If today's media reported The Battle of Midway

[Tater]

If today's media reported on the Battle of Midway, I wonder if it would really sound like this. I believe it would.


Midway Island Demolished. Yorktown, destroyer sunk.
Many US planes lost
June 7, 1942
The United States Navy suffered another blow in its attempt to stem the Japanese juggernaut ravaging the Pacific Ocean. Midway Island, perhaps the most vital U.S. outpost, was pummeled by Japanese Naval aviators. The defending U.S. forces, consisting primarily of antique Buffalo fighters, were competely wiped out while the Japanese attackers suffered few, if any, losses.
In a nearby naval confrontation, the Japanese successfully attacked the Yorktown which was later sunk by a Japanese submarine. A destroyer lashed to the Yorktown was also sunk.

American forces claim to have sunk four Japanese carriers and the cruiser Mogami but those claims were vehemently denied by the Emporer's spokeman.

The American carriers lost an entire squadron of torpedo planes when they failed to link up with fighter escorts. The dive bombers had fighter escort even though they weren't engaged by enemy fighters. The War Dept. refused to answer when asked why the fighters were assigned to the wrong attack groups. The Hornet lost a large number of planes when they couldn't locate the enemy task force. Despite this cavalcade of errors, Admirals Fletcher and Spruance have not been removed.

Code Broken
The failure at Midway is even more disheartening because the U.S. Navy knew the Japanese were coming. Secret documents provided to the NY Times showed that "Magic" intercepts showed the Japanese planned to attack Midway, which they called "AF".

Obsolete Equipment
Some critics blamed the failure at Midway on the use of obsolete aircraft. The inappropriately named Devastator torpedo planes proved no match for the Japanese fighters. Even the Avengers, its schedule replacements, were riddled with bullets and rendered unflyable. Secretary of War Stimson dodged the question saying simply: "You go to war with the Navy you have, not the Navy you want or would like to have". Critics immediately called for his resignation.

[jon lynn]

and we would also see this..........................

WIRE REPORTS- As the failure at Midway was unfolding, a poor-poor Japanese POW was tortured by his American captors. The torture was in the form of tipping over his rice bowl during his evening meal. A TIME reporter was able to snap of a picture of the Japanese prisoner watching helplessly as his huge portion of rice was toppled to the floor by his cruel guard, later identified as a PVT Sad Sack.
The oriental world is outraged by PVT Sack’s actions, and believes he should be court marshalled. Riots broke out all over the world, the League of Nations has said they will investigate the best way to find PVT Sack guilty, as soon as possible.

[LoneWolf]

Sadly, only too true

[8X56MS]

and thank god they were not burdened with "imbeded journalists" with instant access to the folks back home.

[captain2k_ca]

I dont like embedded journalists.

At all.

Sometimes a soldier is forced into doing something that we just cannot understand. Out of necessity for his life and that of his brethren he must do the unthinkable.

And there is that journalist waiting to take a picture and smear his name all over the place without really understanding the reasoning.

[Steverino]

I drew a similiar analogy back on the D-Day anniversary and compared it with what todays "journalists (I'm being very kind here ) would be reporting.

Very similiar types of stuff.

[skeeter@ccia.com]

The last I heard they even wanted to remove WWII from the history books because it might 'offend' someone...ya know..because of the outcome..?????????

[Critch]

During Mr Klinton's reign the Smithosonian covered the WWII American fighters on the ceilings so as not to upset the Japanese guests at a dinner.

[Steverino]

Was that during the same period as the Lincoln bedroom being rented out by the evening for campaign donations or am I confusing this with the "special" humidors and oral dicktayshon (sp?) period?

[tooldummy]

Don't forget that many would question why we were even fighting that war in the first place. I wonder what the presidents popularity poll would have been? Maybe 20 or 30 percent?

[Steverino]

Macarthur and Patton conducting military campaigns by Gallop polls?