- 6/20/2025
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00:00There was a momentary thought, you know, let him get closer, and then it hit me, hell no, shoot, and I did.
00:30Everybody was shooting at us, and all of a sudden, zeroes started flashing by from under my belly, six or eight of them, I don't know how many.
00:44I heard some rumbling underneath, then fire and smoke came up all of a sudden. The cockpit was engulfed in flames.
00:51As we pulled away from the carrier, I was looking right straight at the side of it, and the carrier was on fire.
01:06I remember feeling three or four direct hits on our ship. I thought this could be my end.
01:15That kind of action gets the adrenaline pumping and keeps you up, and all of a sudden, it's over.
01:22But the thing that I knew was that a lot of the guys weren't coming back.
01:29It was the greatest naval battle of World War II, and in the course of less than 48 hours, the future of two world powers would be forever changed.
01:51Barely more than a pinpoint in the vast Pacific Ocean, Midway Atoll is the last century between Asia and the Hawaiian Islands, a tiny but critically essential strategic outpost for the United States Navy.
02:07In May 1942, American forces prepare to defend this bit of land at all costs, in a battle they cannot afford to lose.
02:20Yet by all odds, they are charged with an impossible task, hold off an overwhelmingly powerful military machine that has so far proven to be invincible.
02:32For over a decade, Japan has been building its war machine to pursue a grand strategy to conquer China, Asia, and the Pacific Islands.
02:43With each victory, their powerful and sophisticated army and navy grow stronger and more confident.
02:50In the spring of 1940, with most of Europe overrun by Nazi Germany, Japan signs a pact with Adolf Hitler, granting the Japanese a free hand in their conquest of Asia.
03:11Only the United States, with strong economic and political interests throughout the region, stands in the way.
03:20But their armed forces are not prepared for war.
03:25December 7th, 1941.
03:28A Japanese armada arrives undetected in the waters off the Hawaiian Islands.
03:34Their mission?
03:36Destroy the U.S. Pacific Fleet moored at Pearl Harbor,
03:39and removed the last obstacle to their total domination of Asia.
03:49It looks so peaceful.
03:51I questioned myself if we should attack them.
03:55But at the same time, I thought we've got them.
03:59Just as the Japanese had hoped, American forces are caught completely by surprise.
04:17The next day, the United States declares war on Japan.
04:21We came back into Pearl Harbor, I think, on the afternoon of the 10th.
04:28The battleship row, still smoking, and Ford Island, the hangars were pretty well blown apart.
04:42Wrecked aircraft all over the place.
04:44The water was pretty well covered with oil, and pretty much a scene of desolation.
04:55I was humiliated and embarrassed by our being caught at Pearl.
05:03You know, I shared the feeling of responsibility that we never should have been caught that way.
05:08The Japanese have inflicted a devastating blow to the U.S. Pacific Fleet.
05:18But in an incredible stroke of luck,
05:21three American carriers that were supposed to be at Pearl Harbor that weekend
05:24were all out at sea.
05:26We were very fortunate on the Enterprise by not being in there because we were supposed to have been in there.
05:37And if we'd have been in there, I wouldn't have been alive today.
05:44The Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor with carrier-based planes,
05:49demonstrating the crucial role aircraft carriers will play in modern warfare.
05:53Yet they had failed to touch any of America's carriers.
05:58It was the first of many twists of fate that would come back to haunt the Japanese in the Battle of Midway.
06:05And for the young men aboard the U.S. carriers,
06:08men with no experience of war,
06:10the future of their nation now rests squarely on their shoulders.
06:15Within weeks of Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor,
06:25the remnants of America's Pacific Fleet attempt to strike back.
06:28But the best they can do is harass the overpowering Japanese forces
06:50in such remote areas as the Solomon and Marshall Islands.
06:54Worse for the Americans,
07:01the hit-and-run skirmishes expose just how unprepared they are for war.
07:07About 70% of our pilots were real green pilots right out of the States.
07:13They had very little experience.
07:16And we had to go into the Solomon Islands with people like that.
07:18The odds are stacked against the Americans.
07:23They are vastly outnumbered in both ships and personnel.
07:26And their fighter planes are no match for the state-of-the-art Japanese Zero.
07:31One of the things we began to realize was the maneuverability.
07:35It was a good fighter.
07:37It was far better than any fighter that we had.
07:38With Japan's domination of Asia nearly complete,
07:46and their Navy able to strike at will throughout the Western Pacific,
07:51U.S. military leaders decide to execute a risky attempt
07:54to keep the pressure on the enemy
07:55and boost American morale during the darkest days of the war.
07:5916 B-25 land bombers under the command of Lieutenant Colonel James Doolittle
08:07lumber off the deck of the carrier hornet
08:09and mount a daring raid into the heart of Japan
08:12and bomb Tokyo.
08:23The surprise bombing electrifies the Japanese.
08:26The nation and their revered emperor
08:29are no longer safe from enemy attack.
08:34To have them bomb Tokyo with imperial palaces,
08:39the Navy had to do something to save face.
08:42The honor of the emperor and the security of his people
08:45becomes the responsibility of this man,
08:48Admiral Isoruhu Yamamoto,
08:51mastermind behind the attack on Pearl Harbor.
08:53Yamamoto knows the United States is a sleeping giant
08:57with a war potential far greater than that of Japan.
