THE ROUNDTABLE FORUM
Official newsletter of the Battle of Midway
Roundtable
"To preserve an awareness and
understanding of the great battle and to honor the men who fought and won
it."
7
November 2004....................Issue No. 2004-27....................Our
8th Year
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.............................................. AROUND THE TABLE
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MEMBERS' TOPICS IN THIS ISSUE
1. Kiska and Attu
2. The Amphibious Invasion of
Midway
3. New Member: Ken Hornby
4. New Member: Tom Carlson
5. New Member: Elliott
Carlson
6. New Member: Tom Ballou
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"Kiska
and Attu"
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4 November 2004
From: Jim Gillen gingerca@northnet.org
In "Miracle at Midway," Kiska is said to have a
10-man weather team, and Attu had 24 adult Aleuts plus 13 children with an
American married couple. What happen to them when the Japanese captured
the islands?
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Who has info on
the disposition of the two islands' inhabitants at the time of the Japanese
landings?
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"The
Amphibious Invasion of Midway" (see Stuart Kohn, issue
4-11; Clay Fisher and Jon Parshall, issue 4-12; Ed Fox, issue 4-13; John
Gardner and Bill Vickrey, issue 4-16; Jon Parshall, issue 4-17; John Gardner,
issue 4-18; Will O'Neil and James Bowen, issue 4-25; James Bowen and Jon
Parshall, issue 4-26)
Ed. note:
in the last issue, I had asked for comment on what effect unopposed Japanese
air support might have had on the IJN's rather flawed plans for the
invasion of the atoll. Assuming that a fair number of Zeros, Kates, and
Vals (along with one or more Japanese CVs) survived the carrier battle,
would that assure success for the assault troops? Jon Parshall supplies a
well-reasoned response. Short version: the invaders still have a
very bad day.
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31 October 2004
From: Jon Parshall
jparshall@mn.rr.com
The Japanese would have had the
ability to launch several more strikes against Midway, assuming they had won on
the 4th. They probably would have been able to attack twice more on
the 5th. However, conjecture regarding their likely contribution to any
scenario must be based on an assessment of how they performed on June 4th, and
the answer is that they weren’t all that effective. Yes, they knocked out
some barracks, fuel tanks, and the like, but their effect on the actual
defenses of Midway was practically nil. They knocked out no gun
batteries. They killed twelve defenders. And that’s from a fully
constituted strike of 108 aircraft that cost the Japanese eleven
planes, lost twenty aviators, and left Hiryu and Soryu’s level bomber groups in
tatters. Out of 36 aircraft in those squadrons, four had been shot down
outright, four forced to ditch, nine more written off as losses after they
landed, and every remaining strike aircraft
damaged to some degree. The Japanese lost just about the same number of planes as they killed enemy soldiers on the ground.
That doesn’t bode well for
continuing operations against Midway. First off, it says that Japanese
accuracy on their bombing attacks wasn’t very good. Having seen the bomb
damage reports from the attack, I can also say that their battle damage assessment
was lousy—mostly wishful thinking. They also didn’t have a very good feel
for the exact location of American defensive installations. At the same
time, they readily acknowledged that American flak was intense and
accurate. That flak is still going to be there on the 5th and 6th, and
the Japanese would have had to face increasing attrition as their air groups
weakened.
That
brings up another point. Even supposing the Japanese won the naval battle by sinking
or driving off the American carriers, their air groups would have likely taken
heavy losses in doing so, meaning that any further attacks on Midway would have
been made by depleted air groups that had demonstrated, even at full
strength, that they couldn’t put Midway out of business. Would two or
three strikes by these groups on the 5th have helped the Japanese cause
when it came time to invade on the 6th? Possibly, but in all likelihood,
they would not have degraded the island’s defenses substantially, nor
materially altered the balance of forces that would have been present when
the invasion occurred.
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"New
Member: Ken Hornby"
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2 November 2004
From: Ken Hornby
khornby@comcast.net
I live in South St.
Paul, Minnesota. Ever since I was quite young, I've had an interest in
military
history. I started building plastic model airplanes and armor at eight
years old, and I continue to do so today. I've also collected a
good-sized library.
With some time on my
hands after being "downsized" last year, I began to research one of
the local heroes of the Battle of Midway, Capt. Richard E. Fleming. He
grew up in St. Paul and our municipal airport in South St. Paul is named in his
honor. Using the information I gathered, a local aviation history group I
belong to put together a permanent display case at the airport combining
photos, text, and plastic models of the relevant aircraft and ships involved in
his story.
