Rete Gaynier Janiec: Eight interviews in 2006 and 2007 (2006: 2/24, 3/6, 4/11, 5/15, 10/15, 12/13. 2007: 3/4, 10/27).
Rick and Roger Katz: One interview in 2006 (9/22).
Alvin Kernan: One interview and four e-mails in 2006 (Interview: 7/25).
Zygmund “Ski” Kowalewski (VT-8 survivor): Three interviews in 2007 (4/13, 5/2, 7/7).
Ridgeway Liccioni (VT-8 survivor): One interview in 2008 (2/9).
John Lundstrom: Eight interviews in 2007 (4/11, 4/12, 4/19, 4/26, 5/27, 8/16, 10/5, 10/14).
Helen Lyddon: Three interviews in 2006 (2/23, 2/24, 3/13).
William Magee (VT-8 survivor): Eight interviews in 2006 and 2007 (2006: 11/28, 11/29, 12/7, 12/13, 12/17, 12/18. 2007: 2/27, 4/22).
Nancy Mahi: Four interviews and eight e-mails in 2006 (Interviews: 3/27, 3/31, 4/12, 5/19).
General Lee Marona (VT-8 survivor): Five interviews in 2008 (1/28, 1/29, 1/30, 2/4, 2/6).
Corwin F. Morgan (VT-8 survivor): Twenty-five interviews in 2006 and 2007 (2006: 2/21, 3/3, 3/10, 3/13, 3/29, 3/30, 4/5, 4/6, 4/21, 4/25, 5/2, 5/8, 5/9, 7/8, 7/16, 7/18, 7/25, 8/13, 9/7, 9/23, 10/4, 12/20. 2007: 1/1, 1/19, 2/27).
Dorothy Agee Olson: One interview in 2006 (4/12).
John Peterkin: Five interviews in 2006 and 2007 (2006: 3/30, 4/2, 9/27. 2007: 1/12, 4/8).
Marilyn Richards: One interview in 2007 (4/19).
James Sawruk: One interview and ten e-mails in 2007 (Interview: 2/21).
James “Horse” Smith: One interview in 2007 (9/16).
Eric Staalesen: Four interviews in 2006 and 2007 (2006: 11/9, 11/20. 2007: 1/28, 2/16).
Heber Stafford: Three interviews in 2006 (3/16, 3/17, 3/18).
Carroll “Jack” Stark (VT-8 survivor): Five interviews in 2006 and 2007 (2006: 8/12, 12/8. 2007: 4/25, 6/9, 6/10).
Jack Tobein: One interview in 2007 (1/13).
Harold Towne: Four interviews and sixteen e-mails in 2006 (Interviews: 9/27, 9/28, 11/30, 12/17).
William Tunstall (VT-8 survivor): Five interviews in 2006 and 2007 (2006: 2/21, 4/13, 9/27. 2007: 1/6, 1/16).
Don Velazquez (son of VT-8 survivor): Seven interviews in 2007 and 2008 (2007: 5/2, 10/29, 12/18, 12/22. 2008: 2/4, 2/8, 2/9).
Elizabeth Gaynier Wallin: Two interviews in 2006 (3/14, 3/15).
Bowen P. Weisheit: Six interviews in 2006 and 2007 (2006: 3/6, 3/8, 3/12, 7/27. 2007: 2/8, 2/9).
Ervin “Judge” Wendt (VT-8 survivor): Three interviews in 2006 and 2007 (2006: 8/12, 11/30. 2007: 4/30).
Marcella Whitlock: One interview in 2006 (3/17).
Nancy Lewis Willis and Al Willis: Two interviews in 2006 (2/25, 2/26).
Other Important Interviews
In writing his book about Midway, Incredible Victory, Walter Lord interviewed or corresponded with many of the officers who served aboard the Hornet during the Midway battle. The author had the opportunity to review these newly available letters, interview notes, and/or completed author questionnaires at the Naval Historical Center in Washington, D.C.
