THE ROUNDTABLE FORUM
Official newsletter of the Battle of Midway Roundtable
"To promote awareness and understanding of the great battle and to
honor the men who fought and won it."
27 November 2005....................Issue No.
2005-45......................Our 9th Year
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AROUND THE TABLE .................................................
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MEMBERS'
TOPICS IN THIS ISSUE
1.
Final Sortie for Fred Dyer
2.
The "Happy Hornet?"
3.
VMF-221
4.
Arming the Bomb
5.
Survivors or Veterans?
6. Chaplain
Matthew Bouterse
7.
New Member: Mike Grecco
8.
Chicago Airport Midway Exhibit
*
* *
"FINAL SORTIE FOR FRED DYER"
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24 November
2005
From:
Ralph Wilhelm kaiserwilh@webtv.net
(BOM vet, SOC pilot, USS Portland)
Just before the recent holiday, I received an e-mail and a telephone call with
the sad news of Fred "Red" Dyer's passing. Fred was
an ARM1/c on the USS Portland and he flew with me almost
daily from July 1940 to November 1942. Since Fred was a member of our
BOMRT, I must advise you, with sadness, that he has taken his last flight,
Attached is a copy of the email I received from Bill Dyer, his son. Bill accompanied Fred to our June 2002
BOM "dining out" in San Francisco. The attached e-mail will provide more
information on his passing.
[attachment]
"I
am very sorry to tell you that our father ("Red Fred") has passed
away from a major heart attack. He was 87. Saturday morning he was
taken to Virginia Mason Hospital in Seattle where he received the best of
care. Most of our family was able to spend some time with him, letting
him know how proud we all were of him as we are of you too. Thank you for
being there for him in those days. He passed away Sunday evening at 8:30
peacefully.
"If you would please pass this on to others, I know he would appreciate
all your efforts. The family will be celebrating in his honor this Sunday
afternoon.
"Going through our photos, I wanted to share that I was honored to
have had the opportunity to celebrate in San Francisco with you for the
60th Anniversary of the Battle of Midway, June 2002.
--Bill
Dyer"
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*
* *
"THE HAPPY
HORNET?" (see issue #44)
Was CV-8 truly "the Happy Hornet" as described by a Life Magazine
reporter? Our Hornet vets respond.
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14 November 2005
From: Alvin
Kernan alvinkernan@verizon.net
(BOM vet, VT-6, USS Enterprise)
Some of the Enterprise air group went aboard the Hornet on
her last cruise. We were suspicious of her because she performed so badly
at Midway, though we didn't know the half of it, but she was not a happy
ship. Some ships are happy for reasons hard to fathom, like the old Lexington,
while others are unhappy for equally unknown reasons, like the Saratoga,
known mockingly as the "Sara Maru" and the "Bremerton
Ferry" for the number of times she was back in the states being repaired.
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22
Nov 2005
From:
Richard Woodson rtwoodson@mailbug.com
(BOM vet, R/G, VS-8, USS Hornet)
On one occasion when we returned to Hornet after our ditching at
Pentacost, we were greeted from the bridge by Captain Mason with the admonition
we'd better be shaved when he saw us again! Maybe it was a joke, I don't
know.
Stanhope Ring was a snob; Rodee as C.O. of VS-8 and later as air group
commander wasn't much better. Gus Widhelm was an entirely different
matter; not very regulation, and if you were part of the flying fraternity
you could do no wrong.
I
enjoyed flying, and flew many times when someone was feeling unfit I would
volunteer to take his flight.
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23
November 2005
From:
Bernie Cotton bcotton579@yahoo.com
(BOM vet, FC2c, USS Hornet)
I honestly cannot say that we were designated as the Happy Hornet.
During that period our butts were literally dragging. We were standing
condition 2 watches which means 4 hours on and 4 hours off with dawn and dusk
general quarters. The Navy later on realized that condition 2 was not a
successful way to run a ship. Most of the crew were walking around like
zombies. This was not a Happy Hornet.
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VB-8 pilot Clay Fisher gave me his eloquent opinion on this
matter when I visited him last week. In his
words, "that's a bunch of (expletive deleted)!"
Here are some additional comments from other members.