I am interested in
corresponding or perhaps interviewing any veteran who was stationed on Midway
during the battle, but especially former members of VMSB-241. I
served in the U.S. Army in the late '80s in the 2d Armored Cavalry, patrolling
the East German/Czech border areas. I later served as an armor instructor
with the Army Reserve and an intelligence analyst in the National Guard.
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"New
Member: Tom Carlson"
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31 October 2004
From: Tom Carlson
bagley61@yahoo.com
Thomas
"Tom" Neal Carlson, in the middle of Minnesota. HVAC
technician for a major utility company; only two years away from retirement,
and a lung cancer survivor. Interests are flying, painting, computers,
and reading.
U.S. Army
1961-1964. Served in a HAWK and NIKE missile brigade in Germany.
Minnesota Army Reserve/National Guard 1965-1966, communications sergeant.
I've had a long
interest in WWII, especially the Pacific theater and the air war, sparked by my
cousin who was a Navy dive bomber pilot. He was based on Guadalcanal
in his first tour, flying an SBD Dauntless. On his second tour he
flew SB2C Helldivers with VB-19 off the second Lexington. He
ended his tour early, injured when a Kamikaze hit Lexington
off the Philippines.
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"New
Member: Elliott Carlson"
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5 November 2004
From: Elliott Carlson ecarlson3849@comcast.net
I'm submitting this
note in the hope I can join the BOMRT. My reason for wanting to join has
to do with my interest in Capt. Joe Rochefort, who as you know commanded
Station Hypo at Pearl Harbor during 1941-42. And who, along with his Hypo
colleagues, played a crucial role in breaking the Japanese code in the weeks
leading up to the Battle of Midway.
Earlier this year I
started gathering material for what I hope will be the first biography of
Rochefort. I have been interviewing historians and spending time at
various research sites, including NARAII, the operational archives, the Ft.
Meade crypotologic museum library, the Naval War College, and the Nimitz museum
library in Fredericksburg, Texas, among others. I've also joined the NCVA
as an associate member and attended their reunion in September.
I first learned of the BOMRT during the summer when I met
Bill Price at the Arlington apartment of Mac Showers, who has been serving as a
kind of guide to me (as well as an information source) as I do my
research. It sounded interesting but I didn't pursue it. More
recently I chatted with Cal Cavalcante at the Navy's operational archives and
he strongly urged me to get in touch with you. And now that I've had a chance
to look at your website, there's no question that the BOMRT would be an
invaluable resource for me.
My own background is
journalism. I retired early this year after some 45 years as a newspaper and
magazine reporter, writer and editor. I retired in January after serving
17 years as the Editor of the AARP Bulletin, based in Washington. Earlier
in my career in worked for the Honolulu Advertiser, Wall Street Journal and
Newsweek. I live in Silver Spring, MD.
In addition to
joining your Roundtable, I would like to obtain BOMRT disks that cover previous
roundtable discussions. Such background would be indispensable as I try
to reconstruct Rochefort's (and Hypo's) role in the Midway battle. Please
let me know if there is any additional information I can provide. I look
forward to hearing from you. Many thanks.
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"New
Member: Tom Ballou"
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3 November 2004
From: Tom Ballou tbballou@sherwinalumina.com
Thanks for the
invitation. I'd like to try your group out, at least for a while. I
belong to a couple of groups and some are good, some are not as good.
In civilian life,
I'm an attorney. I work for the Sherwin Alumina Company near Corpus
Christi, TX. I'm actually the Environmental Superintendent, but I
get to practice a little law. The environmental work is actually more
fun. I'm also the public affairs officer for the company and do other odd
jobs.
I like sports
cars and tinkering with them. I own a '66 Sunbeam Tiger which I bought
new and have recently finished restoring to at least new condition.
I'm a retired
captain in the Naval Reserve. I spent 4 years on active duty flying
helicopters during the Viet Nam War. I stayed with it after the war
and had an interesting naval career. I spent my last 8 years as ACOS on
the 7th Flt staff.
My father was a
WWII veteran and career Navy man. He enlisted in 1940, but was an
Atlantic fleet sailor in 1942. He retired in 1970 as a LCDR, just as I
was completing flight training. Together we shared a 59 year naval
career. He spent his WWII time on Ranger (CV-4) with VF-11, Lexington
(CV-16), Gambier Bay, and on Langley (CVL-27) with VT-33.