09:02Doolittle's raid convinces him
09:03now is the time to deliver a decisive blow
09:06to the carriers he missed at Pearl Harbor.
09:09He chooses tiny Midway Atoll
09:11as bait in an elaborate trap.
09:14Four of Japan's finest aircraft carriers
09:21will be at the heart of the mightiest battle fleet
09:24the world has ever seen.
09:29Yamamoto will divide his forces
09:31to confuse and surprise the Americans.
09:33First, he will attack the Illusion Islands,
09:36a decoy designed to split the American Pacific fleet.
09:39Then the four carriers will launch their planes
09:42and bomb Midway Atoll,
09:44destroying all U.S. resistance
09:46to a full-scale invasion.
09:48Yamamoto is convinced
09:49the Americans will have no choice
09:51but to try to reclaim the airbase at Midway,
09:54a strategically vital defense post
09:56for the Hawaiian Islands.
09:59And when the Americans come to the rescue,
10:02a vast array of Japanese warships
10:03held in reserve will pounce
10:05and wipe out the unsuspecting Pacific fleet.
10:09It is a complex and daring strategy
10:12and its success completely depends
10:15on catching the enemy off guard.
10:18Although Yamamoto will be deploying
10:20a massive armada of men, ships, and planes,
10:23the U.S. has a secret weapon,
10:26naval intelligence.
10:30Codebreakers have succeeded
10:31in cracking portions of Japan's
10:33top-secret naval code.
10:35In April of 1942,
10:39intelligence officers report startling news
10:41to Admiral Chester Nimitz,
10:43commander of the Pacific fleet.
10:45They believe the Japanese
10:46are planning a mammoth sea operation,
10:48using the code names A-L and A-F
10:51for their intended targets.
10:54But intelligence can only partially decipher the code.
10:58They are fairly sure A-L refers
10:59to the Aleutian Islands,
11:01yet can only guess that A-F is Midway.
11:04Nimitz needs conclusive evidence
11:08that A-F is Midway
11:10before deciding how to commit his meager forces.
11:15He orders a false, uncoded radio message
11:18be sent from Midway to naval headquarters,
11:21stating that fresh water machinery
11:22has broken down on the atoll.
11:24Two days later,
11:26a Japanese intercept is picked up,
11:29cautioning invading troops
11:30to carry extra rations of fresh water.
11:34It is enough to convince Nimitz
11:36that he must risk his entire fleet
11:38and engage the enemy.
11:40He concludes the Aleutians are a diversion
11:42and decides to set his own trap
11:45for the Japanese armada at Midway.
11:46But he has only two carriers at his disposal.
12:00Weeks earlier, the Yorktown was severely damaged
12:03at the Battle of Coral Sea
12:04and was forced to return to Pearl Harbor
12:07for extensive repairs.
12:10Nimitz said to the repair chief,
12:12How long is it going to take you
12:13to get this ship repaired?
12:16And he said, three months.
12:19And he says, I'll give you three days.
12:23It is a deadline that has to be met.
12:28In less than 60 hours of round-the-clock work,
12:31the Yorktown is patched up
12:33and ready to join the carrier group.
12:37Despite a web of Japanese surveillance
12:39around Pearl Harbor,
12:41the three American carriers slip out undetected.
12:46The Yorktown, Hornet, and Enterprise
12:48take their position at Point Luck,
12:51a rendezvous spot northeast of Midway.
12:54With less than 30 warships
12:56confronting more than 190
12:58of Japan's cracked naval vessels,
13:00their only hope is to launch their planes
13:02on the unsuspecting Japanese carriers
13:04before they are discovered.
13:06What all the Americans can do now
13:08is wait for Yamamoto to make his move.
13:12The more they briefed us
13:14on what we were coming up against,
13:17it's kind of hard to visualize
13:18that all these ships and carriers
13:21coming in
13:23were practically overwhelming.
13:28When I had a wife and daughter
13:35living in Honolulu
13:36and I was concerned
13:37in case the Japanese kept going in again,
13:39so I addressed Admiral Spruance
13:40and I said,
13:41suppose they don't hit Midway
13:43and we have all our forces out here,
13:45but go on,
13:46keep going east and hit Pearl again.
13:49And he said,
13:50we just hope they won't.
13:53And I thought,
13:53boy, that's cold comfort.
13:54We hope they won't.
13:55On the 3rd of June,
14:01Japanese forces begin their invasion
14:03of the U.S. bases
14:04on the Aleutian Islands.
14:06It is the first confirmation
14:08that American intelligence
14:09has successfully decoded
14:11Yamamoto's intricate plan.
14:12When we began to get reports
14:16from the Aleutians
14:17that they were under attack,
14:19all of a sudden,
14:20it was too good to be true.
14:21It's too good.
14:22Here we're waiting in ambush for them.
14:24We're finally going to get the revenge
14:26that I've been hungering for
14:27ever since December the 7th.
14:32On Midway Atoll,
14:33the American military
14:34prepares to defend the island.
14:36The men are completely unaware
14:44of the presence
14:45of the U.S. carriers
14:46nearby at Point Luck.
14:48Our flight leader
14:50got all of our crews together
14:52and told us that the Navy knew
14:54that there was the likelihood
14:56of an attack against Midway.
14:57And we were told
14:58that we were the defenders
15:00of Midway,
15:02that we couldn't expect help
15:03from any other quarter.
15:04Night falls on Midway Atoll.
