satellite view from PMNM
E komo mai; welcome! Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge is surrounded by a lei of foam in the middle of the North Pacific; it's a beautiful, special place.

Not only are there albatross on Midway, but many other interesting kinds of wildlife, both on the land and in the sea. Please enjoy exploring FOAM, an educational blog actively done while on Midway from May through August 2010. Posts are added from off-Midway, as information becomes available. If you're interested in a particular topic, please use the search box or the alphabetical list of "labels" along the left side of the blog page.

Saturday, June 5, 2010

Battle of Midway 68th Commemoration


The  June 4-7, 1942 Battle of Midway marked the turning point toward victory for the U.S. and its Allies in World War II.  On June 2, 2010 two American veterans returned to Midway to attend the 68th commemoration of this important battle.   The left picture shows Sargent Paul Crook in the red hat and blue shirt.  He was on Midway's Eastern Island during the battle.  Sargent Crook recounted his memory of the night following the first day of battle.  He and all the men had orders to dig deep holes in the sand for themselves.  They were told to take their guns with them and be prepared for a night-time battle.  Meanwhile, Lieutenant George Bernstein (dark blue hat, far right) was stationed on the Navy aircraft carrier, the USS Hornet offshore from Midway.   

Among the Japanese veterans attending the commemoration were Mr. Kaname Harada (seated at the far left) and next to him, Mr. Jiro Yoshida.  These two men piloted Japanese airplanes called Zeroes during World War II.  Mr. Harada actually flew his Zero at the Battle of Midway, shooting down several American planes.

Both American and Japanese veterans of the Battle of Midway, men who fought against each other 68 years ago, sat down together to honor the young men who gave their lives on both sides of the battle.  At the end of the day of remembrance, flowers were on display at both the American (below, left) and Japanese memorials on Midway's Sand Island.




2 comments:

Unknown said...

Dear Ms. Mayer,

Aloha, this is Kamaile Nichols, Kamehameha Schools c/o 1998. You met my stepfather while on Midway. What a small world! I have tried to email you but for some reason the email I have keeps bouncing back, so hopefully I will be able to reach you this way.

Barb said...

Hi Kamaile! I enjoyed meeting your stepdad...and how fantastic to reconnect with you! I hope you got my email. If you're not too busy, please "stay tuned" to FOAM; I sure am enjoying my volunteer time on Midway, and I hope to write a lot of posts about the many projects going on out here.