombing Six Rear Seat,” 45–46.
56 Ibid., 46.
57 Murray, Bombing Squadron Six in Action, II-21.
58 Tillman, The Dauntless Dive-bomber of World War II, 86; Lundstrom, The First Team, 418.
59 Prange, Gordon W., with Donald M. Goldstein and Katherine V. Dillon. Miracle at Midway. New York: McGraw Hill, 1982, 253.
60 Ibid., 254. Like the other SBD crews at Midway, O’Flaherty and Gaido had no direct knowledge as to Midway’s true defenses, although they would have known that additional aircraft were used to bolster the island. Under the duress of torture, the numbers they created to please their captors turned out to be fairly accurate. Mark Horan interviewed James Cales, a 1942 SBD gunner who later became a pilot who was taken as a POW. Cales had a similar incident of inventing numbers while under torture—figures he created that surprisingly would prove to be accurate.
61 Ibid., 254. Both O’Flaherty and Gaido were single, thus the lighter must have been borrowed from a shipmate before the flight. Although naval intelligence would learn of the murders of these two VS-6 aviators, this fact was kept closely guarded during the war to protect the secrecy of the broken Japanese codes. At war’s end, O’Flaherty’s family was notified that he had been executed. This information comes from letters obtained from the family by Mark Horan that were shared with the family of Charlie Ware and other VS-6 pilots who did not survive Midway.
62 Kleiss, VS-6 Log of the War, 126–27.
63 Wood 1966 questionnaire to Lord, Naval Historical Center.
64 Ibid.
65 Ibid.
66 Guillory questionnaire to Lord, Naval Historical Center. Additional details of the rescue related by pilot Harold Lowe to Troy T. Guillory Jr., son of the VB-8 pilot.
67 Tillman, The Dauntless Dive-bomber of World War II, 87.
68 Moore oral history.
69 Lane to Lord questionnaire, Naval Historical Center.
70 Snowden 1966 questionnaire to Lord, Naval Historical Center.
71 Kleiss, VS-6 Log of the War, 90.
CHAPTER 14: “THE LITTLE DEVIL WAS MOST DIFFICULT TO HIT”
1 Capt. Schneider interview with Parison, National World War II Museum; Schneider letter to Colonel Barde, 31 May 1966, Naval Historical Center.
2 Schneider oral history; Capt. Schneider interview with Parison, National World War II Museum.
3 Troy T. Guillory to Col. Robert E. Barde, 27 April 1967.
4 Wood 1966 questionnaire to Lord, Naval Historical Center; Guillory questionnaire to Lord, Naval Historical Center; Cressman, et al., “A Glorious Page in Our History,” 142–43.
5 Guillory questionnaire to Lord, Naval Historical Center.
6 Tillman, The Dauntless Dive-bomber of World War II, 88.
7 Dickinson, The Flying Guns, 183–84; Anderson, “War Diary,” 45.
8 Penland to Lord questionnaire, Naval Historical Center; Capt. Joe R. Penland interview with Robert Barde, 18 May 1966.
9 Richard Best oral history, 45; Cressman, et al., “A Glorious Page in Our History,” 149; Best interviews with Mark Horan.
10 Cressman, et al., “A Glorious Page in Our History,” 149.
11 Ibid.
12 Ibid.; McClusky interview with Barde, 30 June 1966.
13 Cressman, et al., “A Glorious Page in Our History,” 149; Christie to Horan.
14 Gallaher, “I Remember Pearl Harbor,” 32.
15 Cobb 1966 questionnaire to Lord, Naval Historical Center.
16 Fred Bergeron oral history.
17 Gee, “Remembering Midway,” 2003 article.
18 Cressman, et al., “A Glorious Page in Our History,” 149.
19 Lynch to Barde, 1 June 1967.
20 Fisher, Hooked, 92.
21 Linder, “Lost Letter of Midway,” 33; Fisher, Hooked, 95–97.
22 Cressman, et al., “A Glorious Page in Our History,” 150.
23 Rodenburg, Eldor E. Rodenburg, 8.
24 Hanson account of Midway published in Bellevue, Washington, newspaper, supplied to Lord, Naval Historical Center.
25 Hopkins oral history; Anderson, “War Diary,” 48; Lane to Lord questionnaire, Naval Historical Center; Lane to Horan, 27 May 1987.