I guess the
Battle of Midway has always captivated me. It's the classic story of the
fog of war and an inferior force seizing victory from the jaws of defeat
(fortunately). It's also a story of amazing courage and sacrifice.
All of us owe something to those brave men who won the day.
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A hearty "welcome aboard" to Ken,
Tom, Elliott, and Tom. And with regard to CAPT Ballou, has
anyone been keeping track of how many attorneys we have on our roster?
There must be a dozen or more of you guys out there....on two continents,
yet.
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................................................. NOW HEAR THIS! ..................................................
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NEWS & INFO IN THIS ISSUE
-- "FX" Cotton: Final
Sortie
-- "Shattered Sword"
-- Bogus BOM Vet?
-- Frank DeLorenzo
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"FX" COTTON: FINAL SORTIE
When deep regret, we
announce the passing on November 4th of another Midway veteran and
long-time member of our roster, LT Francis Xavier Cotton, USN-Ret, known among
his friends as "FX." He was a 28-year Navy veteran who had the
distinction of being an aircrewman in Torpedo Squadron 8, but the good fortune
not to be assigned to fly with the squadron on the morning of 4 June 1942
(he was the bombardier on level bombing missions; not required when the TBD
flew torpedo strikes).
FX also had the
distinction, if that's the word, of making VT-8's first torpedo run, and it was
entirely unintentional! He related the darkly humorous story for us a
couple years ago, and you can find it on our web site on the "BOMRT
Veterans Stories" page.
His brother Bernie
says that death may have resulted from complications of major surgery that FX
had last Monday (arterial bypass in one of his legs)--there apparently was
some clotting that got into his lungs. He was 82.
A funeral mass will
be conducted at St. Stevens Church in Sun Lakes, AZ at 10:00 AM on Wednesday,
November 10th. He will be interred in a nearby military cemetery.
Condolences may be sent to Bernie at:
Bernie Cotton
2414 Bent Pine Ct.
Spring Hill,
FL 34606
We have a couple of good "then and
now" photos of the Cotton brothers on the "Members Photo
Gallery" pages of our web site. Click the link on our home page, or
here's the direct URL:
http://www.midway42.org/gallery1.html
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"SHATTERED SWORD"
Jon
Parshall advises that his exhaustive study of the IJN at Midway has finally
been submitted to the publisher. The tentative title is Shattered
Sword: the Battle of Midway and the Imperial Japanese
Navy.
As we frequently
find when looking into the details of the BOM, a few of the commonly-held
beliefs about the battle will get shattered in Shattered Sword, and
thus I think many of us will await it with high interest. Jon has
previously given us a preview of some of that, in connection with
various discussions on the Roundtable about the Japanese carriers and the
damage they sustained during the VB attacks. For example, you can forget
those fanciful images of Japanese flight decks crammed with burning and
exploding strike aircraft--Jon provides ample proof that the IJN flight
decks had to be mostly empty when the SBDs struck.
Shattered Sword is
expected to be available late in 2005. Jon says plan on a rather
large book--his draft manuscript ran over a 1000 double-spaced pages.
For more, see Jon's
web site (linked on our home page): http://www.combinedfleet.com
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BOGUS BOM VET?
Harold Towne has
brought our attention to a web site containing a veteran biography of one
Thomas J. Vernor, said to be an aircrew veteran of VT-3 at Coral Sea and
Midway. The site is rather impressive, showing photos of Mr. Vernor being
honored for his service by President Bush and Secretary of State
Colin Powell. Here's the URL:
http://www.17thartilleryregiment.org/VernorBio.htm
The bio also stated that Vernor was the
gunner for VT-3 pilot Wilhelm Esders. That attracted my interest,
since VT-3 was not present at Coral Sea, and Esder's R/G at Midway
was Robert Brazier, who was killed in action.
I've sent the
webmaster of the above site an e-mail pointing out the above discrepancies
and suggesting that the posted information is, at best, mistaken. I'll
pass along any response that comes in. --RR
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FRANK DELORENZO
(see Now Hear This, issues 14, 21, 24)
Bill Vickrey advises
that DeLo is still motel-bound in Florida, awaiting restoration of his
hurricane-ravished home. Prospects are still unknown. He's off-line
in the interim, but he'd enjoy hearing from members via snail-mail at:
Captain Frank DeLorenzo, USN-Ret
34 Star Lake Drive
Pensacola, FL 32507
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For a glossary of
abbreviations, acronyms, and terms used in The Roundtable Forum, click the
following URL or go to our home page and click "The Roundtable
Glossary" link.
http://www.midway42.org/glossary.htm
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