White House marks 83rd anniversary of Midway victory in WWII
June 4 (UPI) -- Wednesday is the 83rd anniversary of the Battle of Midway, which turned the tide against the Japanese during World War II, the White House announced.
The attack by the Japanese Navy on Midway Island marked its last in the Pacific Theater of operations and occurred 1.5 years after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor.
"After the shocking attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, Imperial Japan surged across the Pacific -- dealing Allied forces a series of defeats, from the fall of the Philippines to the capture of Hong Kong and Singapore to devastating air raids over Australia," the White House announced in an unattributed online statement.
"With the U.S. Navy still reeling from the surprise attack, Japan's ruthless push for regional dominance seemed unstoppable," the statement said.
A surprise attack led by Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle that dropped bombs on Japan on April 16, 1942, prompted the Japanese to expand their territorial gains in the Pacific Theater of Operations, including targeting Midway Island for occupation.
Occupying Midway would have given Japan a military base that was within striking distance of Pearl Harbor and the U.S. Navy's Pacific Fleet by land-based bombers.
U.S. codebreakers, though, had broken Japan's Purple Code, and the Navy sent an uncoded message saying Midway Island's desalination facilities were down.
It was a ruse that prompted the Japanese to say that its next target had problems with its fresh water, which the U.S. codebreakers intercepted.
"The Japanese plan was clear: lure what remained of the battered U.S. Pacific Fleet out of Pearl Harbor, destroy it and capture Midway, from where they would launch further offensives across the Pacific," the White House announcement says.
Knowing Midway was the intended target, newly appointed Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Chester Nimitz dispatched the USS Enterprise, USS Hornet and the USS Yorktown aircraft carriers and supporting vessels to lay a trap for the Japanese Navy.
Admirals Chester Spruance and Jack Fletcher commanded the tactical fleet during the Midway operations.
Japan sent four of its best fleet aircraft carriers to draw out the U.S. Pacific Fleet and destroy it in a decisive battle.
Instead, the Japanese fleet was surprised by U.S. attack aircraft on the morning of June 4, 1942.
"In the course of 24 hours, they sank four Japanese aircraft carriers, destroyed a heavy cruiser and crushed Japanese hopes of advancing deeper into the eastern Pacific," the White House said.
The U.S. lost the Yorktown during the battle, but the United States was able to replace its losses and grow its fleet.
The Japanese Navy continued to decline in size and effectiveness while trying and failing to defend its prior gains in the Pacific Theater.
"Today, former enemies stand united as allies," the White House said. "The United States and Japan have forged an enduring partnership built on the shared values of freedom, sovereignty and an abiding commitment to peace across the Indo-Pacific."
The White House statement says the United States and Japan "are advancing the causes of safety, security, prosperity and liberty ... while confronting threats from China and North Korea."
The Battle of Midway serves as a "glorious reminder" that "no challenge is too great for the strength of the American spirit," the White House said.
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