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GREAT LAKES, Ill. – The National Museum of the American Sailor hosted a ceremony commemorating 81st anniversary of the Battle of Midway at the museum June 7. The keynote speaker for the event was Capt. Jason J. Williamson, NSGL commanding officer.
Sailors around the world celebrated the United States’ landmark victory at the Battle of Midway since this past weekend. Fought on the high seas of the Pacific 81 years ago, June 4-7, 1942, this battle altered the course of World War II in the Pacific and thereby shaped the outcome of world events.
The Battle of Midway was a naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II. It took place six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor and one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea. The Navy defeated the Imperial Japanese. U.S. forces inflicted devastating damage on the Japanese fleet that proved irreparable, and military historian John Keegan called it “the most stunning and decisive blow in the history of naval warfare.”
“As we commemorate Midway, we consider its legacy and its continuing ability to inspire us, and we wonder if, maybe one day, we, ourselves, will serve at a moment or place like Midway,” said Williamson, “For now, we have Midway as our marker to serve a strong example of who we are, and why we exist, so that well into the future, Sailors will continue to stop during the week of June 4-7 of every year and consider how Naval legacies are made, and why they are timelessly cherished, generation after generation.”
Mass Communications Specialist 1st Class Joseph Montemarano laid a wreath in commemoration of those lost in the battle. Master of ceremonies Phil Patterson rang a bell in commemoration of the war dead. Senior Chief Musician Brandon Schoonmaker from Navy Band Great Lakes played Taps.
The event also featured a color guard provided by Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command Great Lakes and vocal accompaniment by Musician 3rd Class Sara Vega from Navy Band Great Lakes.
As an official Department of the Navy museum under the Naval History and Heritage Command, the National Museum of the American Sailor’s mission is to collect, preserve, and interpret the history of the United States Navy’s Enlisted Sailor for the benefit of the U.S. Navy and the people of the United States.
Opened in 1911, Naval Station Great Lakes (NSGL) is the Navy’s largest training installation and the home of the Navy’s only Boot Camp. Located on over 1,600 acres overlooking Lake Michigan, the installation includes 1,153 buildings with 39 on the National Register of Historic Places. NSGL supports over 50 tenant commands and elements as well as over 20,000 Sailors, Marines, Soldiers, and DoD civilians who live and work on the installation. For more about the installation, go to www.cnic.navy.mil/greatlakes.
| Date Taken: | 06.07.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 06.08.2023 08:17 |
| Story ID: | 446473 |
| Location: | GREAT LAKES, ILLINOIS, US |
| Hometown: | YANKTON, SOUTH DAKOTA, US |
| Web Views: | 29 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Great Lakes Commands Commemorate Battle of Midway, by John Sheppard, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