The officers included: Rear Admiral Edward P. Creehan, USN-retired, Captain Arthur A. Cumberledge, USN-retired, Lieutenant Commander Stephen Dewey, USN-retired, Rear Admiral Allan F. Fleming, USN-retired, Captain George H. Flinn, USNR-retired, Rear Admiral John G. Foster, USN-retired, Captain Lawrence C. French, USN-retired, Lieutenant Commander Edgar Gold, USN-retired, Captain Troy T. Guillory, USN-retired, Commander Ralph B. Hovind, USN-retired, Commander Richard Hughes, USN-retired, Rear Admiral Robert Ruffin Johnson, USN-retired, Vice Admiral Charles P. Mason, USN-retired, Commander Robert S. Merritt, USN-retired, Captain Stanley E. Ruehlow, USN-retired.
Several pilots who flew against the Japanese striking force from Midway Atoll on June 4, 1942, were also interviewed by Walter Lord, including Lieutenant Colonel James P. Muri, USAF-retired, Captain Albert K. Earnest, USN-retired, and Lieutenant Colonel Pren Leonard Moore, USAF-retired. In addition, the author reviewed a letter in the Lord collection written by Rear Admiral Apollo Soucek to LCDR Joseph Bryan III, on his recollections of the June 4 battle while serving as the Hornet’s air officer.
In writing The Last Flight of Ensign C. Markland Kelly, Junior, USNR, Bowen P. Weisheit conducted taped interviews with eight Hornet pilots who flew the June 4 morning flight. He provided copies of all the interview transcripts to the author. In addition, Mr. Weisheit conducted numerous follow-up telephone interviews with the same pilots, seeking to confirm specific elements of their stories, including the Ring-Waldron exchange on the radio and the course followed by the group. On March 8, 2006, Mr. Weisheit went over the substance of these interviews with the author.
The eight pilots, including their rank at the time of the flight, were: Lieutenant Richard Gray, 1981 (fifty-two pages), Ensign Troy T. Guillory, 1983 (sixty-two pages), Ensign John E. McInerny, 1982 (forty-six pages), Lieutenant Commander Samuel G. Mitchell, 1981 (fifty pages), Lieutenant Commander Walter F. Rodee, 1982 (six pages), Ensign Johnny A. Talbot, 1982 (sixty-eight pages), Ensign Humphrey L. Tallman, 1982 (sixty-six pages), and Ensign Ben Tappan, 1981 (sixty-two pages).
On August 28, 1984, Mr. Weisheit also interviewed Ensign Jerry Crawford, one of the pilots of the PBY plane that rescued four survivors of the Hornet fighter squadron after they ditched in the Pacific. Ensign Crawford accepted the ten-dollar “short snorter” bill given to him by Richard Gray, and then wrote down the longitude and latitude of the location where the PBY picked him up. Mr. Weisheit also interviewed Lieutenant Commander John G. Foster, the air operations officer aboard the Hornet during the Battle of Midway, and reviewed his notes of those conversations with the author.
Bibliography
BOOKS, ARTICLES, AND WEB SITES
BOOKS
Alexander, Col. Joseph H. Edson’s Raiders. Asheville, NC: Edson’s Raiders Association, 1999.
Archer, William R. Bluefield. Charleston, SC: Arcadia, 2000.
Barde, Robert E. The Battle of Midway: A Study in Command. PhD dissertation, College Park, University of Maryland, 1971.
Buell, Thomas B. The Quiet Warrior. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1974.
Butterfield, Roger. Al Schmid — Marine. New York: Farrar & Rinehart, 1944.
Clemens, Martin. Alone on Guadalcanal: A Coastwatcher’s Story. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1998.
Cressman, Robert, et al. A Glorious Page in Our History. Missoula, MT: Pictorial Histories Publishing, 1990.
Crittenden, Katharine Carson. Get Mears! Portland, OR: Binford & Mort, 2002.
Davis, Burke. Marine! The Life of Chesty Puller. New York: Bantam, 1964.
Ferrier, Harry H. “Torpedo Squadron Eight, The Other Chapter.” U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, October 1964.
Frank, Richard B. Guadalcanal. New York: Penguin Books, 1990.
Fuchida, Mitsuo, and Masatake Okumiya. Midway: The Battle That Doomed Japan. New York: Ballantine Books, 1958.
Gay, George, Jr. Sole Survivor. Naples, FL: privately printed, 1980.