15:11Just over the horizon,
15:12a small group of American warships
15:14waits to take on
15:15the largest naval flotilla
15:16in history,
15:17with only the element of surprise
15:20on their side.
15:30On the morning of June the 4th,
15:32we were told
15:33that this was the big day.
15:35And so,
15:36in the morning,
15:37it was a different feeling.
15:38There was,
15:39we were up early.
15:41There was not the usual banter.
15:42There was more of a very solemn,
15:45very apprehensive atmosphere
15:47on the whole ship.
15:48We stayed around the ready room.
15:50There was nothing else to do.
15:51We'd wait, wait, wait
15:52until they finally made contact
15:54because they needed
15:56to have a position
15:57where the Japs were.
15:59Japan's Midway Task Force
16:03steams toward
16:04tiny Midway Atoll.
16:07Under the command
16:08of Admiral Nagumo,
16:09the pride of the Navy,
16:10the aircraft carriers
16:12Kaga, Akagi,
16:13Soryu,
16:14and Hiryu
16:14transport the elite
16:16air strike force.
16:21Many of the planes
16:22are piloted by veterans
16:24of the attack
16:25on Pearl Harbor.
16:30The aircraft carriers
16:32that participated
16:33in the Midway operations
16:35were the best aircraft carriers
16:36in Japan.
16:38And almost all the pilots
16:39on the carriers
16:40were quite skilled.
16:43Many were old enough
16:45to have had experiences
16:46with many battles.
16:50We thought we would
16:52win the battle.
16:56Everyone thought
16:57that the war
16:57was going well for us.
16:59We thought
17:00we were going to win.
17:01The crew was very confident
17:03that we were going to win.
17:16The Japanese
17:27launched their assault
17:28on Midway,
17:29completely unaware
17:30that the American
17:31carrier task force
17:32is already in the area.
17:39They hold back
17:40over 100 planes
17:41and equip them
17:42with torpedoes
17:42in case American ships
17:44are spotted.
17:46Nagumo then sends out
17:53his reconnaissance aircraft.
17:58But for almost 20 minutes,
18:00mechanical problems
18:01hinder the takeoff
18:02of one plane.
18:04The very craft
18:06assigned to survey
18:06the area
18:07where the American
18:08carriers lie in wait.
18:11A seemingly minor delay
18:13that will have
18:14devastating consequences.
18:16American search planes
18:23from Midway
18:24have been in the air
18:24since dawn.
18:26At last,
18:27they spot the enemy
18:28carriers and report
18:29the position.
18:32A short time later,
18:33radar picks up
18:34the approaching
18:35Japanese planes.
18:37Midway airfield
18:38springs into action.
18:41Navy, marine,
18:42and army aviators
18:43take to the skies
18:44to protect Midway.
18:45But their obsolete
18:46fighter planes
18:47are no match
18:48for the premier zeros
18:49and their pilots,
18:50the best trained
18:51in the world.
18:52You've got to remember
18:54that most of these pilots
18:55were inexperienced kids
18:56that had come out there
18:58probably two weeks before.
19:00They just hadn't had
19:01enough training
19:02or anything else
19:03and they were just lost.
19:07As the Japanese planes
19:08approached their target,
19:09anti-aircraft guns
19:10burst into action.
19:11We were counting
19:18on a surprise attack.
19:19But when we dropped
19:20the bombs,
19:21we were surprised
19:22that the Americans
19:23attacked us so quickly.
19:24The only thing
19:25I can think of
19:26is that they were
19:27ready for us.
19:28Otherwise,
19:29they would not have been
19:30able to shoot
19:30their machine guns
19:31like that.
19:32Their response
19:33was unbelievably quick.
19:41But heavy anti-aircraft fire
19:44can't keep the bombs
19:45from raining down.
19:52Everything was so intense
19:54and just unbelievable.
19:57When the first wave
19:58of bombers came over,
19:59I was looking right at them
20:01when they came
20:02and dropped a number of bombs,
20:04but one of them
20:04was a direct hit
20:05and the ground defense commander
20:06at Benson's dugout,
20:08which was less than 150 feet
20:09from where I was at.
20:10And so I jumped up
20:12and ran over there
20:13and found Benson was dead
20:16and actually decapitated.
20:18And another sergeant
20:20was badly hurt
20:21in there
20:21in the communication headquarters.
20:24I got out of there
20:25back fast
20:26and got back to my dugout.
20:28I stayed right there.
20:37Fuel tanks are hit,
20:39sending vast plumes
20:40of oily smoke
20:41into the air.
20:46But few American aircraft
20:48have been caught
20:48on the ground.
20:54Despite the fierce bombing,
20:56Midway's defenders
20:56are defiant.
20:58The atoll is still
20:59under their control.
21:00As the first wave
21:07of Japanese planes
21:08head back to the carriers,
21:10their air commander
21:11assesses the damage below.
21:17The air commander
21:19at that time
21:20thought it brought
21:21no war results.
21:23So he sent a wire message
21:25that it was necessary
21:26to attack again.
21:27The message calling
21:30for a second bombing
21:31of Midway
21:32will delay preparations
21:33for the attack
21:34on the American Pacific Fleet
21:35once it arrives.
21:37This disruption
21:38of Yamamoto's precise
21:40and elaborate strategy
21:41will have disastrous consequences.
21:44For little do the Japanese know,
21:46the American carrier task force
21:48is already in position.
