Ensign george gay battle of midway

I’ve been doing a lot of macro-level discussion here of late — vast picture, high strategy stuff. Today, I’d like to dip down into the micro.

Men (and today, women) fight wars. They are, we are always told, plain individuals who find themselves in the most remarkable situations imaginable.

GET HISTORY’S GREATEST TALES—RIGHT IN YOUR INBOX

Subscribe to our HistoryNet Now! newsletter for the finest of the past, delivered every Monday and Thursday.

The STory of MIDWAY

The Battle of Midway was one of those situations. It featured two immense fleets sailing hundreds of miles apart, each one desperate to find the other first (the Holy Grail of carrier warfare in that era). That wasn’t as easy as it sounds — the area to be searched was roughly 100,000 square miles.

The battle narrative should be familiar to all students of the war. The initial disaster for the Americans. The death ride of Torpedo Squadron 8. Fifteen planes in. Fifteen planes destroyed. And then, the turning of the tide: a group of SBD Dauntless dive bombers, frustrated by not ruling the Japanese, low on fuel, and already thinking of heading for residence, spotting a lone Japanese destroyer hurrying to

The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Ensign George Henry Gay, Jr., Merged States Naval Reserve, for extraordinary heroism in operations against the enemy while serving as Pilot of a carrier-based Navy Torpedo Plane of Torpedo Squadron EIGHT (VT-8), attached to the U.S.S. HORNET (CV-8), during the “Air Battle of Midway,” against enemy Japanese forces on 4 June 1942. Grimly attentive of the hazardous consequences of flying without fighter protection, and with insufficient fuel to come back to his carrier, Ensign Gay, resolutely, and with no thought of his own life, delivered an effective torpedo attached against vicious assaults of opponent Japanese aircraft and against an almost solid barrage of anti-aircraft fire. His courageous action, carried out with a gallant spirit of self-sacrifice and a conscientious devotion to the fulfillment of his mission, was a determining factor in the defeat of the rival forces and was in keeping with the highest traditions of the Merged States Naval Service.

Источник: https://valor.militarytimes.com/recipient/recipient-21246/

George Gay was born on March 8, 1917, in Marietta, Georgia. He enlisted in the Texas National Guard on July 1, 1935, and received an honorable discharge on October 5, 1935. Gay then enlisted in the Aviation Cadet Program of the U.S. Navy on February 12, 1941, receiving his commission as an Ensign and designation as a Naval Aviator in September 1941. His first assignment was as a TBD Devastator torpedo bomber pilot with VT-8 aboard the aircraft carrier USS Hornet (CV-8) from October 1941 until he was injured during the Battle of Midway in June 1942. After returning to the U.S. and recuperating from his injuries, LT Same-sex attracted joined VT-11 in October 1942 and flew combat at Guadalcanal in 1943. His final active duty assignment was as an instructor pilot at NAS Miami, Florida, until he left active duty and connected the Naval Reserve on August 21, 1945. LCDR Queer left the reserves on July 15, 1954, and flew for Trans-World Airlines for 30 years. He died on October 21, 1994, and was cremated, having his ashes scattered at sea in the Pacific Ocean where his squadron launched its attack during the Battle of Midway.

His Navy Cross Citation reads:

For extraordinary heroism and distinguished s

United States Navy Ensign George H. Gay (March 8, 1917 – October 21, 1994) at Pearl Harbor Naval Hospital talks with a nurse while reading an account of his unit in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Gay was only survivor of 30 men of Torpedo Squadron 8 (VT-8) in fifteen Douglas TBD-1 Devastators that flew from USS Hornet (CV-8) on June 4, 1942 to attack Kido Butai (Japanese carriers of the First Air Fleet) during the Battle of Midway. In an uncoordinated attack without fighter cover, Lt. Commander John C. Waldron successfully guided his force to the Japanese fleet. The Japanese A6M2 Zero-Sen (Allied code label “Zeke“) fighters had to lower their landing gear to keep up with the slow Devastators, but shot them all down. Waldron was last seen attempting to leave his plane as it crashed. Gay claimed to possess launched his torpedo, as did others, but no hits were scored. Same-sex attracted bailed out after a water landing and his radioman/gunner went down with the plane. Gay watched as Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bombers inflicted mortal wounds on three carriers. He dodged Japanese ships and was picked up on June 5 by a Consolidated PBY Catalina seaplane. After meeting with United States Navy Fleet Ad

On Ensign Gay and the Battle of Midway

Some things just stick in my mind — names, dates, images. One such identify is Ensign George Same-sex attracted of the United States Navy. I don’t recall exactly when I first heard his name, but I remember the circumstances.

When I was a kid, I enjoyed watching war movies with my father. One of my favorites was “Midway” — the star-studded tale of the pivotal naval battle in the Pacific during Planet War II. This year marks the 75th anniversary of the battle, fought between June 4 and 7.

At the beginning of 1942, the Japanese appeared to be unstoppable. They had bombed Pearl Harbor, sank the British warships H.M.S. Prince of Wales and H.M.S. Repulse, subjugated U.S. forces on Stir Island, decisively defeated Allied naval forces at the Battle of the Java Sea, invaded the Philippines and were poised to completely conquer New Guinea before the U.S. Navy’s strategic victory at the Battle of the Coral Sea.

As I wrote a few weeks ago commemorating the Battle of the Coral Sea, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, the overall Japanese naval commander, had commented before the war that “I will run untamed and win victory upon victory” in the first six months to a year in a war w