Griffin, Alexander R. A Ship to Remember: The Saga of the Hornet. New York: Howell, Soskin, 1943.
Griffith, Samuel B., II. The Battle for Guadalcanal. Philadelphia: J. P. Lippincott, 1963.
Hammel, Eric. Guadalcanal: The Carrier Battles. New York: Crown Books, 1987.
— — —. Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea. Pacifica, CA: Pacifica Press, 1988.
Harries, Meirion, and Susie Harries. Soldiers of the Sun: The Rise and Fall of the Imperial Japanese Army. New York: Random House, 1994.
Hoffman, Jon T. Once a Legend: “Red Mike” Edson of the Marine Raiders. Novato, CA: Presidio Press, 2000.
Hoyt, Edwin P. Blue Skies and Blood: The Battle of the Coral Sea. New York: Jove, 1986.
Kernan, Alvin. The Unknown Battle of Midway. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2005.
Larrabee, Eric. Commander in Chief: Franklin Delano Roosevelt, His Lieutenants, and Their War. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1987.
Layton, Edwin T., with Roger Pineau and John Costello. And I Was There: Pearl Harbor and Midw
ay — Breaking the Secrets. New York: William Morrow and Co., 1985.
Lee, Clark. They Call It Pacific: An Eyewitness Story of Our War Against Japan from Bataan to the Solomons. New York: Viking Press, 1943.
Linder, Bruce R. “The Lost Letter of Midway.” U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, August 1999.
Lord, Walter. Incredible Victory. New York: Harper & Row, 1967.
Lundstrom, John B. Black Shoe Carrier Admiral: Frank Jack Fletcher at Coral Sea, Midway, and Guadalcanal. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2006.
— — —. The First Team and the Guadalcanal Campaign. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1994.
— — —. The First Team: Pacific Naval Air Combat from Pearl Harbor to Midway. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1984.
Mears, Frederick, Jr. Carrier Combat. Garden City, NJ: Doubleday, Doran, 1943.
Merrilat, Herbert. Guadalcanal Remembered. New York: Dodd, Mead & Co., 1982.
Miller, Thomas G., Jr. The Cactus Air Force. Toronto: Bantam Books, 1987.
Parshall, Jonathan, and Anthony Tully. Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway. Washington D.C.: Potomac Books, 2005.
Potter, E. B. Nimitz. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1976.
Prange, Gordon, with Donald Goldstein and Katherine Dillon. Miracle at Midway. New York: Penguin Books, 1983.
Reynolds, Clark G. The Saga of Smokey Stover: From His Diary. Charleston, SC: Tradd Street Press, 1978.
Russell, Ron. No Right to Win: A Continuing Dialogue with Veterans of the Battle of Midway. New York: iUniverse Inc., 2006.
Scrivner, Charles L. TBM/TBF Avenger in Action. Carrollton, TX: Squadron/Signal Publications, 1987.
Taylor, Theodore. The Magnificent Mitscher. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1991.
Toland, John. The Rising Sun: The Decline and Fall of the Japanese Empire. Toronto: Bantam, 1971.
Tregaskis, Richard. Guadalcanal Diary. New York: Random House, 1943.
Vandegrift, Alexander, as told to Robert B. Asprey. Once a Marine. New York: Norton, 1964.
Weisheit, Bowen P. The Last Flight of Ensign C. Markland Kelly, Junior USNR. Baltimore, MD: privately printed, 1993.
Wolfert, Ira. Torpedo 8: The Story of Swede Larsen’s Bomber Squadron. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1943.
ARTICLES AND INTERVIEWS
Earnest, Bert. Interview by Frederick Hodge. Reading Between the Lines. WREN, December 19, 1942.
Larsen, Swede, and George Gay. Interview. We, the People. Columbia Network, January 16, 1944.
Lee, Clark. “Navy Pilot Tells How Jap Carrier Was Knocked Out.” Tampa Tribune, September 14, 1942.
McDonald, William H., Ens. “Charlie Brannon Lives On in Spirit.” Montgomery Advertiser-Journal, February 28, 1965.
Rawlings, Charles. “The McFarland Comes Home.” Saturday Evening Post, January 1943.
