The new "Midway" movie:

How about some Torpedo Squadron love. Torpedo Squadron 4., VT-4 - World Cruise 1946 - USS Tarawa. Attack Squadron 16A., VA-16A and Attack Squadron 8A., VA-8A - Circa 1947. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

My father was USN flying SNJs. His ship, USS Liscombe Bay, was sunk. He survived but allegedly this had one of the highest men loss rates in the war.

 

I got a book from Sperry (avionics) that they gave out on the mission. I remember that one of the discussion was how the squadron retuned all the engines for maximum efficiency then someone on the ship reworked them back to normal standards.

 

My late maternal grandfather was a captain in the Merchant Marine. His ship was torpedoed and he survived WWII.

 

I saw the movie without high expectations and wasn't disappointed. As a WW2 enthusiast, there are so many high quality documentaries out there, it was impossible to suspend your disbelief during the action and operational scenes. But - it was good entertainment!
Cheers,
- Art

 

I just watched this movie. It took me more than a few moments to compose myself. I don't know about the factual inaccuracies. What I do know is that it will take me a while to mentally process they level of sacrifice given by these men and their families. The great debt we owe them. The responsibility we Americans have to make sure that they didn't sacrifice in vain.

The gift they've given us must never be squandered.

 

Midway will go down as one of our most important battles ever.


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I may have mentioned this before. I recall the immediate change in attitude in early 1942 and the resolve, selfless determination, and total focus on hitting back. There was no hesitation in self- sacrifice in order to stop the advances of an enemy with overwhelming power at the time. Many junior and senior students of our high school disappeared over night, many permanently. Our town emptied of all able-bodied men . There was an air of tight-lipped resolve and anger as everyone pitched in to do whatever they could. Our mother played the piano for church and prayer meetings at Sarasota airbase when it opened in 1942 and she opened our little cottage on weekends for airmen to have something home-like. I don't know where she got the money to feed them because we didn't have much ourselves. Our dad, an architect, went to work in the Navy Department in Washington, D.C. and we seldom saw him. And as I mentioned a while back, we were soon given a daily air show with P-39, P-40, B-17, B-24, P-47, B-26, B-29, SBD, and P-51 aircraft. I think that in six months, the Japanese realized that we weren't going to fold and sue for peace. They had poked a stick in a hornet's nest.

 

Thanks. If you haven't already, you should write this down.

 

He has... his book goes into more detail.

 

What is the name of the book, again?

 

From Crystal Set to High Speed Jets by Robert L. Parks

Great book!

 

I appreciate the encouragement but I haven't been able to think of a sequel. I'm not able to do anything much anymore and I said just about everything that I did in my 90 years of active duty. That book was simply a compilation of my activities of my memorable life mainly for my survivors and hopefully for some retirement security from sales. I get a whole $5.00 per sale royalty from good o'l Amazon so the latter won't happen due to the self publishing aspect of it. It's pretty much a ho hum book that will go nowhere unless some publisher with a laps of mind happens to like it. I have never had any negative comments about it and I certainly appreciate the positive comments from you Av Chatters. I'm working on some little things that I want to get out of the queue and I have to address some medical challenges that have popped up to slow me down. So, I have to say that I am invigorated and very fortunate to be able to participate in this forum with people that I have never met face to face (except for Gatorrari) but it matters not. I'll keep at it so keep you eyes peeled for something that will pop up later this year..

 

Bob- Loved the book and so did my mother. Hang in there.

 

Thank you, Terry, and thank your mother.

 

Bob- Like many of your "Greatest Generation", she passed away in 2018 at age 92. She took a troop ship to Germany in 1946 to join my father who was flying P-47Ds with the 86th FBG as part of the occupation forces.

 

Added to my Amazon cart! My dad flew P-47D's in WW II, so I read a lot of autobiographical books about that era. I have a copy of Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo autographed by Doolittle and the surviving Raiders circa 1980.

 

I prepared a painting of Doolittle's take off from the Hornet and a portrait of Richard Cole, his copilot, Sky Ball several years ago. Attached. Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

You are a man of many talents!

 

Cole portrait. Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Cole's is one of the autographs I have. My stepdad was a USAF pilot too - he and dad were best friends, and when his wife and my dad died the same year, he and mom got married - and he knew Doolittle, which is how I came to have the autographed book.

Here's a pic of my dad. He was awarded the DFC twice, first time when he was a twenty year old first lieutenant. He was an awesome guy and a great father.
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