June 4, 2019 is the 77th anniversary of one of the greatest military battles in American history and one that changed the entire direction of the war in the Pacific. After the destruction at Pearl Harbor in 1941, the American fleet was having to make do with its peacetime Navy until they could recover. And recover they did! Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, the man that planned the Pearl Harbor attack, warned his forces afterwards that, "We have awakened a sleeping giant!" But it was a long hard road to Japan's eventual capitulation. After the shock of the "Doolittle Raid," the Japanese people and even their military needed to be reassured that America was still unable to mount an offensive. So the island of Midway was chosen to reduce any future incursions, but also to lure the American Fleet out of hiding and destroy it once and for all. And naturally, the adopted sons of Pensacola tipped the scales of victory in America's direction.
The Japanese had no idea that the Enterprise, Yorktown, and Hornet were laying in ambush for the huge Japanese fleet. We had very few carriers and we were risking three of them at one time. But where was the Japanese Fleet? Scout planes searched high and low, but could not locate them. They were finally found by LCdr. John Charles Waldrop of the Hornet's VT-8 Torpedo Squadron. He and his men attacked without fighter escort and were all killed (except for one), but their sacrifice ensured an American victory. When the smoke cleared, four of the six carriers who attacked Pearl Harbor were sunk along with a heavy cruiser, 248 planes and 3,057 of the enemy.
The five men from Pensacola who sacrificed everything that day, now lie at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. But, because of their sacrifice we should strive never to forget them and what they did for us!
AP1 Robert Bruce Miles
Robert Bruce Miles High School Photo
AP1 Robert Bruce Miles prior to his death at Midway
He would marry Pensacolian Doris Pauline Eubanks
in 1938. After the Lexington was sunk at Battle of Coral
Sea he and his crew was transferred to the Hornet and
the famous VT-8 Torpedo Squadron
Newspaper Headlines of Miles' loss at Midway 64-1942
LCdr John Charles Waldron
John Charles Waldron on the right aboard the USS Hornet prior to the battle In 1927, he married Pensacolian Mary Adelaide Wentworth, cousin of T. T. Wentworth. He was the commanding officer of VT-8 Torpedo Squadron and located the Japanese Fleet prior to his fatal attack on the enemy carriers. Once he radioed their position, their destruction was sealed by the incoming Navy dive bombers. Adelaide is buried in the St. John's Cemetery, but she honored John with a stone that reads, "In Memoriam LCDR John C. Waldron - Killed Battle of Midway June 4, 1942."
Harold John "Elly" Ellison
Ensign Harold John Ellison (left) on USS Hornet prior to the battle.
John received his wings in Pensacola and married Pensacolian Audrey Faye
Dannelly in 1941. His marriage was quickly followed by his transfer to
VT-8 Torepdo Squadron on the USS Hornet. Following his death, he was
honored by the Navy with the destroyer DD-864 USS Harold J. Ellison,
which was launched by his widow on March 14, 1945.
George Marvin Campbell
LTjg George Marvin Campbell (right) on the
USS Hornet prior to the Battle of Midway
While stationed in Pensacola, George met and married
Pensacolian Genevieve Thompson in 1930. In 1942, he won
his wings and was assigned to VT-8 Torpedo Squadron just
in time for the Battle of Midway. Regardless of his inexperience
he followed his comrades into hell and died alongside them.
Above, she is launching the DD-773 USS Campbell, named
after her heroic husband.
CK1 Jim Dailey
CK1 Jim Dailey, one of Pensacola's African American heroes of World War II
who enlisted in the US Navy as a cook in 1935. On February 25, 1941, he was
ordered aboard the destroyer DD-412, USS Hamman. During Midway, the
Hammann was providing antiaircraft fire for the carrier Yorktown, helping to
shoot down many of the attacking aircraft when the carrier received two aerial
torpedoes. With Hammann alongside, the enemy submarine I-168 fired
four torpedoes of which one missed. Two others passed under the Hammann
and hit the Yorktown (above). The fourth struck the Hammann amidships (below),
breaking her in half. Life rafts were lowered and rescue efforts commenced. But the
Hammann sank, bow first, in just four minutes. Following the sinking there was a violent underwater explosion, which killed many of the sailors still in the water.
Eighty sailors died in all. 1st Class Jim Dailey was one of those killed. His wife, Rosalie
Dailey was notified by the War Department at her home at 1105 West LaRua Street
that her husband had been killed in action. His body was never recovered so there
would be no burial. Alas, another gold star was placed in the window of yet another
Pensacola widow's home.
