VIRGINIA BEACH — Every war has a turning point: Whether it’s Valley Forge, the Battle of Lake Erie, Antietam, Gettysburg, or the Battle of the Bulge, momentum inevitably swings in favor of one combatant or the other.
Thursday, attendees will have the chance to learn about another important turning point, the Battle of Midway.
Seventy-six years ago, two powerful navies came together near a tiny island in the Pacific Ocean called Midway, and just six months after the devastating attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States Navy came away victorious and took the first decisive step in gaining control of the Pacific Theater.
Although the battle actually stretched over three days, June 4 was the day that U.S. Navy fliers sank four Japanese aircraft carriers, while 334 Japanese planes were shot down and some 3,000 men were lost.
In contrast, the U.S. lost 144 planes, but just one carrier, the USS Yorktown, which was hit by a torpedo fired from a Japanese submarine.
“It was literally the turning point of the war in the Pacific,” said Cmdr. Dave Hecht, public affairs officer for Commander, Naval Air Force Atlantic. “If Midway had been lost, there’s a good chance Hawaii would’ve been next.”
During that engagement the ships never actually came in sight of each other and they fired no shots at enemy ships. The battle, Hecht said, was fought and won entirely with air power.
To observe the victory that turned the tide of war in the Pacific, COMNAVAIRLANT is presenting “The Battle of Midway, 76th Year Commemoration.”
It will take place at the Association of Naval Aviation Monument Park in Virginia Beach, at 25th and Atlantic. It will begin at 1 p.m.
Although many Naval ceremonies look the same, this one will be different.
“With this one we’re really thinking out-of-the-box,” Hecht said. “We want people to feel like it’s June 4, 1942.”
As attendees approach the park, whether from the ocean side or the street, there will be 1940’s newsboys with newspapers featuring front page news of the battle. There’ll also be recreations, including radio announcements and a mother of a sailor in the Pacific listening intently to them; accounts from a pilot who flew on bombing runs during the battle and from a sailor on the Yorktown just before it was sunk.
Adm. Chester Nimitz, Fleet Admiral of the Navy during the battle, will also provide a recreated narrative.
The observance will include flyovers by a World War II era warbird and two modern F18 Super Hornets.
“This is an outstanding opportunity for the public to come out and learn a little about this history and honor the sacrifice of those who gave their lives,” Hecht said.
Also expected to be in attendance is Capt. Dexter Rumsey, a Navy pilot during the Battle of Midway who later went on to become commander of Naval Air Station Oceana, and Rear Adm. Kenneth Whitesell, commander, Carrier Strike Group (CVW) FOUR.
