5.+Admiral+Chester+Nimitz+and+the+Battle+of+Midway

Akshat Parekh
When I was making my rounds near the commander's office, i caught sight the Admiral. The men around me seem to trust him because, well, we have to; he controls the entire Pacific naval fleet (Danzer 579). But besides that, any of the men would put their lives of the hand of this man; I even heard that he was awarded the Silver Lifesaving Medal for saving a sailor that fell overboard. However, he wasn't saving people right now, he was talking to his advisors and making strategic hand gestures with his hands. The Admiral is a great leader; he graduated from the naval acadamy in 1905, so he has quite a bit of experienced. He was a master tactician; he acted as an aid to the Command Battle Force in 1923 and then to the Commander-in-Chief himself. And to top it all of he commanded the Augusta it was the flagship for the Asiatic Fleet in 1933 ("Fleet" 1). So, if there was anyone that was gonna help us to get those Japs back for Pearl Harbor, it was ou Admiral Chester W. Nimitz. So I watch with admration as he talked with his adiviors. I didn't understand exactly what was going on, but I could tell from his face that he wasn't planning a mail drop, it was an attack and it was gonna be soon.

Yesterday, I heard that our recon boys found the main Japanese fleet heading towards Midway (Danzer 579). That must be where we are going; that must be what the Admiral is planning, an attack. Early in the morning, my suspicions were confirmed when I heard the order come over the radio to send four PBYs on bombing runs to attack the fleet. The Battle of Midway had now just officially started, and this time America is on the offensive. On of the PBYs managed to hit the Japanese tanker //Akebono Maru// ("Battle" 4). Later that morning, there was some chatter in the comunications room about the Japs attacking Midway, but doing little damage on the ground (4). Then as i walked back towards my desk I heard the Admiral talking to Vice Admiral Fletcher and Spruance about how their following bombing raids failed to cause any damage ("Battle of Midway" 3). Then I heard him talk about how the //Enterprise// and //Hornet// had sent more than 100 planes at the enemy fleet. However, the Admirals face was struck with grief for some reason, then I realized because nearly all of the planes had been lost in the failed attack ("Battle of Midway" 4). However alll was not lost when a messenger from the Com Room brought us amazing news another attack led by the //Enterprise// and //Yorktown// critically damaged the enemy ships called //Kaga, Akagi,// and //Soryu// ("Battle" 5)//.// The other men in the room rejoiced along with me once they heard the news. However, later that day I asked a telecom operator how the battle was going and he told me that the //Yorktown// had been disabled by the Jap ship //Hiryu// ("Battle of Midway" 4). Then at around 1700 he came back to me and told me that the //Enterprise// got those S.O.B.s back ("Battle" 5), We all got some rest for the night after hearing this because we could all rest assure that this battle was in our hand now. The next two days were a lot ess stress full as we just were cleaning up the what was left of the Japanese fleet. On the fifth, the causeways were filled with joyful Navy men. The //Enterprise// and the //Hornet// took out the Jap heavy cruiser //Mikuma// and damaged the //Asashio//, //Arashio//, and //Mogami.// That was the last day of any air attacks. However the sixth of June was a tragic day as we lost the Yorktown and the USS Hammann because of a sub torpedoing the two ships while theysalvaged what the could from the battle wreckage. However they didn't know that a submarine was going to take their lives ("Battle" 5). Even the Admiral was saddened, as he too thought that the Battle of Midway was already won. Saddly the sub got away, but the battle was finally over and this time, June 6, 1942 will always be rembered as the day America won the Battle of Midway adn flipped the tide of the war and went on the offensive by destroying four Jap aircraft carriers, a cruiser, and 250 planes (Danzer 579). With every victory, we come closer to winning the war, but something about this victory felt better than the rest; maybe it was avenging Pearl Harboror or maybe it was taking the fight to the Japs instead of being on the recieving end.

Image 1: http://www-tc.pbs.org/weta/carrier/assets/img/history/chester_nimitz_large.jpg
 * Works Cited**

Image 2: [|http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/07/Battle_of_Midway_Map_from_dean.usma.edu_2015.png]

Image 3:[]

"Battle of Midway." __History Learning Site__. 2009. 18 Mar. 2009 <[|http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/battle_of_midway.htm>.]

"Battle of Midway: 4-7 June 1942." __Naval History & Heritage Command__. 27 April 2005. 18 Mar. 2009 .

Danzer, Gerald A. et al. __The Americas__. Boston: McDougal Littell, 2003.

"Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, USN, (1885-1966)." __Naval History & Heritage Command.__ 9 Dec. 2000. 18 Mar. 2009 .