Missing at Midway – Most of USS Hornet Air Group & Their Sad Flight to Nowhere, 4 June 1942
by Col Mike Howard US Marines (Ret)

“by 1024…the Japanese were certain they had won the battle and the war. This was their high tide of victory. Japan had been on top…(but) by 1030, her carriers were flaming death.”

“…the threescore young aviators who met flaming death that day in reversing the verdict of battle. Think of them … every Fourth of June. They and their comrades who survived changed the whole course of the Pacific War.”
Samuel Eliot Morrison,
The definitive WWII US Naval Historian,
of the men of USS Enterprise, USS Hornet,
USS Yorktown and Midway’s Marine Air
Group 22 (with old Brewster Buffalos).

"Midway was the most stunning and decisive blow in the history of naval warfare."
John Keegan, Military Historian

I love History. And I love a good Hollywood film accurately depicting it. Midway has had two fine versions done in my lifetime (1976 & now 2019) that really put a lot of time, money, solid acting and good script into sharing this important story. But history is a humbling art as it is never finished. It is always open for re-interpretation based on perspective and fresh research. Or the opening of old secrets based on the passage of time. The other thing I appreciate about Hollywood is that it captures the imagination of the younger generations and stirs them to study history on their own. It opens up a whole new world of adventure to them far better than their iPhone games or other mindless personal electronic devices.

The Battle of Midway was a great victory for America. Our military worked together and made incredible sacrifices to defeat the Japanese Navy and neutralize the threat to Midway, the Hawaiian Islands, and the US West Coast.

But as I said, history is never really over, nor is it a thing of the past. There are truths that sometimes are hidden and obscured that over scrutiny and the test of time, are revealed and need to be further studied. Midway has its secrets that still need to be exposed to the light. For light is what heals. Many junior officer US Navy airmen have attempted to tell the story of a cover-up after Midway. Not only is their story highly credible, but I personally believe it and am saddened that the makers of both motion pictures chose to ignore it.

The most important of these insider stories is that of the large US Navy Air Group from the USS Hornet. Where was it on the morning of 4 June 1942? Who commanded it? What was his background? Why was he so unpopular with his men and fellow pilots? Why did he ignore the sound skills, intelligence and leadership of his best squadron commander? Why did he insist on flying in the wrong direction? Why did he file a false After-Action report? Why was he never honest about it? And why did the culture of the United States Navy suppress and cover it up? And to add a final indignity to the truth and sacrifices of those who served and sacrificed under him, why did the Navy later inexcusably promote him to Admiral?

These are still questions that need to be answered. Many good men died because of this. Their service and sacrifice need to be emphasized and honored. And perhaps the bureaucratic, careerist mentality of the Navy needs to be re-examined. I am reminded of the stalwart Admiral Hyman Rickover USN, Father of the US Navy nuclear program, who had himself been the subject of Navy prejudice (he was Jewish) and stated: “The US Naval Academy is the only institution I know of that takes men and turns them into boys.”

Sadly, the story of USS Hornet’s Air Group is not being told. Only her Torpedo Squadron 8 engaged the enemy & under courageous Lieutenant Commander John Waldron was completely destroyed with no support from the rest of her Air Group. Stanhope Ring, CO of Hornets Air Group was a prideful man & very poor navigator. He took most of the Hornet planes due West instead of South West where the Japs actually were. That meant Hornet’s Scouting, Bombing & Fighting Squadrons were not where they should have been. Ring’s men never forgave him. He was later relieved by Admiral Mark Mitscher of his Air Group command. Within all the Navy insiders it has always sadly been known as “The Flight to Nowhere”. The truth needs to be publically known. Adm. Marc Mitscher, Raymond Spruance & even Chester Nimitz covered this so as not to embarrass the Navy and diminish any of the afterglow of a monumental victory. They focused on public opinion in covering for Stanhope Ring. Bottom line, had Hornet’s Air Group been where it should have, all 4 Jap carriers would most likely have been sunk in the morning and the last surviving carrier, Imperial Japanese Ship Hiryu, would not have been able to launch a fatal air strike on the USS Yorktown in the afternoon.

I am limited here by space. My purpose is to highlight this important aspect of the Battle of Midway, one that our US Navy Aviation community has known for decades. I want to point future generations who are passionate about military history and its many lessons to this “Flight to Nowhere” by the Hornet Air Group under Stanhope Ring. I highly recommend several fine historical studies. There is more out there that needs to be thoroughly studied and reported upon. They are in different formats: after action reports (take a close look at the lack of many missing After-Action Reports from within Hornet’s Air Group – and sadly, many of those who could shed light on this were KIA on 4 June 1942). The definitive works as I see them are The Battle of Midway by Craig L. Symonds (2011) & its outstanding CD version in 13 CDs covering 14 hours read and performed by James Lurie ((2012). This is worth every penny at $14.99 by BrillianceAudio unabridged, PO Box 887, Grand Haven, Michigan, 49417 and by phone: 1-800-222-3225. The other definitive story of Lieutenant Commander John Waldron and his courageous Torpedo 8 Squadron of the Hornet is: Sole Survivor by George Gay, A Dawn Like Thunder by Robert Mrazek, and No Right To Win by Ronald Russell. All tell the brave, tragic story of Torpedo 8.

As I said, History is fascinating & is never really over. It should humble us and keep us leaning forward for the truth.
Never forget Lieutenant Commander John Charles Waldron and his brave fellow Warriors of Torpedo 8.


A down and dirty Battle of Midway Summary
(what motivates me to remember and give thanks each Memorial Day)

• all 15 of Hornet's VT-8 torpedo planes were shot down (old TBD Devastators)
  
• 12 of 14 of Enterprise’s VT-6 torpedo planes were shot down (Devastators)
  
• 10 of 12 of Yorktown’s VT-3 torpedo planes were shot down (Devastators)
  
• and 15 Marine Corps VMF-221 (of MAG 22) fighters were shot down (F2A-3 Buffaloes)
  Bottom line: Of the 41 American Devastators launched against Japs on 4 June, 37 were lost.
  All three US Navy torpedo squadrons (VT-8, VT-6, & VT-3) were destroyed.
  American sacrifice consumed Jap fighters and gave US dive bombers free rein for attack.
  
  Jap carrier losses of 4 June 1942 (all four ships had attacked Pearl Harbor on 7 Dec 1941):
  (note: Admiral Nimitz kept a photo of all six behind his desk & crossed them off as sunk).
  
• Akagi (Red Castle): sunk by 2 bombs from Enterprise (Dauntless SBDs)
  
• Kaga (Increased Joy): sunk by 4 bombs from Enterprise (Dauntless SBDs)
  
• Hiryu (Flying Dragon): sunk by 4 bombs from Enterprise (Dauntless SBDs)
  
• Soryu (Green Dragon): sunk by 3 bombs from Yorktown (Dauntless SBDs)
  
  Final American revenge - of the two remaining Jap carriers that had attacked Pearl Harbor:
  
• Shokaku (Flying Crane): sunk 19 June 1944, Philippine Sea, 4 torpedoes by USS Cavalla.
  
• Zuikaku (Lucky Crane): sunk (25 October 1944, Leyte Gulf) by 9 bombs, 7 torpedoes from
  USN aircraft.
  This was the final American “payback” for Pearl Harbor.
  
  
  

  history