The Battle of Midway Roundtable Opening Remarks
Welcome to the April 2022 edition of the Battle of Midway RoundTable.
This month we have a lot of information regarding the 80th Anniversary of the Battle of Midway celebrations and events taking place in June. We're sure there are more scheduled that we do not have information on. So if you know of an event or celebration please send the information to us at midwayroundtable@gmail.com. We'll update the list of events and celebrations around the middle of the month. That way anyone that might be interested in attending can have time to prepare some travel.
This year it does not look like any celebration will be held on Midway Island. However they will have a commemoration on Hawaii and at least one veteran will be in attendence. Great to see that.
We have an artist submission this month as well as a few other notes.
Including this one. I have been searching for a copy of this book for quite a while and finally found one. I'll write up a review in the next couple of issues.
That's all for this month. Look for the mid month bulletin with an updated list of Battle of Midway events and celebrations.
-TW
AVIATION ARTIST TOM TULLIS
Over the years, we’ve been fortunate on the Roundtable to include the membership of some highly talented aviation artists, whose skill has enabled us to view BOM scenes that would otherwise be impossible. The many contributions from the Roundtable’s earliest days by John Greaves in Canada are probably the best example.
In this issue we’re happy to feature a sample of another fine artist who has just joined our ranks, Tom Tullis in Ohio. Check his rendering of Frank O’Flaherty and Bruno Gaido’s SBD below; the detail is pretty amazing.
For more of Tom’s artwork, see his website at
http://www.tullisaviationart.com/
Editor's Note: If you want to view the larger image right click on the image above and either download it or open it in another tab. The detail is even more impressive. -TW
Re: DIVING THE DAUNTLESS, BY GEORGE GOLDSMITH
(see the March newsletter)
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5 April 2022
From: Bill Longton
Florida
My father was a Dauntless pilot during the war, and eventually transferred to flying F6F Hellcats off of the USS Hancock (CV-19) as the war progressed. When I was a boy, dad described what he did as a pilot and most of what he described is lost to the passing of time. I have learned quite a lot from years of reading, but could never quite come close enough. However, after reading Mr. Goldsmith's account I felt like I was sitting listening to my father again. Thank you for that.
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Thanks for this message, Bill. It’s good to know the Roundtable can help to provide those kinds of positive reminisces for its members. -RR
INVITATION TO THE 80TH BOM ANNIVERSARY IN HAWAII
On June 7th the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will conduct a very special BOM-80 commemoration at the “Punchbowl” cemetery on Oahu. We have been working with one of the F&WS officials, Ann Bell, who is coordinating a presentation to honor every U.S. KIA at Midway by name.
Getting all those names was anticipated to be a major hurdle for the F&WS, but we were able to provide them all from our website. In gratitude, Ms. Bell has sent the following invitation for all BOMRT members to attend the event. Yes, travel to Hawaii for this purpose might be a challenge under current circumstances, but it can be done and many will do so. You’ll have an opportunity to personally meet one of our principal BOM vets,
Ed Fox
, who is determined to get there and be a key part of the event. If you’re able to make it, please catch a lot of photos and send us a report.
80th BOM ANNIVERSARY COMMEMORATIONS
For more than 25 years the Navy Department, though its Chief of Naval Operations, has mandated two formal anniversary observances throughout every command: the Navy’s birthday in October and the Battle of Midway in June. In past years the BOM anniversary in particular has generated grand celebrations at military and civilian venues alike, including supportive associations like the Navy League and Naval Order, as well as other veterans’ groups and numerous aviation or WW2 museums. The pandemic put a damper on such celebrations in 2020 and ’21, but many organizations still managed to carry out the CNO directive, as you’ve seen described in past newsletters.
This year promises to be a bit closer to “normal” for BOM commemorations, and we’re pleased to provide a list below of those that have come to our attention thus far. Whether you have an opportunity to make it to one of the primary activities like the F&WS event in Hawaii, or anything much more modest like Greg Seidor’s lecture near Chicago, please attend if you can, grab some photos, and send us a report.
If you like,
click this link
to read the current CNO’s directive for 80th anniversary celebrations, and be sure to send in some info on any events that we can add to the list.
| 17 May |
Illinois |
Geneva Public Library (see Note 1) |
| 3-4 June |
Pensacola |
Naval Aviation Museum (Note 2) |
| ? June |
Wash. DC |
Public event at Naval Memorial (Note 3) |
| ? June |
San Diego |
USS Midway CV-41 (Note 4) |
| 4 June |
Houston |
Lone Star Flight Museum (Note 5) |
| 7 June |
Hawaii |
National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (see above) |
Notes:
1. The Geneva event is a 90-minute lecture and PowerPoint show by Roundtable member Greg Seidor, starting at 1:30 pm. The library is at 227. S. 7th St.
2. The Naval Aviation Museum is scheduled to hold its annual BOM observance over the weekend of 3-4 June, but it’s located on the naval air station, which currently has very restricted access (DOD ID cardholders only). We’ll try to update that for you in the next mid-month bulletin, around May 15th.
3. During the first week of June, the Washington Naval District conducts a formal public ceremony to commemorate the battle at the U.S. Navy Memorial Plaza. We’ll try to have details of this year’s event in our May bulletin.
4. The USS Midway has an impressive interactive BOM display that the public can experience whenever the museum is open. Commander, Naval Air Forces Pacific usually hosts a grand reception onboard during the anniversary, but it’s by invitation only.
5. Lone Star Flight Museum; Ellington Field, Houston, TX, 11:00 am. BOM overview with slides, videos, artifacts, and walk around of the museum's SBD and Avenger aircraft, presented by Roundtable member Brock Howe.
Our 5th mid-month bulletin was sent to all members on April 18th, and by now everyone should be receiving it regularly in their inbox. If not, that likely means we don’t have you on our membership roster. Send an email message to midwayroundtable@gmail.com, with JOIN on the subject line and your full name and location in the message body. That will get you both the mid-month bulletin and the separate announcement for the full newsletter a couple weeks later. It also puts you in company with about 400 others around the world for whom the Battle of Midway is an ongoing special interest.
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A big advantage of the Roundtable for anyone with a BOM focus is the help you can get from our membership when you’re looking for an answer that you can’t find by the usual methods. Case in point: the March newsletter included a request from Mike Rogers for help in identifying a USS Hornet medical officer that had important contact with VT-8 pilot William Evans. Bill Longton found it on page 70 in George Gay’s Sole Survivor, and Darryl Sue spotted it in Clay Fisher’s account of the Battle of the Santa Cruz islands:
http://www.midway42.org/RoundTable/ClayFisher_SantaCruz.aspx
The elusive medical officer’s name, by the way, was LTjg G. H. McAteer. Thanks to Bill and Darryl, and to our other members who routinely provide such help when it’s asked.
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Of course, our current major focus is the various BOM-80 events that will be conducted in the first week of June. If you’ll continue to send in the details of any new events or added info concerning one already on the list above, we’ll provide a full update in the next mid-month bulletin around May 15th.
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That’s our newsletter for April. Sincere thanks to everyone for your continuing interest in the Battle of Midway Roundtable.
Best wishes to all,
—Thom Walla, editor and webmaster
—Ron Russell, contributing editor
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