JUNE 6, 2022 – Aboard the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance (DDG 111), the Battle of Midway carries special meaning for the 353 “Quiet Warriors” who are forward-deployed with, and sail alongside, the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group.
The ship’s namesake, Adm. Raymond A. Spruance, is regarded as the modest victor at Midway, and received the title “Quiet Warrior” because of his humble and introspective leadership.
The historical battle’s multi-day engagement, spanning a sea-area the size of the contiguous United States, was spearheaded by Adm. Spruance, and its lessons and inspiration are keenly felt aboard. Spruance’s Officers, Chiefs, and Sailors assembled in a “sea of white” for a ceremony commemorating the pivotal Pacific battle that took place less than 1,000 miles from where the strike group sails as part of its regularly-scheduled deployment to the U.S. 7th Fleet area of responsibility in the Western Pacific.
Eighty years ago on June 4, 1942, Adm. Spruance commanded Task Force 16, comprised of the most decorated aircraft carrier in naval history, USS Enterprise (CV 6). Once within range of the advancing Japanese fleet, he capitalized on the element of surprise to launch a decisive attack near the island of Midway.
Acting on a Japanese navy intelligence message, intercepted by U.S. Navy cryptographers and deciphered in Hawaii, Adm. Spruance uttered this phrase, which unleashed a heretofore unseen brand of naval warfare: “Launch the Attack!” These three words incited the planned ambush and repeated waves of torpedo bombers descending upon the Japanese fleet. When the smoke cleared, the American Navy sank four Japanese aircraft carriers and one heavy cruiser, altering the course of World War II. Spruance’s order is now the destroyer’s motto.
To honor the legacy of the destroyer’s namesake and the battle that change the course of war in the Pacific, Commanding Officer Cmdr. Douglas Robb and Command Master Chief Richard Meek laid a wreath into the ship’s wake during a 21-gun salute. In addition to the commemoration ceremony, which was presided by Executive Officer Cmdr. Christopher Ivey, USS Spruance celebrated the naval accomplishments of the crew in an all-hands recognition ceremony that included awarding Naval Achievement Medals, warfare qualification devices, and enlisted and officer promotions.
“As we commemorate the battle, we are right to wonder if, one day, we may find ourselves in a moment or a place like Midway,” Robb told the assembled crew. “Only time will tell. But if we do, we need only to look to those days when, 80 years ago, Americans from all 50 States and all walks of life teamed together to repel an overpowering naval force. In the process, they preserved the cause of liberty and changed the course of history. We are stronger because of their courageous service. We are lucky to be forever linked to the commander, Adm. Spruance, and we are privileged to be stewards of his legacy and the ship that bears his name.”
Spruance is on a regularly-scheduled deployment in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations to enhance interoperability through alliances and partnerships while serving as a ready-response force in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific region with Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group.
HISTORY
As May rolled into June in 1942, Japan’s naval forces stretched across the Pacific. They had seized Malaysia, Singapore, the Dutch East Indies, the Philippines, and the northern coast of Papua/New Guinea.
Intelligence provided by U.S. Navy cryptologists had allowed the U.S. to thwart an attempted invasion of Port Moresby with the Battle of the Coral Sea, the first carrier battle of the war. However, cryptologists, like the ones training here today, also uncovered Japanese plans to take the outpost at Midway. Though small, Midway would be a critical strategic location allowing the Japanese to threaten Hawaii directly. Reinforcing and defending the island was crucial.
By late May, Japanese forces were underway for Midway. Among them were the carriers Akagi, Kaga, Soryu, and Hiryu with a total of 229 embarked aircraft. An additional 17 patrol seaplanes were housed on accompanying ships.
American forces raced to meet them with a strike group formed around the carriers USS Enterprise (CV-6), USS Hornet (CV-8), and USS Yorktown (CV-5). The group provided 234 aircraft afloat in addition to the 110 fighters, bombers, and patrol planes at Midway.
At 6:16 in the morning of June 4, Marine Corps pilots from Midway engaged an approaching enemy formation of bombers being escorted by Zeroes just 30 miles away. The American fighters inflicted some damage, but were too outnumbered to halt the enemy approach. The first bomb fell on Midway at 6:30 a.m.
As the Japanese planes returned to refuel, Midway launched its own attack on the Japanese carriers. Marine Corps Dauntless and Vindicator bombers, Navy Avenger torpedo bombers, and Army Air Force B-26 Marauder and B-17 Flying Fortress bombers repeatedly attacked the Japanese forces. They inflicted relatively little damage to the large fleet, but fought fiercely while aircraft from the American carriers were deployed for the attack.
Navy torpedo bombers were first to engage from the American carriers. They flew in low and although nearly wiped out by the defending Japanese, they drew off enemy fire and left the skies open for dive bombers from the Enterprise and the Yorktown. The Japanese carriers were exposed and the American bombers quickly crippled carriers Akagi, Kaga, and Soryu.
The last remaining Japanese carrier, Hiryu, launched her aircraft for a counter-attack on the Yorktown, damaging her severely enough to force her abandonment. That afternoon, however, aircraft from the Enterprise attacked and mortally damaged the Hiryu.
With all four carriers out of the battle, the Japanese invasion of Midway was abandoned.
For the next two days, American forces pursued and attacked the retreating Japanese. Salvage operations attempted to save the Yorktown, but were interrupted by torpedoes from a Japanese submarine. Yorktown sank at dawn on June 7.
The battle’s losses were significantly greater for the Japanese fleet. The Japanese offensive in the Pacific was derailed. The Battle of Midway marked the start of a shift in the balance of sea power in the Pacific Theater, making it one of the most significant conflicts of World War II.
The only known surviving aircraft from this historic conflict, a Douglas SBD Dauntless, which had also survived the attack at Pearl Harbor, is currently on display at the National Naval Aviation Museum onboard NAS Pensacola.
Story by Ensign Sky Avants
USS Spruance (DDG 111)