Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class Michael Lieberknecht | 170605-N-AO823-040 PENSACOLA, Fla. (June 5, 2017) – Sailors and Marines man the...... read more read more
PENSACOLA, Fla. (June 5, 2017) – Surrounded by decades of history at the National Naval Aviation Museum, service members on board Naval Air Station Pensacola commemorated one of the most profound and decisive battles in American naval history on June 5.
The Battle of Midway marked its 75th anniversary in June, and is remembered as the turning point for control of the Pacific during World War II. The battle was a three-day fight for control of a small atoll in the Pacific. It took place just six months after the attacks on Pearl Harbor and resulted in the shift towards a defensive strategy for the Japanese navy that would last to the war’s end. The battle is widely known for its advances in the field of cryptology, as American intelligence made significant strides in solving the Japanese fleet codes and enabled Pacific Fleet commander Adm. Chester Nimitz to better anticipate the Japanese plans.
Ceremonial participation was provided from several commands in the Pensacola area including Naval Hospital Pensacola, Marine Aviation Training Support Group 21. Members of Navy Band Southeast, from Jacksonville, Fla. performed the music during the event. Navy Medicine Operational Training Center (NMOTC) organized the event, and Capt. Mark Goto, NMOTC commanding officer, gave the ceremony’s opening remarks.
“Today, I stand in awe of the accomplishments of those who lived the Battle of Midway,” said Goto. “With those men and women, from every walk of life in our great nation, the fate of America rested squarely on their shoulders.”
Goto introduced retired Navy Capt. Sterling Gilliam Jr., executive director of the National Naval Aviation Museum, the event’s guest historical speaker. Gilliam asked those in attendance to remember the human element when commemorating such an event.
“This country has no better examples of leadership and sacrifice than those Americans who led us through World War II,” said Gilliam.
Following applause, the keynote speaker, retired Vice Admiral John M. Bird, former 7th Fleet commander, highlighted the critical importance of the battle. He also noted that no matter how one views the Battle of Midway, its significance is monumental.
“The biggest mistake of the enemy was the failure to recognize the American will to win,” said Bird. “We won because of Americans’ unique will to win. We won because of who we are and what we can do as a nation with that will to win.”
The event’s significance was punctuated with the attendance of Midway veterans and families of veterans who served at Midway, including Aviation Ordnanceman 1st Class Wiley Bartlett, the family of the late Chief Gordon Pierce, the family of the late Chief Aviation Structural Mechanic Lewis Hopkins, the family of the late Boiler Technician 2nd Class Leon Resmondo, and the family of Lt. Cmdr. John Waldron, a Navy Cross recipient of Midway who was killed in action at the battle.
To honor the fallen, a ceremonial wreath was laid and a firing party performed a 21-gun salute. Following the commemoration’s benediction, all in attendance dispersed to chat and view museum displays to the sound of the band performing “Stars and Stripes Forever”.
| Date Taken: | 06.05.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 06.06.2017 15:50 |
| Story ID: | 236553 |
| Location: | PENSACOLA, FLORIDA, US |
| Web Views: | 160 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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