Task Force 17 – Rear Admiral Frank J. Fletcher in Yorktown Task Group 17.5 Carrier Group – CAPT Elliott Buckmaster USS Yorktown (CV-5)CAPT Buckmaster CVG-5 – LCDR Oscar Pederson VS-5LT Wallace Clark Short, Jr.19 (17) x SBD-3 VF-3LCDR John Smith Thach27 (25) x F4F-4 VB-3LCDR Maxwell Franklin Leslie 18 (17) x SBD-3 VT-3LCDR Lance Edward…
O ye that love mankind! Ye that dare oppose, not only the tyranny, but the tyrant, stand forth! Every spot of the old world is overrun with oppression. Freedom hath been hunted round the globe. Asia, and Africa, have long expelled her.—Europe regards her like a stranger, and England hath given her warning to depart….
Another Flightdeck Friday and sadly, another memorial – this time for another pillar of the E-2C Community, CAPT Edward C. Geiger, USN, ret. (“Ned”). Ned passed away suddenly earlier this week just as he was beginning to enjoy a well deserved retirement having wrapped up his post-Navy career. Services are tentatively slated for…
In carrying out the task assigned … you will be governed by the principle of calculated risk, which you shall interpret to mean the avoidance of exposure of our forces without good prospect on inflicting, as a result of such exposure, greater damage on the enemy. (Extract from CINCPAC Operational Order to TF 17 Commander)…
Day 2 – Heavy blows traded by both sides. Each side loses at least one carrier, but the Japanese thrust to Port Moresby is thwarted. Read more here. See also the animation via this link: Battle of Coral Sea (Illustrated)
(h/t to Southern Air Pirate for the topic suggestion) 29 April 1975. South Vietnam is ceasing to exist as a geopolitical entity – Saigon is falling. Under leaden skies, the assembled ships and aircraft of TF 76, headed by carriers Hancock and Midway begin executing Operation Frequent Wind, the evacuation of US personnel along with Vietnamese…
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Thanks.
SJ:
Huge gratitude for your work on this. First cold one’s on me! As a kid growing up in innocence in Coronado names like Ring, Thach, Laird and others were simply neighbors, friends of my parents or schoolmates. It wasn’t until much later that I realized who these people were!
The internet now has many wonderful interviews with many Midway participants, one which has caught my eye is from the viewpoint of one of the NAP’s from Yorktown:
http://www.internetmodeler.com/2002/june/aviation/Cheek.htm
Looking forward to more here and over on UNSI.
VR,
Andy
Besides good intel, bravery and skill, it was luck,luck,luck.l Gen. MacArthur used to greet every General to his command by asking: “Are you a lucky General?” As he old story goes, “I’d rather be lucky than good.” (Although it sure as hell helps to be both!)