21:50On board the U.S. carriers,
21:52pilots and their crews
21:53wait for the orders
21:54to attack.
21:55To break the tension,
21:58members of Torpedo Squadron 8
21:59share a few lighthearted moments.
22:02For these young men,
22:04many fresh out of flight school,
22:05it's a welcome distraction
22:06from the horrors
22:07that may lie ahead.
22:16Word of the bombing of Midway
22:17finally reaches the carriers.
22:20Contact reports
22:20place the Japanese fleet
22:22at the very limit
22:23of the range
22:23of the American planes.
22:25There will be minimal
22:26fuel reserves left
22:27for combat maneuvering
22:29or navigational errors.
22:36Jimmy Thatch
22:37was lieutenant commander
22:38and when they finally
22:41ordered us
22:42to man our aircraft,
22:43Thatch got this group
22:45of pilots together
22:46out on the flight deck
22:47and he said,
22:48I want to get something
22:50across to you right now.
22:52Whatever happens,
22:54stick together.
22:56None of this lone wolf business.
22:59You'll get yourself killed
23:00and you won't do
23:01any of the rest of us
23:02any good.
23:04And he said,
23:05lean out your mixture
23:07as much as you can,
23:09save all the gas you can.
23:10and he didn't have
23:13to really tell me that
23:15because I'd already figured
23:17this was going
23:18to be a close one.
23:21The Hornets
23:22and Enterprise
23:23are the first
23:24to launch their aircraft.
23:34Later,
23:34the Yorktown
23:35also sends her planes aloft.
23:41The squadrons
23:42take to the skies
23:43and head toward
23:44the last reported location
23:45of their target.
23:47It is a race
23:47against time.
23:49They must find
23:50the carriers
23:50before the Japanese
23:51discover the American fleet.
23:54And we kept flying
23:55and flying
23:56and flying
23:57and we got out there
23:59to where they were
24:00supposed to be
24:01and there wasn't
24:01anything there.
24:03We didn't know
24:03at the time
24:04that there was an error
24:05given on a position report.
24:09Dangerously low
24:10on fuel,
24:11many of the American planes
24:13are forced to turn back,
24:14their mission
24:15ending in failure.
24:23Aboard the Japanese carriers,
24:25the Midway attack planes
24:26begin their return.
24:28Admiral Nagumo
24:29orders his planes
24:30to be rearmed
24:31for a second assault
24:32on Midway.
24:33The deck crews
24:34jump into action.
24:39Then Nagumo
24:40receives two
24:41unexpected messages.
24:43The delayed scouting plane
24:44finally reaches
24:45its destination
24:46and reports,
24:47cite what appears
24:48to be
24:49ten enemy surface ships.
24:52Nagumo demands
24:53further information.
24:55It takes almost an hour
24:56to get a report back.
24:58Enemy is accompanied
24:59by what appears
25:00to be a carrier.
25:02It is stunning news.
25:08Yamamoto's entire strategy
25:10has been to attack Midway,
25:12provoke the American carriers
25:13to come to the rescue
25:14and then destroy them.
25:16Nagumo realizes
25:17that the American carriers
25:19have been waiting
25:19for him all along.
25:21The scouting plane
25:26found the enemy fleet.
25:28In spite of receiving
25:29the wire message
25:30that he found
25:30the enemy fleet,
25:32the headquarters
25:32did not utilize
25:34the information.
25:35All they could think of
25:37was the report
25:37from Midway
25:38that the second attack
25:39was necessary.
25:40They ignored
25:41the scouting plane's report.
25:43The headquarters
25:44made no move
25:46and I think
25:47this was a grave mistake.
25:49It's unforgivable.
25:53As Admiral Nagumo
25:54wastes precious minutes
25:56agonizing over what to do,
25:57the American carrier squadrons
25:59continue their search.
26:02Wade McCluskey
26:03is the leader
26:04of a formation
26:05of dive bombers
26:05from the Enterprise.
26:08We'd already gone
26:09a long time
26:10and McCluskey
26:12made a decision
26:13based on his ability
26:16as an aviator.
26:17He figured
26:18if the Japanese
26:18launched planes
26:19coming in
26:20towards Midway
26:20then they would
26:21turn around
26:21and head back out.
26:23So he made a turn
26:24to the northwest
26:24and it was the right turn
26:27and to me
26:27that was probably
26:28one of the more important
26:28decisions
26:29that was ever made.
26:32And not long after that
26:33we saw a single ship
26:35heading in the direction
26:36we were going.
26:37It was a Japanese destroyer
26:38while McCluskey
26:39reasoned
26:40he's headed back
26:41for the fleet
26:41so we followed him.
26:43It is the twist
26:45of fate
26:46the Americans
26:46so desperately need.
26:49Just as McCluskey
26:49had hoped
26:50the unsuspecting destroyer
26:52leads his formation
26:53of dive bombers
26:53directly to the heart
26:55of the Japanese fleet
26:56the four carriers.
26:59Unaware of the approaching
27:01American squadron
27:02Admiral Nagumo
27:03finally decides
27:04he must forgo
27:05a second assault
27:05on Midway
27:06and instead
27:07attack the American carriers.
27:09He orders the bombs
27:11on his planes
27:12to be replaced
27:12with torpedoes
27:13and armor-piercing bombs
27:14to use against ships.
