Battle of Midway Pacific Commemorations Wind Down

PEARL HARBOR -- Commands and staffs throughout the Pacific theater remembered their history and honored their heritage by commemorating the 74th anniversary of the Battle of Midway.

The Battle of Midway was fought June 4-7, 1942, over and in the waters near the island of Midway in the central Pacific Ocean. The United States took the offensive in World War II after this victory over the Japanese navy. After Midway, the tide of the Pacific war turned in favor of the United States and her allies.

The U.S. Navy's success in the battle was queued on predictive intelligence from Station HYPO, whose staff had broken parts of the Japanese code. Based on their tireless work, Pacific Fleet Commander Adm. Chester Nimitz demonstrated bold and decisive leadership and directed the American task force -- including its three aircraft carriers -- to intercept the Japanese strike force, which included four aircraft carriers. The American forces, displaying valor and resolve, were successful in sinking all four Japanese carriers.

Sailors and units throughout the theater marked the 74th commemoration in a variety of ways, and some took the opportunity to produce stories and video that served to promote or educate the battle's importance in the Pacific then and now.

Before the commemorative week kicked off, Commander, Navy Region Hawaii, Rear Adm. John Fuller, published a blog post on the U.S. Navy site NavyLive titled "Thoughts about Risk, Battle of Midway, Memorial Day." The commentary focused on history, but also summer safety in context of calculated risk and personal empowerment for all warfighters, and supported the Chief of Naval Operations's "A Design for Maintaining Maritime Superiority." To view Fuller's blog post, visit http://navylive.dodlive.mil/2016/05/27/thoughts-about-risk-battle-of-midway-memorial-day/.

The region then conducted a celebration and remembrance ceremony at the Pearl Harbor Visitor Center, which included a historic aircraft flyby. To view the story and photos, visithttp://www.dvidshub.net/news/199612/battle-midway-remembered-74th-anniversary-ceremony#.V08R4P72a4Q/. The ceremony was covered above-the-fold page A-1 of CNRH/JBPHH weekly newspaper "Ho'okele" ("Navigator") as well. To view, visithttp://www.hookelenews.com/battle-of-midway-remembered/.

Commander, Logistics Group Western Pacific/Navy Region Singapore produced an inspiring video on the Battle of Midway which ran a campaign on social properties. The video can be seen at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rfe-oCx5_FY/.

A number of ships also conducted Battle of Midway commemorations.

USS Spruance (DDG 111) became the face of the 74th Battle of Midway commemoration. Spruance is named after Adm. Raymond Spruance, who was the task force commander to whom significant credit is given in achieving the victory. The ship's commanding officer, Cmdr. Manny Hernandez, posted a blog on the front page NavyLive (seehttp://navylive.dodlive.mil/2016/06/04/living-the-legacy-of-admiral-raymond-spruance/) and the Naval History and Heritage Command's blog "The Sextant" (seehttp://usnhistory.navylive.dodlive.mil/living-the-legacy-of-admiral-raymond-spruance/). Included on the address to the crew is a video made by the ship about the namesake's heritage. The video can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HUBfqV2cvo/. The ship is deployed under the Pacific Surface Action Group 3rd Fleet Forward concept.

USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74), deployed to the Western Pacific and operating at the time in the South China Sea, shared a sustained Facebook campaign of the Battle of Midway throughout the commemorative period, as well as conducting a ceremony honoring those who fought. More can be seen about their effort athttp://stennis74.wordpress.com/2016/06/04/john-c-stennis-commemorates-the-battle-of-midway/. A video of the ceremony can be seen athttp://www.dvidshub.net/video/467240/stennis-midway-commemoration#.V1cGqf72a50/.

USS Nimitz (CVN 68), namesake of then-Pacific Fleet Commander Nimitz, along with the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Naval Base Kitsap-Bremerton, conducted a Battle of Midway ceremony that was well attended in the Northwest. Complete story and images are available at http://nimitznews.wordpress.com/2016/06/03/nimitz-celebrates-74th-anniversary-of-the-battle-of-midway/.

USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) also conducted a Battle of Midway commemoration. The celebration included a cake in the shape of an aircraft carrier weighing in at 300 lbs. Coverage and images from the ceremony can be viewed athttp://www.facebook.com/ussronaldreagan/posts/10153547204177021/.

The Navy's Information Warfare community sponsored a series of events on Oahu, beginning with the Battle of Midway Educational Panel, followed by unveiling of WWII Midway murals at the Pacific Aviation Museum on Ford Island. During the educational panel, Alan Lloyd, Pearl Harbor attack survivor, Honolulu council of the Navy league and expert on the Battle of Midway; and Rear Adm. T.J. White, director for Intelligence, U.S. Pacific Command, talked about events leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor and the Battle of Midway, as well as the Battle of Midway itself. To watch the discussion in its entirety, seehttp://www.dvidshub.net/video/467904/battle-midway-panel-discussion#.V1h4yPkrLmE/.

Following that, Sailors and civilians who took the time to help restore murals from Midway watched as they were unveiled at the museum's hangar following the panel discussion. For the video clip of the ceremony please see http://www.dvidshub.net/video/467676/battle-midway-mural-unveiling-ceremony#.V1h49PkrLmE/. For still images of each event, visithttp://www.dvidshub.net/image/2633843/sailors-civilians-reflect-battle-midway-during-74th-anniversary#.V1X8_vkrLX4/.

The next night the community held a Battle of Midway Gala on the historic ship USS Missouri, adjacent to the USS Arizona Memorial. Special Assistant to the Director of Naval Intelligence, Rear Adm. Paul Becker, served as the keynote speaker.

One of the biggest highlights of the week's events on Oahu was a ceremony at Station HYPO, where the Japanese code was partially broken, allowing U.S. Navy leaders to predict and prepare for the attack on the Island of Midway. A small ceremony was conducted in front of Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard Building 1, followed by a closed tour of Station HYPO in the building's basement. Capt. Dale Rielage, director for Intelligence and Information Operations, U.S. Pacific Fleet, highlighted the work and history of the cryptanalysts who worked there. The station remains inaccessible to the public as it retains responsibility for housing classified and sensitive information.

The final Battle of Midway commemoration event on Oahu included remarks from Becker, Rielage and Adm. Scott Swift, commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet. The ceremony reinforced the importance of commemorating naval heritage, especially from this battle because of its predictive intelligence, bold and decisive leadership, and valor and resolve of those who fought and supported the battle. See the video athttp://www.facebook.com/USPacificFleet/videos/vb.62418562969/10154196213052970/?type=2&theater/ and story at http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=95111/.

Both Becker and Rielage contributed to public understanding by sharing their perspectives through blog posts. Becker released a blog on the battle at http://taskandpurpose.com/74-years-since-greatest-naval-battle-american-history/, and Rielage posted a blog on The Sextant entitled "Reflections on the Battle of Midway from the PACFLT Basement" athttp://usnhistory.navylive.dodlive.mil/reflections-on-the-battle-of-midway-from-the-pacflt-basement/.

One of the largest gatherings was the annual gala on the USS Midway Museum in San Diego. Active-duty service members, veterans and guests paid tribute to naval heroes during a commemoration aboard the historic ship. Commander, U.S. 3rd Fleet Vice Adm. Nora Tyson provided remarks, as did keynote speaker Ian Toll, author of "Six Frigates." Story and images can be found at http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=95064/.

There were numerous other commemorations throughout the Pacific, many of which can be found on http://www.navy.mil/.

To learn much more about the history of the Battle of Midway, please visithttp://www.history.navy.mil/browse-by-topic/commemorations-toolkits/battle-of-midway.html/.

For more information, visit http://www.navy.mil/, http://www.facebook.com/usnavy/, orhttp://www.twitter.com/usnavy/.

For more news from U.S. Pacific Fleet, visit http://www.navy.mil/local/cpf/.