26 Kleiss, VS-6 Log of the War, 90.
27 Ludlum, They Turned the War Around, 143.
28 Fisher, Hooked, 97; Wood 1966 questionnaire to Lord, Naval Historical Center.
29 Jones to Horan, 22 December 1986.
30 Linder, “Lost Letter of Midway,” 33.
31 Johnson to Lord questionnaire, Naval Historical Center.
32 Russell, No Right to Win, 142; Fisher, Hooked, 92; Tappan interview with Weisheit, 43.
33 Johnson to Lord questionnaire, Naval Historical Center.
34 Fisher, Hooked, 92; Johnson to Lord questionnaire.
35 Linder, “Lost Letter of Midway,” 33.
36 Mzarek, A Dawn Like Thunder, 168–69; Russell, No Right to Win, 129; Fisher interviews with Mark Horan.
37 Cressman, et al., “A Glorious Page in Our History,” 151.
38 Russell, No Right to Win, 120; “Lieut. Tepas, Home after Crusoe Adventure, Is City’s First to Win Flying Medal,” Portsmouth (OH) Times, 17 December 1942, 1–2.
39 Hanson account of Midway published in Bellevue, Washington, newspaper, supplied to Lord, Naval Historical Center; Godfrey 1966 narrative of Midway to Lord, 8–9, Naval Historical Center.
40 Lane to Lord questionnaire and Davis 1966 questionnaire to Lord, Naval Historical Center; Ray Davis to Col. Robert E. Barde, undated letter circa 1967.
41 Rodenburg, Eldor E. Rodenburg, 8.
42 Adkins to Horan, 23 October 1987.
43 Gallaher to Lord 1966 correspondence, Naval Historical Center; Gallaher, “I Remember Pearl Harbor,” 32.
44 Anderson to Horan, 28 April 1987; Edward Garaudy to Mark Horan, 30 December 1986.
45 Hopkins oral history.
46 Mears, Carrier Combat, 61.
47 Gee, “Remembering Midway,” 2003 article.
48 Cressman, et al., “A Glorious Page in Our History,” 151.
49 Ibid., 151.
50 Kleiss, VS-6 Log of the War, 91.
CHAPTER 15: “I WISH I HAD JUST ONE MORE BOMB”
1 Schneider oral history; Captain Schneider interview with Paridon, National World War II Museum.
2 Gee, “Remembering Midway,” 2003 article.
3 Ibid.
4 Cressman, et al, “A Glorious Page in Our History,” 154.
5 Fisher, Hooked, 99.
6 Cressman, et al, “A Glorious Page in Our History,” 154; Lundstrom, The First Team, 423.
7 Cressman, et al, “A Glorious Page in Our History,” 154.
8 Ibid.
9 Linder, “Lost Letter of Midway,” 34.
10 Cressman, et al, “A Glorious Page in Our History,” 154.
11 Ibid., 155; Fisher, Hooked, 99; Christie to Horan.
12 Ibid., 155; Fisher, Hooked, 99.
13 “Ensign’s Absentmindedness Sends Jap Destroyer to Bottom,” Lowell Sun, July 2, 1942, 49.
14 Cressman, et al, “A Glorious Page in Our History,” 155.
15 Linder, “Lost Letter of Midway,” 34.
16 Ibid., 34–35.
17 Garaudy to Horan, 30 December 1986.
18 Fred Bergeron oral history.
19 Rodenburg, Eldor E. Rodenburg, 8–9.
20 Cressman, et al, “A Glorious Page in Our History,” 154.
21 Forshee, Standby, Mark!, chapter 14.
22 Ibid., 144–45.
23 Ibid., 145.
24 Patriarca questionnaire notes to Lord, 1966, Naval Historical Center; Lundstrom, The First Team, 424.
25 Ludlum, They Turned the War Around, 145.
26 Cressman, et al, “A Glorious Page in Our History,” 156.
27 Ibid., 156; Lane to Horan, 27 May 1987.
28 Cdr. Jamie S. Morris to Walter Lord, 20 June 1966; Forshee, Standby, Mark!, chapter 14.
29 Ludlum, They Turned the War Around, 145; Kleiss, VS-6 Log of the War, 91.
30 Hanson account of Midway published in Bellevue, Washington, newspaper, supplied to Lord, Naval Historical Center.
31 Ely to Horan, 3 January 1987.
32 Jones to Horan, 22 December 1986.
33 Garaudy to Horan, 30 December 1986.
34 Hanson account of Midway published in Bellevue, Washington, newspaper, supplied to Lord, Naval Historical Center; Lane to Lord questionnaire, Naval Historical Center; Cressman, et al, “A Glorious Page in Our History,” 156.