27:17There was a lot
27:18of confusion
27:19within the carrier
27:20like lowering a torpedo
27:22and putting on a bomb
27:23and again switching it
27:25to a torpedo.
27:27High above
27:28McCluskey's dive bombers
27:29move into position.
27:31Suddenly
27:31squadrons of American
27:33torpedo planes
27:33appear on the scene.
27:35The torpedo squadrons
27:36must attack at sea level
27:38in order to drop
27:38their torpedoes.
27:44Immediately
27:45zero fighters
27:46hit them
27:46from all directions.
27:49The turret gunner
27:50called out
27:51and said
27:51we're under attack
27:53and I could hear him
27:54firing his 50 caliber
27:56machine gun
27:56and after a few minutes
27:58I noticed that
27:59his machine gun
28:00wasn't firing anymore
28:01and I could see
28:02that he had
28:04obviously been killed.
28:05it was just
28:06a bloody mess
28:07really.
28:09Then shortly
28:09after that
28:10I felt a real
28:11burning
28:12searing sensation
28:13on my left wrist.
28:15I looked down
28:15and I could see
28:16that I'd been grazed
28:17by something
28:19a bullet or something.
28:20Then the next thing
28:21I remembered
28:22was
28:23slumped over
28:25my head hung down
28:27and blood was
28:28pouring off my head.
28:30The American torpedo planes
28:32are much slower
28:33than the dive bombers
28:34and their torpedoes
28:36unreliable.
28:37They fail to score
28:38a single hit.
28:44Like sharks
28:45smelling blood
28:45the seasoned Japanese pilots
28:47swarm over their foes.
28:55As the American torpedo planes
28:57are mercilessly slaughtered
28:59McCluskey's formation
29:00is joined by two other squadrons
29:02of dive bombers.
29:04Flying high above the action
29:05they have arrived
29:06completely undetected.
29:11Unaware of the approaching
29:12American dive bombers
29:13Japanese firepower
29:15is concentrated
29:16on the Americans
29:16attacking at sea level.
29:19If they'd looked up
29:20they could have seen us
29:21but they were too busy
29:23trying to destroy
29:25the torpedo planes
29:27that had gotten there first.
29:29That was pretty tragic
29:30because
29:31out of 42 torpedo planes
29:35from the various ships
29:37from our ships
29:38there were only
29:41two that survived.
29:46Well in my particular squadron
29:48we had 21 aircraft
29:49in the battle.
29:50Of those 21 airplanes
29:51ours was the only aircraft
29:53that returned.
29:54The other 20 were shot down.
29:55having successfully annihilated
30:04the American torpedo squadrons
30:06Nagumo
30:07confidently turns
30:08his carriers
30:09into the wind
30:10with his planes
30:11now rearmed
30:12for attack.
30:13He is ready to launch
30:14hundreds of torpedo
30:15and dive bombers
30:15to finally destroy
30:16the U.S. carrier group
30:18but the decks
30:19of his ships
30:19are still laden
30:20with explosives
30:21and open fuel lines.
30:22It is at this moment
30:25the American dive bombers
30:27go in for the kill.
30:30As I put my sights on
30:32at 3,500 feet
30:33a zero
30:34ran through my sights
30:35on the deck
30:35which was large of zeros
30:37on this bright
30:38orange-yellow deck
30:39with the meatball
30:41up on the bow.
30:42I thought of all
30:42the arrogance
30:43Navy
30:44U.S. Navy carriers
30:46had dyed their decks
30:47the dark Pacific blue
30:49when the war started
30:49so they faded
30:50into the ocean
30:51and here are the Japanese
30:53the arrogant Japanese
30:54with their bright yellow
30:55orange
30:55with a beatball
30:56up on the belt.
31:01When the first bomb hits
31:03it's like an automobile accident
31:04nobody involved
31:06remembers what's happened
31:07from then on.
31:08Your mind blanks out
31:09at the sheer horror of it.
31:13I saw a Dick Bess
31:14bomb hit the ship
31:16back in the parked planes
31:17and the pilots
31:20were still in the cockpits
31:21and that bomb went
31:22right in the middle
31:23of all that.
31:24Yeah
31:25it was just a mess.
31:34A dive bomber
31:36attacked us.
31:37There were a lot of planes
31:38and bombs in the hunger.
31:40All the planes
31:41were in the hunger.
31:42They were full of fuel
31:43they caught on fire
31:45and there was nothing
31:46we could do.
31:47The torpedoes and bombs
31:49on board ignited
31:50and exploded
31:51and the ship
31:52rocked hard.
31:55Out of the corner
31:56of my eye
31:57I noticed the
31:58Kaga just seemed
31:59to explode
32:00into fire.
32:01A complete flight
32:02deck and hangar
32:03deck.
32:04Just a complete
32:06ball of fire
32:08that seemed to open up
32:10the whole
32:10inside of that ship.
32:12just a roll
32:14of yellow
32:15oily green
32:17flash.
32:27In less than five minutes
32:29three of Japan's
32:30mightiest carriers
32:31the Kaga,
32:32Akagi and Soryu
32:34are burning out of control.
32:35And about that time
32:38I heard
32:40my first radio call
32:42and it was a group
32:44commander
32:45rendezvous, rendezvous.
32:47And I realized
32:48I hadn't heard
32:48of radio
32:49the whole time
32:50we'd been out.
32:51And I tried to call
32:52and I couldn't
32:54get anybody.