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14
November 2005
From:
Barrett Tillman btillman3@cox.net
"Happy
Hornet" sounds a lot like chinsy wartime propaganda--when did the papers
ever describe a Captain Bligh in the USN? But I'm willing to be
convinced that things improved with Mitscher's departure. I can say for
sure that of the three CV-8 aviators I knew, two of them were grandly
unimpressed with Ring. Moe Vose of the bombers admired Ring as a
picture-perfect naval officer, complete with swagger stick, tailored uniform,
and British mannerisms. Hank Carey and Jock Sutherland, being typically
irreverent junior officers and vastly more competent than their
superiors, had zero regard for VF-8 skipper Mitchell ("a party
animal") and outright contempt for Stanhope Ring.
I regret that I never met the legendary Gus Widhelm,
though I know a nephew (flies the CAF's B-17!) and had contact with a daughter
years ago. Everybody had a Gus story.
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14
November 2005
From:
Chuck Wohlrab mailto:patriot1x29@hotmail.com
It
is interesting you raise the question of Hornet being an unhappy
ship. I have read a number of books on Midway and Guadalcanal over the
years and have come to the conclusion that the Hornet air group was
something of a hard-luck group.
Actually hard-luck might not be the way to describe it. It seems more
like the air group did not gel together to become a cohesive unit. One
example is the attitude and actions of LCDR Waldron at Midway. He
seemingly ditched the attack plan developed by the air group commander CDR Ring
and went his own way. I would
like to hear from any of the HAG vets to see what they have to say.
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Chuck raises a valid issue although he opens up the possibility of some
debate. I suspect most members would agree that Waldron's decision
to "ditch" Ring's course saved VT-8 from (a) missing the Japanese
fleet as Ring did, and (b) literally "ditching" along with VF-8 after
running out of fuel. Then there is the matter of how the battle would
have developed had VT-8 not disrupted Nagumo's advance when it did. But
Chuck's basic premise is valid: the HAG's overall poor
performance on the morning of June 4th did nothing toward creating a "Happy
Hornet." Does anyone have a different view?
*
* *
"VMF-221"
(see issue #44)
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14
November 2005
From:
Don Drake oldkirk@aol.com
(BOM vet, PFC, 6th MarDefBn, Btry "G," Midway)
In response to Greg Wagner's inquiry regarding VMF 221 pilots after the BOM, I
am pleased to report that I had a very interesting phone conversation with Bill
Brooks yesterday (13 Nov). He is very much alive and well and resides
near Omaha, Nebraska. After the BOM he went to Guadalcanal, returned
to the States on Nov 10 ( I presume 1942), served as a flight instructor, flew
from a carrier at Okinawa, and resigned from the USMCR after the war in order
to operate a business.
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"ARMING THE BOMB"
Ed note: I was doing a little research on the problem VB-3 had at
Midway with faulty circuits for arming their SBDs' bombs. In response to
an inquiry, VB-6 pilot Lew Hopkins sent the following report, which I thought
would be of interest to many of our members.
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15
November 2005
From:
Lew Hopkins lhopkins@satx.rr.com
(BOM vet, ENS, VB-6, USS Enterprise)
In VB-6 our practice was to arm the bombs in accordance with a checklist which
included arming the bomb. The checklist was completed just prior to entering
the dive.
The actual arming of the bomb occurred after the bomb was
released. An arming wire attached to the plane was threaded through the
fuse. In the arming and bombing process, the pilot pressed a control that
caused the arming wire to stay with the plane and thus the fuse was free to arm
after the bomb was released. I cannot remember the particulars but
the bomb would arm in seconds after being released. Thus while the bomb
is attached to the plane, there is no chance of it being armed.
About the time of the BOM a new technique for arming the bombs was being
installed in some SBDs. This was using an electric mechanism.
Probably in the case of VB-3 there was an electrical malfunction which not only
armed the bomb but caused the bomb to release as well.
The arming of bombs remained a problem throughout the war and after. The
possibility of spurious electrical system malfunction led to
the development of fiberoptics as an arming process. In fact, this
development of use for the military provided the impetus for the development of
fiberoptics as we know them today.
Sorry about going beyond your question, but you know, ask a watchmaker what
time it is and he will tell you how to make a watch!
I am anxious to hear about your San Diego trip.
P.S.
My presentation of the BOM to the San Antonio Harvard Business Alumni
Association was a smashing success (if I do say so myself). On
Dec 7th I will be participating in a group presentation of "Pearl
Harbor and After" and I will again be briefing on the BOM.
