Posted on 07/21/2004 6:09:04 PM PDT by Mr. Silverback
As John Kerry continues his series of defense policy speeches, I’ve been thinking of another naval officer, one who fought in the Battle of Midway in World War II.
John Waldron commanded Torpedo Squadron 8, flying TBD Devastators off USS Hornet. Historian Walter Lord described him as “a hard-driving taskmaster with a fierce passion for getting at the enemy.” Waldron worked his men hard, with long morning runs on Hornet’s flight deck and endless hours going over tactics. But he wasn’t just guts and glory. Before they shipped out he had held many squadron parties at his home in Norfolk, and in a social setting he revealed “a deep streak of tenderness,” according to Lord. Once he led two pilots to his daughters’ bedroom, saying, “Did you ever see such pretty little girls?”
On the morning of June 4th, 1942, they launched against the Japanese fleet. Waldron told Hornet’s captain Torpedo 8 would “get hits.” This was not to be. During their attack on the carrier Soryu, they were mauled by Japanese fighters and all 15 Devastators were shot down. Of 30 pilots and gunners, only one man survived. Only six planes managed to drop their torpedoes; none hit anything.
Why did Waldron and his men fail? The main reason is that the Devastator was a deathtrap. It could only make about 100 knots when loaded, and had an awful rate of climb. The Japanese pilots they faced had extensive combat experience and state-of-the-art fighters. Even if they’d had proper fighter cover (a communications glitch prevented that), it’s hard to imagine half of them making it home, much less sinking a carrier.
They weren’t the only ones. Congress hadn’t bothered to keep up with the Germans or Japanese; they counted on two wide oceans to stop Fascism. In the early days of the war America’s troops paid for it, their bravery failing to make up for obsolete equipment and neglected training.
What worries me most about a potential Kerry presidency is that these bitter lessons are lost on him. In his first run for the Senate in 1984, Kerry proclaimed peace issues his “passion” and called for deep across-the-board defense cuts and the nuclear freeze. Kerry seemed to believe that all the complex problems of U.S.-Soviet relations would vanish with a “poof” if we would just build fewer ships and planes. He opposed nearly every new weapon system developed in his years in the Senate. These ranged from nuclear bombers to tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and helicopters. Many of these weapon systems have performed brilliantly in the War on Terror and in the Gulf War before it. After the Cold War faded, Kerry took the lead in making deep cuts in intelligence budgets. I don’t blame John Kerry or any other non-terrorist for September 11th, but I think we can all agree that the last thing we needed was to spend less money on intelligence.
Strangest of all, he voted for the Iraq War, but against $87 billion for the troops and their reconstruction efforts. More recently, he rushed back from the campaign trail to vote against the Unborn Victims of Violence Act (also known as Laci and Conner’s Law), but was nowhere to be found when a $25 billion supplemental bill for the troops was voted on. Ironically, he was busy making a speech on the modernization of the military.
We need to ask ourselves some sober questions as we send sons and daughters and neighbors off to fight, as we raise our kids in the post September 11th era. Can we afford a Commander-in-Chief who believes that weakness is strength and that esoteric abortion votes are more important than supplying troops in combat? Can we afford one who draws no lessons about peace and war from a conflict that killed 60 million people? Which really costs more, defense or tribute? If you doubt the answers, consider that we can’t ask Lt. Commander John Waldron. He and his men lie somewhere northwest of Midway Island, a grave they were brought to by their own valor and other men’s wishful thinking.
This ran over a month ago, but I had wanted to wait to post it until I had a new contract with the Ink. Since I only sell them first print rights, I am giving away first electronic rights by posting here. Hope you enjoy it, and feel free to offer constructive criticism if you wish. I'll post the next one (from later in June) tomorrow and the third (from mid-july) on Friday.
Also, please note that I am establishing a low-volume ping list for my column work. This will be pinged once or twice a month at first, but I will eventually be writing for them weekly. Sing out if you want on the list.
Congratulations!
bttt
Very interesting and well-written. Sounds like you will be a great help to the local people there.
One grammar comment I'll add. (I hesitate to say this, because I make grammar mistakes myself! But you asked for any constructive criticism...)
"It could only make about 100 knots when loaded, and had an awful rate of climb."
There should not be a comma after the word "loaded."
Your article is great, so please only take this as encouragement!
Congratulations, and good luck in the future.
Woo hoo! Congrats to a published FReeper!!
Good stuff. Please keep my on the list.
And for those who don't know their WWII history, our valient torpedo bomber crews did not die in vain. They pulled the Japanese CAP (combat air patrol, the fighter cover over the carrier battlegroup) down to the deck. When our dive bombers showed up, just after the torpedo bombers had been shot down, Japanese fighters had no altitude, and could do little to stop the dive bombers.
Ultimate result: 4 Japanese fleet carriers sunk, hundreds and hundreds of their experienced naval aviators lost, and the biggest turning point of our war in the Pacific against Japan.
/valient/valiant/
I really should use teh spell checker.
Congrats Mr Silverback.
Please ping me to your articles, I write but don't get paid.
Not yet anyway, I've been published on the net and the 2 local papers and the Buffalo News
"....but it's alright Ma,...I'm only writin'..."
Kudos to you Mr. S......and good luck.
FMCDH(BITS)
A congrats BTTT!
A better example might be the WBTS when the South could not afford to keep up with technological advances like the Spencers. That was costly.
Your article sounds a lot like Hanson's work.
CONGRATS!
Would you put me on your ping list?
This is an excellent article. As I recall, George H.W. Bush flew a TBD - a sitting duck if there ever was one.
I trained as a Navy combat aircrewman in WW2. Your article hit home with me.
Thanks.
Great article.
This is not a criticism at all, but just my 2 cents...
Word is that the Mitsubishi Zero was a carbon copy of a plane Howard Hughes had offered the US armed forces before the war, and they turned it down.
Certainly, it was better than anything we had in December, 1941.
I just hope your new career as a paid media whore doesn't take away from my beloved
Useful Idiot Caption-a-Rama!
I just love that!
Congratulations! Never forget...
IT'S BUSH'S FAULT!
That is so exciting - and it's a great column! Put me on your permanent ping list!
Kerry seemed to believe that all the complex problems of U.S.-Soviet relations would vanish with a “poof” if we would just build fewer ships and planes.
Funny how it turned out exactly the opposite. The Gipper built more military hardware... and all the complex problems of U.S.-Soviet relations vanished with a "poof".
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