32:55And then the thought
32:57hit me
32:57like Thatch had said
32:59none of this
33:00lone wolf business.
33:02I decided
33:03it was time
33:03to go home.
33:04So I started back.
33:07With their fuel tanks
33:08nearly depleted
33:09the American pilots
33:11head back
33:11to their home carriers
33:12fully aware
33:14of just how lucky
33:15they have been.
33:17The fact that
33:19three squadrons
33:20arrived
33:21over the
33:23same
33:24Japanese fleet
33:25at the same time
33:27and made
33:28simultaneous attacks
33:30I would say
33:31definitely
33:31it was divine
33:32intervention.
33:34as the U.S. dive bombers
33:40withdraw
33:41Japanese commanders
33:42survey the extent
33:43of the damages.
33:46I could only see
33:49the smoke
33:50from Kaga
33:50far away
33:51on the horizon.
33:53I happened to see
33:53Commander Nagumo
33:54being transported
33:55to a cruiser
33:56because his ship
33:57was sinking.
33:58and all the planes
34:02that lost
34:03their mothership
34:04were coming
34:05to the Hiryu
34:05to land.
34:09Our commander
34:10was ordering us
34:11to discard
34:11all the badly
34:12damaged planes
34:13into the ocean
34:14and only save
34:15the repairable planes.
34:17I couldn't believe
34:19what I was seeing.
34:20It was such
34:21a great shock.
34:26In a battle
34:27in which the odds
34:27are overwhelmingly
34:28against them
34:29the Americans
34:30have managed
34:30to land
34:31the first blow.
34:33In only five minutes
34:35their dive bombers
34:36have fatally crippled
34:37three of Japan's
34:38largest aircraft carriers
34:39but the Japanese
34:40are far from ready
34:41to admit defeat.
34:50Admiral Nagumo
34:51has finally pinpointed
34:52the location
34:53of the American
34:53carrier group.
34:55He orders
34:55the last surviving
34:56Japanese carrier
34:57the Hiryu
34:58to launch
34:59its attack planes.
35:03At the same time
35:05the Hiryu
35:05is launching
35:06its aircraft
35:06the American squadrons
35:08struggle to find
35:09their way
35:09back to their ships.
35:12One of the big problems
35:13was the fact
35:13that we'd run
35:14so low on gas already
35:15that people couldn't
35:17afford to have
35:18any holes in the gas tanks
35:19but they did
35:19and that's where
35:21we lost a lot of people.
35:22A lot of people
35:22didn't have the fuel
35:23to get back to the ship.
35:25Countless planes
35:26crash in the water.
35:27Their fuel tanks
35:28drained of gasoline.
35:31Even those
35:32who are able
35:32to locate their ships
35:33find it difficult
35:34to land safely
35:35on the American carriers.
35:37We got back
35:38and then they
35:39started a straight-in
35:40approach to the carrier.
35:41Well the carrier
35:41thought we were
35:42a torpedo plane
35:43and opened fire on us.
35:47And Senator Anderson
35:48pulled up
35:49and made another
35:51360 degree turn
35:52but he turned up
35:53so they could see
35:53the star
35:54on the bottom side
35:54of the wing.
35:55And then we
35:56made a straight-in
35:57approach to the carrier
35:58and landed aboard.
36:01It was estimated
36:01that we had
36:02less than a gallon
36:02of fuel left.
36:03by this time
36:06I think I was
36:08probably in a slight
36:10state of shock
36:11because I'd lost
36:11so much blood.
36:12My cockpit
36:13was just covered
36:14with blood.
36:15My clothes
36:16were just soaked.
36:21And the entire
36:23tail end of the airplane
36:24was covered with blood.
36:25I came up
36:35a beam
36:35of the carrier
36:36and immediately
36:38from the bridge
36:39there was a signal
36:39lamp
36:40started sending
36:41dots and dashes
36:42and I chopped
36:44my power back
36:45and dropped
36:46to the deck.
36:46but the minute
36:48I hit
36:48I realized
36:49there was
36:50something wrong.
36:51It was just like
36:51you stepped out
36:52onto a sheet
36:54of ice or something.
36:55You know,
36:56you can keep
36:56your balance
36:57but you didn't know
36:58where you were
36:58going to stop.
37:00So just short
37:02of the barrier
37:02I just pushed
37:03the control stick
37:05all the way forward
37:06and doubled over
37:06as much as I could
37:07and snapped the plane
37:09forward right
37:09onto its back.
37:13When everything
37:14settled down
37:15I was hanging
37:16upside down
37:17I could see
37:18the vase
37:19trying to look
37:20into the cockpit
37:21and I yelled
37:21at him
37:22get this
37:22S-O-B
37:23off of me.
37:29For those pilots
37:30lucky enough
37:31to return safely
37:32there is no time
37:33to celebrate.
37:37The here use
37:38approaching planes
37:39are picked up
37:39by the carrier's
37:40radar systems.
37:46The Yorktown
37:48immediately launches
37:49its aircraft
37:50to meet
37:50the approaching
37:51Japanese formations.
38:00When the Japanese
38:02attack the carrier
38:02Yorktown
38:03they are met
38:04with fierce resistance
38:05by American
38:05fighter planes
38:06and anti-aircraft fire.
38:08the air cannons
38:28were exploding
38:29all around me.
38:31I was flying
38:32into a curtain
38:32of explosions.