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Particulars and photos from last week’s special event aboard USS Midway
at San Diego will appear in the next issue.
*
* *
"SURVIVORS
OR VETERANS?" (see issues #43 & 44)
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13 November
2005
From:
Scott Quady SQuady6@aol.com
I agree with your annoyance regarding "survivors" of
Midway. There is a required accuracy. My uncle Frank
Quady [VF-6 pilot at the BOM] will always be a veteran of Midway, not
a survivor. My dad is a veteran of the Iwo Jima operations. If
Uncle Frank had lived through the Kamikaze attacks on CV-17 in 1945, he
would have been a survivor of those attacks but still a veteran of the Okinawa
Gunto Operation. Both Dad and Uncle Frank are Pacific WWII veterans.
Its a context/relativity thing with us.
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CHAPLAIN MATT BOUTERSE
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17
November 2005
From:
David Bouterse
I am Chaplain Bouterse's youngest son. He is doing fairly well for a 91-year
old but has trouble doing much on the computer anymore. His Mac had a
problem recently and if we can get it fixed, and if he decides to continue
trying, he may be back on line, but it's usually more frustration than reward
for him these days. I'll be checking his email for him so anything
important can be responded to. Thanks for your concern.
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I received the above note after responding to a
request to unsubscribe CDR Bouterse from the Roundtable. He was the
chaplain aboard USS Astoria at
the BOM and has been a member of our group from its earliest
days. We wish him the very best and look forward to his return when
his computer (and whatever else) are operational once again.
*
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"NEW MEMBER: MIKE GRECCO"
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21
November 2005
From:
Mike Grecco mbgrecco@comcast.net
My name is Michael J. Grecco. I am 46 and live in the suburb of
Woodridge, Illinois approximately 15 miles from Midway Airport. The
battle of Midway captured my interest when I was 10 years old and it is with
ravenous interest that I read anything to do with this key turning point in the
war effort. I prepared several research papers on the battle while
growing up and I think it’s awesome that you have this roundtable up and
running.
I would be honored and humbled to receive any
correspondence/information from actual veterans of this and any other
conflict that occurred prior to my existence. It's corny, but we owe so
much to all of these great men and women.
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"CHICAGO AIRPORT MIDWAY EXHIBIT"
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18
November 2005
From:
George Walsh gjwalco@msn.com
I replied to Dave Truitt suggesting he contact you. Sounds like they need
help. This concerns the restored SBD mounted in Chicago's
Midway Airport.
--George
Walsh
Sent:
Friday, November 18, 2005 12:10 PM
Subject:
Midway Memorial Exhibit Content
To Fellow Midway memorial exhibit supporters--Call for resources
Attached
is a Production Short Sheet which delineates what we need to develop the
interactive educational part of the exhibit. Please search you resources and
the third party resources in the areas of your experience, expertise or
interest.
Feel
free to be outrageously creative
NOW
IS THE TIME for you to contribute your imagination and talent.
If
you have a “stupid” idea which amuses or intrigues you, include that too.
Some of the best production elements came from such thought.
Feel
free to call me or Taras or anybody else who is working with the group to get
more information on what is of value.
We
would like to have your initial input within the next 10 days or so.
Capt
Dave Truitt
Chicago Marine Heritage Society
312-222-0500
312-343-9999(cel)
Chicago Midway Memorial Exhibit Storyline Research
Nimitz Vs Yamamoto Curtis Chicago War Effort
Self-reliance Pilots
stories Innovations
by US Designers
Converting the Flattops Heroic stories
MATERIAL TO BE USED IN PRODUCTION
This is an airport exhibit. It will rely
mainly upon visuals to tell the story.
There will be voice over and background sound to enhance
and amplify the experience.
Each series should focus on one
concept which should support one of the 5 theme
sections above.
FILM
Films
of interesting events which excite interest pull in the viewer to want to know
more
Radio or other recorded sound tracks of relevant
inspiring speech.
Printed
text which can voiced in to give understanding, drama and realism.
BACKGROUND
SOUND
Any
Film, Video or other recorded sounds of the era
Music
recordings of the era
ARTIFACTS
Letters,
pictures, war souvenirs, household items unique to the era
Military
Items from any branch
Civil defense ration Books
RESEARCH
AND RESOURCE TEXTS
Authentic
historical episodes which illustrate the themes of this exhibit. Must be verifiable facts.