35 Lane to Horan, 27 May 1987.
36 Cressman, et al, “A Glorious Page in Our History,” 156.
37 Prange, Miracle at Midway, 339; Cressman, et al, “A Glorious Page in Our History,” 156.
38 Tillman, “Where Are They Now? Bob Elder,” 13; Kleiss, VS-6 Log of the War, 91; Vose to Barde, 3.
39 Lundstrom, The First Team, 424.
40 Woodson, “In the Rear Seat at Midway and Santa Cruz.”
41 Cressman, et al, “A Glorious Page in Our History,” 156–57.
42 Hovind to Lord questionnaire, Naval Historical Center.
43 Parshall and Tully, Shattered Sword, 376–77.
44 Rodee to Barde, 18 October 1966; Christie to Horan.
45 Griffin, A Ship to Remember, 151–52.
46 Per his son Terry Tereskerz; William Roy recollections in Battle of Midway Round Table, 17 April 2004. Accessed http://www.midway42.org/Backissues/2004/2004-01.htm on 20 June 2011.
47 Lynch to Barde, 1 June 1967.
48 Fisher, Hooked, 99–101; Cressman, et al, “A Glorious Page in Our History,” 162.
49 Christie to Horan; Griffin, A Ship to Remember, 152–53.
50 Tillman, The Dauntless Dive-bomber of World War II, 88.
51 Ludlum, They Turned the War Around, 146.
52 Garaudy to Horan, 30 December 1986.
53 Kleiss, VS-6 Log of the War, 92; Dobson diary, 6 June 1942.
54 Cressman, et al, “A Glorious Page in Our History,” 162.
55 Forshee, Standby, Mark!, chapter 14.
56 Fisher, Hooked, 101.
57 Orr, “Jack ‘Dusty’ Kleiss and the Battle of Midway,” 11.
58 Anderson, “War Diary,” 50.
EPILOGUE
1 Dickinson, The Flying Guns, 194–95.
2 Ambrose, The Pacific, 61.
3 Tillman, The Dauntless Dive-bomber of World War II, 89; Prange, Miracle at Midway, 273; Captain Schneider interview with Paridon, National World War II Museum.
4 Tillman, The Dauntless Dive-bomber of World War II, 90.
5 Lundstrom, The First Team, 429–30; Tillman, The Dauntless Dive-bomber of World War II, 89
6 Murray, Bombing Squadron Six in Action, II-20.
7 Mason oral history, 5.
8 Ibid.
9 Lanham to Lord questionnaire, Naval Historical Center.
10 Murray, “Midway: The View from a Bombing Six Rear Seat,” 46.
11 Ibid.
12 Murray, Bombing Squadron Six in Action, II-26.
13 Ambrose, The Pacific, 62; Stafford, The Big E, 103.
14 Kleiss, VS-6 Log of the War, 108; Forshee, Standby, Mark!, chapter 15.
15 Goldsmith to Horan, 9 February 1987.
16 Mears, Carrier Combat, 67, 76–77.
17 Horan, “The Last Flight of Charles Rollins Ware.”
18 Murray, “Midway: The View from a Bombing Six Rear Seat,” 47.
19 Bresnahan, “Interview with Earl Gallaher,” 4 June 1992; Cressman, “Blaze of Glory,” 24.
20 Murray, Bombing Squadron Six in Action, II-29–30.
21 Hoff oral history, 46–47.
22 Murray, Bombing Squadron Six in Action, III-2.
23 Ibid., III-39.
24 Ibid., III-18.
25 Fred Bergeron oral history.
26 Leaming, Scouting Squadron Six, 110.
27 Kleiss, “History from the Cockpit,” 16.