Singer, Jack. “Jack Singer’s Last Dispatch Is Thrilling Account of Bomber-Torpedo Plane Attack on Japanese Ships.” Honolulu Advertiser, September 23, 1942.
Smith, M. LeFevre. “The Avengers Strike.” Skyways, July 1944.
Unknown Author. “Ensign Wm. R. Evans Is Reported Missing After Midway Fight.” Shortridge Summer Echo, July 10, 1942. (High school newspaper.)
Unknown Author. “Role of Local Flier’s Lost Squadron Told.” Bluefield Daily Telegraph, July 15, 1942.
Wendt, Lloyd. “The True Story of Heroic Squadron 8.” Chicago Sunday Tribune, May 20–July 25 (multipart series), 1948.
WEB SITES
Battle of Midway Roundtable Web site: www.midway42.org
Tom Cheek memoir: www.internetmodeler.com/2002/june/aviation/Cheek.htm.
MILITARY SOURCES
Action dispatches, classified, sent to CINCPAC from Midway Atoll on June 4–5, including the first dispatch sent after the rescue of George Gay, describing what he saw after being shot down. Courtesy of John Lundstrom.
Advisory Board Proceedings in the case of Lieutenant (jg) S. C. Ring, US Naval Air Station, Pensacola, Florida, July 14, 1926. National Archives and Rec-ords Administration.
After Action Report and debriefing of George Gay at Pearl Harbor by Commander R. A. Ostie, June 7, 1942, including Ostie’s conclusions of what Gay saw on June 4. Courtesy of Robert Cressman.
After Action Report of June 4 mission by VT-8 Detachment (Midway) submitted to CINCPAC by Ensign A. K. Earnest as the only surviving pilot of Fieberling’s VT-8 detachment, June 23, 1942. Courtesy of Bert Earnest.
Battalion Instructions Memorandum: Impending Attack by Japanese Forces, delivered to 6th Defense Battalion, Fleet Marine Force by H. D. Shannon, Colonel, U.S. Marine Corps, Commanding, May 30, 1942. USMC.
The Battle of Midway, Strategical and Tactical Analysis; U.S. Navy, Office of Naval Intelligence, 1942. Courtesy of John Lundstrom.
CO USS Saratoga to CINCPAC, Report of Action against Enemy Forces in Solomon Islands Area on August 24, 1942, including group and squadron reports, and Tactical Situation and Chronological History of Events. Courtesy of John Lundstrom.
CTF-61 (ComCruPac) to ComSoPac, Preliminary Report of Actions, August 23–24, 1942 (6 September 1942). Courtesy of John Lundstrom.
“Defects Observed During the Action off Midway on June 4, 1942,” Lieutenant Commander John G. Foster, Air Operations Officer, USS Hornet, 1942. Courtesy of Bowen Weisheit.
Interview of Lieutenant George Gay USNR, on October 12, 1943, Operational Archives Branch, U.S. Naval Historical Center.
Interview of Lieutenant Commander H. H. Larsen by Bureau of Aeronautics Air Information Branch about his experiences as commander, Torpedo Squadron Eight at Guadalcanal, January 18, 1943. Courtesy of James Sawruk.
Interview of Hornet fighter pilot Lieutenant Commander Edward J. O’Neill by Bureau of Aeronautics Air Information Branch about his experiences at the Battle of Midway, June 18, 1942. Courtesy of John Lundstrom.
Investigation of Gunfire Damage, Earnest TBF-1 Airplane, J. F. Engforth, July 31, 1942. Courtesy of Bert Earnest.
Mahoney, Michael, official biographical material. Excerpts from service rec-ord, circumstances of death, burial records, provided by the U.S. Marine Corps History Division in Quantico, Virginia. Courtesy of Joe Alex-ander.
Mears, Frederick, official biographical material. Excerpt from service record; Bureau of Navigation biographical record; official accident report, June 26, 1943. U.S. Naval Historical Center, Courtesy of Robert Cressman.
Report of Operations — Tulagi, Guadalcanal and Malaita Area, on 7 and 8 August, 1942, from H. H. Larsen to Commanding Officer, USS Saratoga, August 12, 1942. Courtesy of John Lundstrom.