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Any member who would like to help in this endeavor or obtain more info is
invited to contact Mr. Truitt as shown above.
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..................................................... NOW
HEAR THIS! ....................................................
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NEWS
& INFO IN THIS ISSUE
--Book
Review: The Unknown Battle of Midway
--Book
Review: Shattered Sword: the Untold Story of the Battle of Midway
--Forum
Notes
--TV
This Week
*
* *
BOOK REVIEW: THE
UNKNOWN BATTLE OF MIDWAY
Roundtable member Alvin Kernan was kind enough to forward an advance copy of
his latest book to me, which focuses on what he considers the biggest
"unknown" of the battle: the full story of the torpedo squadrons;
their strategy, training, planning, sorties, and sacrifice. Here's a
descriptive quote from the book's jacket: "A story of avoidable
mistakes and flawed planning, The Unknown Battle of Midway reveals the
enormous failures that led to the destruction of four torpedo squadrons [Alvin
enumerates the B-26 & TBF flights as a de facto squadron] but were omitted
from official naval reports: the planes that ran out of gas, the
torpedoes that didn't work, the pilots who had never dropped torpedoes, and the
breakdown of the attack plan. Kernan, who was present at the battle, has
written a troubling but persuasive analysis of these and other
little-publicized aspects of this great battle."
The "little-publicized aspects" include personal observations upon
which Alvin, a veteran of VT-6 on the Enterprise, is uniquely
qualified to comment. That naturally includes a lot of first-person
insight to the squadron, the ship, and what it was like to live and work
aboard both. For example, he speaks of VT-6 skipper Gene
Lindsey to a level of detail that could only come from one who'd known and
worked for him personally. His vivid descriptions of life aboard the Enterprise,
particularly the contrasts between peacetime and wartime routine, are
especially interesting.
The book suffers from a deficiency also seen in Alvin's recent fictional BOM
tale, Love and Glory: he really needs to employ the service of
an independent editor before submitting a manuscript for publication. The
Unknown BOM, an otherwise interesting and useful book, is blemished by
several typesetting or content errors (example: one chart shows VT-6
breaking away from Ring and the Hornet air group--a simple typo, but a
glaring graphic flub that jumps out at the reader). I provided Alvin with
a list of the mistakes, which he says will be helpful in producing a subsequent
paperback edition. (Interestingly, his very best book, Crossing the
Line, has none of those kinds of problems. It is five-star
quality in all regards.)
If you can get past such glitches (and most of you probably aren't the
editorial nitpicker that I am), The Unknown BOM is a positive
addition to a well-rounded BOM library. The list price is $26.00, but
I've seen it as low as $13.00 on Amazon.com.
*
* *
BOOK REVIEW: SHATTERED
SWORD: THE UNTOLD STORY OF THE BATTLE OF MIDWAY (see issues #35, 43)
Jon Parshall's new book is finally available to the public, and I got my hands
on a production copy after he graciously sent me a preview version
some months ago. The book is an exceptional accomplishment,
although many may find the title a little misleading. Jon hasn't
simply written another telling of the entire Battle of Midway story.
Instead (and as you would expect from him) it's an exhaustively detailed
account of the Imperial Japanese Navy at Midway, accomplished with a depth
of research and analysis not previously seen. The book is crammed with a
dazzling set of graphics, including brilliant computer-generated charts and
diagrams that very significantly aid the text. The triple-view images of
the four Kido Butai carriers are especially noteworthy.
Of course, anyone attempting to rewrite the history of the
IJN at Midway needs to convince potential readers that the new book offers
something essential over the time-honored resource for that subject,
Fuchida and Okumiya's Midway, the Battle That Doomed Japan. Jon
and his co-author not only accepted that challenge, but they demonstrate
that Fuchida was very loose with certain key facts in his Midway book, thereby
engendering a number of deeply-entrenched myths that permeate the popular
history of the battle. Shattered Sword ably exposes those myths
and convincingly explains in each case what really happened and why.
While
the book can justly be called outstanding, it isn't without a few flaws.
Readers will stumble over an occasional minor glitch that probably should
have been caught during proofreading, and some will want to argue with a
few of Jon's subjective analyses on certain aspects of the battle. His
points on those are solidly documented and well reasoned, though, so approach
matters of that nature with an open mind.