38:34All I could see
38:35was black.
38:39So I fired
38:40the torpedo
38:41under conditions
38:42like that.
38:57They were waiting
38:58and watching
38:58for us from above.
39:00We must have looked
39:01like sitting ducks
39:02to them.
39:10I heard
39:11some rumbling
39:12underneath
39:12then fire
39:13and smoke
39:14came up
39:14all of a sudden.
39:16The cockpit
39:16was engulfed
39:17in flames.
39:18I put my goggles
39:20on and covered
39:21my face
39:21with the muffler.
39:22I was trying
39:23not to get burned.
39:31While most
39:33of the attacking
39:33Japanese planes
39:34are shot down
39:35at least
39:36seven bombers
39:36break through.
40:01New Yorktown
40:06got hit
40:06with three
40:08bombs.
40:11The first one
40:12that struck aft
40:13on the flight deck
40:14and it was
40:16what they call
40:17a fire suppression.
40:20It explodes
40:21at deck level
40:22and it's meant
40:23to wipe out
40:24anti-aircraft
40:25crews.
40:28There are several
40:29casualties from that.
40:30There were men
40:34lying around
40:35on the deck
40:36with their legs
40:37blown off.
40:58The Yorktown
40:59lists in the water
41:00although the flight
41:01deck is quickly
41:02repaired
41:03the captain
41:03orders the ship
41:04to be abandoned.
41:10It was an angle
41:11so steep
41:12that it was
41:13difficult to stand.
41:15I dropped
41:16into the water
41:17and I started
41:18swimming
41:18towards the nearest
41:20destroyer.
41:22Despite the damage
41:24inflicted on the Yorktown
41:25the Americans
41:26still have the advantage.
41:28They have wiped out
41:29three of Japan's
41:30four carriers.
41:34Admiral Nimitz
41:35can either accept
41:35partial success
41:36or regroup
41:37and go after
41:38the Hiryu.
41:40Nimitz decides
41:40to gamble
41:41on total victory.
41:47The now battle-tested
41:48dive bombers
41:49take off
41:49from the Enterprise
41:50and Hornet
41:51and Hornet.
42:12We found the Hiryu
42:13about 5.30 in the evening
42:15and the anti-aircraft fire
42:17was terrific.
42:26And I made a mistake
42:28just checking around
42:29to make sure
42:30there were no fighters.
42:31I looked around
42:32and once I turned around
42:33and looked behind me
42:34I can see the back ends
42:35of the tracers
42:36and they were
42:37I don't know how
42:38they missed.
42:39I mean
42:39tracers were going
42:41over and under
42:42our wings
42:42and of course
42:43the pilot is taking
42:44very radical evasive
42:46maneuvers.
42:57Once again
42:58the dive bombers
42:59find their target.
43:01The decks of the carrier
43:02were full of planes
43:03that were lined up
43:04and ready to take off.
43:05There was just so much
43:08explosions
43:09and smoke
43:10and fire
43:12all over the place
43:13it was unbelievable.
43:15Four direct hits
43:17on the Hiryu's
43:17flight deck
43:18and a raging fire
43:19quickly envelops
43:20the ship.
43:21The last of Japan's
43:22midway carrier
43:23strike force
43:24has been destroyed.
43:28I was the last
43:29point to take off
43:30from the Hiryu.
43:31I turned around
43:32to look back
43:33and then I saw
43:34a bomb hit the Hiryu.
43:35and he was
43:36engulfed in flames.
43:46Enemy planes
43:47kept coming at me
43:48so I kept fighting
43:49them off
43:49until my machine gun
43:50was out of ammunition.
43:53I had very little
43:54fuel left
43:55so I had no choice
43:57but to land
43:57in the water
43:58by a destroyer.
43:59I had no choice
44:01but to land
44:01in the water
44:02by a destroyer.
44:05when I looked around
44:11I saw black smoke
44:13from the Akagi
44:14Kaga
44:14Soryu
44:15and Hiryu.
44:16I felt all of Japan's
44:21leading aircraft carriers
44:22have been destroyed.
44:25We have lost the war.
44:27I was in such a hurry
44:31I was in such a hurry
44:32when I took off
44:33that I left my pistol
44:34behind on the carrier
44:35so I couldn't even
44:38kill myself.
44:40I knew there were sharks
44:41swimming around
44:42in the water
44:42where I was
44:43so I was ready
44:45to let the sharks
44:46kill me off.
44:47night descends.
44:54The Americans return
44:55to the carriers exhausted
44:56but confident
44:58they have won
44:59the air battle.
45:02That night
45:03we knew that
45:04we'd gotten
45:05the big four
45:05of the carriers
45:06that attacked Pearl.
45:07We knew we'd turned
45:08back a task force
45:09that looked
45:10vast and impressive
45:11but the heart
45:13and soul
45:13was the carriers.
45:14Without the carriers
45:15they couldn't
45:15keep coming.
45:17The Hiryu
45:20will soon join
45:20the three carriers
45:21the Soryu,
45:23Kaga
45:23and Akagi
45:24at the bottom
45:26of the ocean.
45:34The Americans
45:35have ambushed
45:36the Japanese
45:36before they could
45:37spring their
45:38intricate trap.
45:39Without aircraft
45:40carriers to provide
45:41protection
45:42Japan's entire
45:43Midway invasion fleet
45:44is vulnerable
45:45to attack
45:46by enemy planes.