Report of Operations at Guadalcanal, 13 September to 16 November, 1942, from H. H. Larsen to Commander Air Force, Pacific Fleet, December 1, 1942. Courtesy of U.S. Naval War College.
Senshi Sosho, Volume 49. Southeast Area Naval Operations, 1, To the Beginning of Operations to Recapture Guadalcanal. Japanese archives.
Statement by Quillen, Leroy, ARM3c, U.S. Navy, Bombing Squadron Eight, on first flight, June 4, 1942, Search in Plane S-B-2 (Ensign K. B. White, Pilot). Cover sheet endorsed by Lieutenant George H. Flinn Jr., Lieutenant, USNR.
Torpedo Squadron Eight War Diary, May 22, 1942, to November 17, 1942. Courtesy of Jack Stark.
Torpedo Squadron Eight After Combat Action Reports for missions flown, August 7, 1942, to November 15, 1942. Courtesy of U.S. Naval War College.
USS Hornet After Action Report, serial 0018, submitted to CINCPAC by Captain M. A. Mitscher, Commanding Officer, June 13, 1942, officially declassified on November 23, 1964. Courtesy of Robert Cressman.
USS Hornet deck log, May–June 1942. Courtesy of U.S. Naval Historical Center.
USS Hornet Plan of the Day, June 2, 1942. Courtesy of George Gay.
USS Saratoga deck log, July–August, 1942. Courtesy of U.S. Naval Historical Center.
USS Saratoga War Diary, Commander, Carriers, Pacific Fleet (Task Force 16), Midway, June 1942. Courtesy of John Lundstrom.
ORAL HIST
ORIES
The following oral histories were reviewed by the author at the U.S. Naval Institute in Annapolis, Maryland. Rear Admiral Ernest M. Eller (Volume 2, 1974–78), Captain Stephen Jurika (Volume 1, 1975–76), Captain James R. Ogden (1982), Commander Thomas B. Buell (2002), Commander Albert K. Murray (1980), and Admiral Harry Don Felt (Volume 1, 1972).
CORRESPONDENCE
Congressman Karl Stefan to Superintendent, U.S. Naval Academy, re: H. H. Larsen, March 19, 1935. Courtesy of Nimitz Library.
DeWitt Peterkin to Corwin F. Morgan, June 1944–September 1946. Courtesy of Corwin Morgan.
H. H. Larsen to Chastian Taurman after death of John Taurman, December 1, 1942. Courtesy of Robert Cressman.
Hornet fighter pilot Henry A. Carey to John Lundstrom, April 23, 1981, June 1, 1981, March 11, 1986, on his recollections of John Waldron, Stanhope Ring, the men of Torpedo Eight, and the June 4 mission. Courtesy of John Lundstrom.
Hornet fighter pilot J. F. Sutherland to John Lundstrom, August 14, 1974, October 24, 1974, describing Waldron’s final words to his squadron pilots before takeoff on June 4, 1942. Courtesy of John Lundstrom.
Hornet fighter pilot Stanley Ruehlow to John Lundstrom, July 8, 1974 and July 25, 1974, asserting that he and Mitchell advocated providing fighter support for Torpedo Eight to Captain Mitscher. Courtesy of John Lundstrom.
Letters from Dauntless pilot Thomas J. Gratzek, 2nd Lieutenant, USMCR to his family from Midway Atoll, April–May 1942. Courtesy of Hill Goodspeed.
Letter and completed author’s questionnaire sent from Minoru Genda to Gordon Prange in preparation for his work, Miracle at Midway, detailing his recollections of the Midway battle. Courtesy of University of Pittsburgh.
Letter from Rear Admiral Raymond A. Spruance to Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, with enclosure, June 8, 1942. Courtesy of John Lundstrom.
Letter from Yorktown pilot John P. Adams to John Lundstrom, August 22, 1974, relating in detail the story of Commander Ring offering to stand a round of drinks at the Ewa Field Officers’ Club and meeting “deadly silence” from the Hornet pilots in the room. Courtesy of John Lundstrom.
Letter from Nancy Waldron LeDew (Waldron’s daughter), undated c. 1976, on file in the Waldron collection at the South Dakota Hall of Fame (six handwritten pages).
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