In any case, such quibbles are unimportant in judging the book overall.
As Barrett Tillman said, it's a real groundbreaker that anyone seriously
interested in the BOM will want to read and own. Accordingly, I have
revised the "Midway Library" page on our web site to place Shattered
Sword near the top of our recommended reference list.
If you're shopping around for a copy, check all of the vendors listed on the
book's web site (www.shatteredswordbook.com).
I saw one offering it for $23.10 (list $35.00) with free shipping
possible. And if you're one of those people (like me) who balks at paying
over twenty bucks for a book, be assured that this one is of such
structural quality (very heavy paper stock and solid covers, about 3.5
pounds total) that you'll be getting your money's worth.
Also, Jon has reported a lot of interest in signed copies, which he handles
directly (with a discount to BOMRT members). For info, contact him
at: jparshall@mn.rr.com.
Incidentally, the semi-confusing subtitle
is not Jon’s fault. His original choice
was The Imperial Japanese Navy at the Battle of Midway, which is really
what the book is all about. The
publisher, though, wanted it changed in order to broaden the book’s focus, or
so they thought.
[Note: in all cases, the mention of prices and purchasing
resources in The Roundtable Forum is intended only as a
convenience to our members and not as a commercial endorsement.]
*
* *
FORUM NOTES
A
few brief comments on this & that:
VS-8
gunner Dick Woodson's letter above reminded me that I'd neglected to include
him among those who correctly identified radio newsman Walter Winchell as the
source for the "all the ships at sea" quote at the start of each
broadcast. BZ Dick, although that's good news and bad news: good
because you remembered that little detail, bad because you're old enough to
have heard it live! (Like me!)
About the "Japan's War In Colour" special on my local PBS station
last week...that apparently was not a national broadcast, as some of you
couldn't find it in your local listing. To add to the injury, my VCR spun
in at the critical hour, so I missed it too. And on that subject,
Roundtable stalwart David Nedreski had this Dixie humor-laced observation on
the program's title: C'MON, THE JAPANESE PROBABLY HAD COLOR WHEN
MATTHEW BRADY WAS TAKIN' STILLS OF THE WAR BETWEEN THE STATES!
I received a number of other messages for the Forum over the past two
weeks, but this issue is already max'd out so I need to save them for future
use. Thanks to everyone who sends in comments and inquiries--your
active participation is what sustains a high interest in the BOM and keeps us
going here week after week.
*
* *
TV THIS WEEK
Here are television listings of possible interest for the week of 28
Nov - 4 Dec (Monday through Sunday). The times shown below may not
be the same in your area--be sure to check your local guide.
Channels:
AMC = American Movie Classics, PBS = Public Broadcasting System, DC =
Discovery Channel, HC = History Channel, TCM = Turner Classic Movies
Schedule
note: "12:00 AM" means the start of
the date shown (0000 hours). "12:00 PM" means noon.
MON,
28 NOV:
8:00 PM (DC) In Search of the USS Indianapolis
TUE,
29 NOV:
10:00 PM (HC) Man, Moment, Machine: The
Daring Doolittle Raid
WED,
30 NOV:
2:00 AM (HC) Man, Moment, Machine: The Daring
Doolittle Raid (Repeated)
THU,
01 DEC:
10:00 AM (HC) Shootout: World War II in the Pacific
4:00 PM (HC) Shootout: World War II in the
Pacific (Repeated)
8:00 PM (DC) In Search of the USS
Indianapolis (Repeated)
FRI,
02 DEC:
12:00
AM (DC) In Search of the USS Indianapolis (Repeated)
8:00 PM (HC) Pacific: the Lost
Evidence--Guadalcanal
9:00 PM (HC) Pacific: the Lost Evidence--Tarawa
SAT,
03 DEC:
12:00 AM (HC) Pacific: the Lost
Evidence--Guadalcanal (Repeated)
1:00 AM (HC) Pacific: the Lost
Evidence--Tarawa (Repeated)
SUN,
04 DEC:
12:00 PM (DC) Secrets of Pearl Harbor
1:00 PM
(DC) Unsolved History: Myths of Pearl Harbor
4:00 PM (DC) In Search of the USS Indianapolis
(Repeated)
*
* *
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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