45:47Admiral Yamamoto
45:50has no choice
45:51but to admit defeat.
45:53He transmits
45:53a message
45:54to his forces.
45:56The occupation
45:56of Midway
45:57is cancelled.
45:59Yamamoto
45:59must now make
46:00a humiliating retreat
46:01back to Japan.
46:07The Yorktown,
46:09the only American
46:09carrier damaged
46:10by Japan's
46:11massive Midway
46:12task force,
46:13sits helpless
46:14in the water.
46:16A salvage crew
46:17extinguishes
46:17the remaining fires.
46:18with no enemy
46:34forces in sight,
46:36a destroyer
46:36begins to escort it
46:37to the safety
46:38of Pearl Harbor.
46:43But beneath the calm sea,
46:45a lone Japanese submarine
46:46has managed to penetrate
46:48the American
46:48anti-submarine screen.
46:56Having shadowed
46:57the battered carrier
46:58for nearly eight hours,
46:59it takes position
47:00and fires three torpedoes.
47:04One torpedo rips
47:05the escorting destroyer
47:07in half.
47:07Two others scored
47:16direct hits
47:17on the Yorktown.
47:19By morning,
47:20the carrier
47:21will be gone.
47:26The battle of Midway
47:27is over.
47:28The Americans
47:29have won
47:30a stunning victory.
47:32One carrier lost
47:33to four of the Japanese.
47:34144 aircraft lost
47:38to 332 of Japan's
47:40carrier aircraft.
47:45Although badly hit,
47:47Midway remains
47:48in the hands
47:48of the Americans.
47:50No Japanese soldier
47:51has set foot
47:52on this tiny atoll.
47:55Marines survey
47:56the damage,
47:57the exhilaration
47:58of victory
47:59tempered by the hard
48:00realities of war.
48:01We as youngsters,
48:03when we went out there
48:04with our new airplanes,
48:06thought we had
48:07a real good opportunity
48:08to do well
48:11against Japanese forces.
48:13And for us,
48:14it was a real
48:14come down
48:16to those few of us
48:17who came back
48:18to realize
48:19it's a real
48:21tough business
48:21we're in.
48:27It would take weeks
48:28to rescue
48:29the many pilots
48:30who had crashed
48:31into the ocean.
48:34Time enough
48:34for the survivors
48:35to remember those
48:37who so valiantly
48:37gave their lives
48:38so others could live.
48:42The first day
48:43of the battle,
48:44we got the
48:44jam carriers,
48:46and that morning
48:47the combat crew,
48:49all of us
48:50were gunners,
48:50had gone to breakfast.
48:5318 of us.
48:55And that night,
48:56we sat down
48:56to evening meal,
48:57there were seven.
48:58that was hard
48:59to take.
49:05Funeral services
49:06are held
49:07to honor
49:07the Americans
49:08who died
49:09at the Battle of Midway.
49:11They had faced
49:12a seemingly
49:13invincible foe,
49:14but had emerged
49:15victorious.
49:16the cream of Japan's
49:29expertly trained
49:30and experienced
49:31pilots
49:31has been wiped out.
49:33A loss as significant
49:34as the destruction
49:36of the carriers
49:36themselves.
49:37of the war.
49:47I truly feel
49:48there is nothing
49:49worse than the war.
49:51I hate it.
49:52Innocent people
49:53kill each other
49:54in the war.
49:55There's nothing
49:55more cruel than that
49:56in this world.
49:58Unless you kill them,
49:59they will kill you.
50:00That's a war.
50:01That's why
50:02I don't think
50:03there should ever
50:04be a war.
50:04For the Japanese
50:09pilots who survived,
50:11the conflict
50:11will haunt them
50:12for the rest
50:12of their lives.
50:15It was so sad
50:18that my superior
50:19officers were
50:19called hazane,
50:21soldiers who
50:22lost the war.
50:23They said
50:24they couldn't
50:24talk to us.
50:26They were so ashamed.
50:27that made us cry.
50:32We tried to
50:33cheer them up,
50:34but it didn't work.
50:37They were given
50:38new uniforms
50:38and transferred.
50:41They were told
50:42not to talk
50:43about Midway.
50:44The destruction
50:51of Japan's
50:52four carriers
50:53at Midway
50:54is a fatal blow
50:55from which their
50:56navy will never
50:56recover.
51:00They have lost
51:01the ability
51:02to attack at will
51:03throughout the Pacific.
51:06And the Americans
51:07will soon build
51:08a navy
51:09that will overwhelm
51:10the Japanese forces.
51:11Yet in a few
51:13precious minutes
51:14on June 4th, 1942,
51:17a small group
51:17of determined
51:18warriors
51:18with the most
51:19meager of resources
51:20overcame
51:21impossible odds
51:22and in the process
51:24forever changed
51:26the course of history.
51:41of the Sea
51:44Two
51:52Three
51:52One
51:53Four
51:54Three
51:55Three
51:56Three
51:56Two
51:56Two
51:56Three
51:58Four
51:58Four
51:58Four
51:59Six
51:59Four
51:59Five
52:00Five
52:00Four
52:01Four
52:01Four
52:02Five
52:02Four
52:03Zero
52:03Five
52:04Five
52:05Five
52:05Five
52:06Four
52:06Five
52:07Five
52:09Five
52:10Four
52:10Seven
Recommended
1:37:47
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