WEBVTT 00:00.988 --> 00:04.781 - [Narrator] Today three small islands bear mute testimony 00:04.781 --> 00:08.281 to the events of one week in June of 1942. 00:08.428 --> 00:11.027 Midway was the magnet that drew two navies 00:11.027 --> 00:15.027 into battle that defined the war in the Pacific. 00:15.290 --> 00:18.457 The Japanese navy had dominated action in the Pacific, 00:18.457 --> 00:20.734 beginning with their attack on Pearl Harbor 00:20.734 --> 00:22.289 and subsequent advances. 00:22.289 --> 00:25.456 Our forces counterattacked with the Halsey-Doolittle Raid 00:25.456 --> 00:27.083 on the Japanese homeland. 00:27.083 --> 00:29.399 Admiral Yamamoto felt he had to draw 00:29.399 --> 00:32.890 the American aircraft carriers into the decisive battle. 00:32.890 --> 00:35.527 His choice for a battleground was the American base 00:35.527 --> 00:36.860 at Midway Atoll. 00:37.680 --> 00:39.912 The Japanese fleet would outnumber the ships 00:39.912 --> 00:41.371 of the American fleet at Midway, 00:41.371 --> 00:45.038 but the U. S. possessed one strategic asset. 00:45.149 --> 00:46.773 Cryptographers at Pearl Harbor, 00:46.773 --> 00:49.050 under the command of Joe Rochefort had broken 00:49.050 --> 00:51.065 enough of the Japanese Naval Code 00:51.065 --> 00:54.521 ^to discern that Midway was the Japanese objective. 00:54.521 --> 00:56.464 Commander-in-Chief of the Pacific Fleet, 00:56.464 --> 00:59.827 Admiral Chester Nimitz, decided to risk his carriers 00:59.827 --> 01:02.342 based on the knowledge of enemy's intent 01:02.342 --> 01:05.175 and ambush the attacking Japanese. 01:05.265 --> 01:09.122 As the sky brightened on the morning of 4 June, 1942, 01:09.122 --> 01:12.654 Japanese aircraft were sighted by a patrolling PBY 01:12.654 --> 01:14.685 and soon confirmed by radar. 01:14.685 --> 01:18.185 The message, "Many planes heading Midway." 01:18.464 --> 01:22.631 In response, B-17s, B-26s, and Grumman Avengers took off 01:23.615 --> 01:26.211 from the runways of Eastern Island and headed towards 01:26.211 --> 01:28.402 the Japanese carrier force. 01:28.402 --> 01:32.569 200 miles to the northeast, the U. S. carrier force waited. 01:32.993 --> 01:35.104 Taking off from the runways of Midway, 01:35.104 --> 01:37.214 were Marine Corps pilots in Brewster Buffaloes 01:37.214 --> 01:39.484 and Wildcats to defend the atoll. 01:39.484 --> 01:42.724 These planes and their valiant pilots were no match 01:42.724 --> 01:44.469 for the Japanese Zeroes escorting 01:44.469 --> 01:46.337 the bombers headed for Midway. 01:46.337 --> 01:48.205 Midway was bombed by the Japanese, 01:48.205 --> 01:51.177 causing damage to the hospital, runways, hangars, 01:51.177 --> 01:52.427 and fuel depot. 01:52.515 --> 01:54.830 The American bombers that had left Midway 01:54.830 --> 01:56.858 and headed towards the Imperial Fleet 01:56.858 --> 02:00.431 scored no significant hits on the Japanese carrier force 02:00.431 --> 02:03.477 under Admiral Nagumo, but the continued attacks 02:03.477 --> 02:06.775 by U. S. Navy, Marine Corps, and Army Air Force planes 02:06.775 --> 02:09.416 arriving at different times sowed confusion 02:09.416 --> 02:11.867 among the Japanese commanders and disarray 02:11.867 --> 02:13.493 in the battle formation. 02:13.493 --> 02:16.614 Rear Admiral Frank Fletcher and Admiral Raymond Spruance 02:16.614 --> 02:18.198 launched their air groups. 02:18.198 --> 02:20.802 The fighters, dive bombers, and torpedo planes 02:20.802 --> 02:23.525 from the American carriers flew towards the enemy 02:23.525 --> 02:26.121 while one U. S. Submarine found the Japanese fleet 02:26.121 --> 02:27.121 and engaged. 02:27.907 --> 02:30.633 USS Nautilus, under command of Lieutenant Commander 02:30.633 --> 02:33.517 William Brockman was depth charged and attacked 02:33.517 --> 02:36.156 by Japanese destroyers including the Arashi, 02:36.156 --> 02:38.348 leading the screen away from the carriers. 02:38.348 --> 02:40.461 Enterprise Air Group Commander, Lieutenant Commander 02:40.461 --> 02:42.977 Wade McClusky sighted Arashi through a break 02:42.977 --> 02:44.144 in the clouds. 02:44.275 --> 02:46.748 Arashi's wake led McClusky to the Japanese 02:46.748 --> 02:49.851 carrier force and the 10 minutes that wrote a page 02:49.851 --> 02:51.517 in our naval history. 02:51.517 --> 02:54.401 Dive bombers from Yorktown and Enterprise arrived 02:54.401 --> 02:57.570 simultaneously over the enemy carriers. 02:57.570 --> 03:01.470 Just after 10 AM, U. S. planes released their bombs. 03:01.470 --> 03:04.554 By 10:10, three Japanese carriers were burning 03:04.554 --> 03:08.054 and out of action, Akagi, Soryu, and Kaga. 03:09.311 --> 03:12.840 The tide of the Pacific war had begun to turn. 03:12.840 --> 03:14.829 Hiryu, the fourth Japanese carrier, 03:14.829 --> 03:16.893 survived Yorktown's torpedo planes 03:16.893 --> 03:18.315 and launched a counter attack 03:18.315 --> 03:20.426 that severely damaged Yorktown. 03:20.426 --> 03:23.305 Planes from Enterprise bombed Hiryu later in the day 03:23.305 --> 03:24.402 and left her burning. 03:24.402 --> 03:27.449 The bulk of the Midway battle took place on June 4th. 03:27.449 --> 03:30.370 The next day, submarine Tambor caused a collision 03:30.370 --> 03:32.079 between two Japanese cruisers 03:32.079 --> 03:35.044 that were subsequently bombed by our carrier planes. 03:35.044 --> 03:38.213 Yorktown, after magnificent damage control work, 03:38.213 --> 03:40.526 was being towed toward Pearl Harbor. 03:40.526 --> 03:43.490 The Japanese submarine I-168 penetrated 03:43.490 --> 03:46.413 our destroyer screen and torpedoed Yorktown 03:46.413 --> 03:48.044 and destroyer Hamman. 03:48.044 --> 03:51.044 Yorktown sank the morning of 7 June. 03:52.023 --> 03:54.860 Midway was one of the most decisive actions 03:54.860 --> 03:56.767 in the War in the Pacific. 03:56.767 --> 03:59.166 Inspired leadership led the way for the Fleet 03:59.166 --> 04:02.454 and all the sailors, marines, and army airmen 04:02.454 --> 04:05.037 who contributed to our victory.