Nothing distinguished the dawn of June 2, 1942 from the countless other dawns that had fallen on the small atoll of Midway in the North Pacific . Nothing, of course, except the tension of the men waiting for the enemy to act. On Midway's two main islands, Sand and Eastern, 3,632 members of the United States Navy and Marine Corps, as well as a few Air Force crews, stood at battle stations aboard or close to fighters, bombers, torpedo planes and seaplanes, awaiting the Japanese attack they had been waiting for for weeks. The Carrier Battle of Midway, one of the decisive naval battles in history, is well documented, but less well known is the role played by the Midway garrison, which manned the atoll's naval air station during the battle. no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Midway is 1,135 miles west northwest of Pearl Harbor, Oahu. The entire atoll is just six miles in diameter and consists of sand islands and eastern islands surrounded by a coral reef surrounding a shallow lagoon. Midway was discovered in 1859 and annexed by the United States in August 1867. Between 1903 and 1940, it served as both a cable station on the Honolulu-Guam-Manila submarine telegraph line and an airport for Pan American Airways China Clipper. In March 1940, after a report on U.S. Navy naval air stations declared Midway second in importance only to Pearl Harbor, construction of a formal naval air station began. Naval Air Station Midway was commissioned in August 1941. At that time, Midway's facilities included a large seaplane hangar and ramps, artificial harbor, fuel storage tanks, and several buildings. Hundreds of civilian construction workers and a Fleet Marine Force defense battalion populated Sand Island, while Eastern Island had a 5,300-foot airstrip. Commander Cyril T. Simard, a veteran naval pilot who had served as air officer on the aircraft carrier USS Langley and as executive officer of San Diego Air Force Base, was designated commander of the atoll. Along with naval personnel manning the air station the station was a detachment of Marines. The first detachment was from the 3rd Marine Defense Battalion, it was relieved on September 11, 1941 by 34 officers and 755 men of the 6th Defense Battalion under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Harold D. Shannon, veteran of World War I and his duty. in Nicaragua, Panama and Hawaii. Shannon and Simarad immediately formed an effective team. They destroyed the Pan American Direction Finder and destroyed a Consolidated PBY Catalina flying boat. The Japanese withdrew at 10 p.m., leaving four Midway defenders dead and 10 wounded. On December 23, 1941, Midway's air defenses were reinforced by 17 SB2U-3 Vought Vindicator dive bombers, 14 Brewsters F2A-3 Buffalo fighters, and original pilots and crews. intended for the relief of Wake Island. Buffaloes and Vindicators were abandoned and replaced by Douglas SBD-2 Dauntless dive bombers and Grumman F4F-3 Wildcat fighters on American aircraft carriers. The Buffaloes became part of Marine Fighter Squadron 221, while the Vindicators became part of Marine Scout Bombing Squadron 241, both constituting Marine Air Group 22 under Lt. Col. Ira B. Kimes. On May 20, Shannon and Simard received a letter from the admiral. Nimitz, praising their excellent work and promoting them to full captain and colonel. Nimitz informs them as the Japanese plan to attackMidway on May 28. He then outlines Japanese strategy and promises all possible help. On May 25, while the work continued, Shannon and Simard received good news. The Japanese attack would take place between June 3 and 5, giving them an extra week to prepare. The same day, the light cruiser St. Louis arrived to deliver an antiaircraft battery of eight 37 mm guns from the 3rd Marine Defense Battalion and two rifle companies from the 2nd Raiders Battalion. Sand and Eastern Island were surrounded by coastal defenses . Six 5-inch guns, 22 3-inch guns, and four 7-inch Old Navy guns were placed along both coasts of the two islands for use as anti-aircraft and anti-ship guns. Up to 1,500 mines and booby traps were laid underwater and along beaches. Ammunition depots were placed throughout the islands, along with food caches for pockets of resistance and an emergency supply of 250 55-gallon drums of gasoline. Midway had almost everything it needed for its defense. In addition to the 121 planes that clogged the runways on the eastern islands, Midway had 11 PT boats in the lagoon to assist ground forces with anti-aircraft fire. A yacht and four converted tuna boats were ready for rescue operations, and 19 submarines guarded the approaches to Midway. By June 2, the Pacific Fleet's three carriers, Enterprise, Hornet, and Yorktown, were in position northeast of Midway, but only a few key officers were aware that the Midways defenders would support them. Midways Navy pilots have been told not to expect any help from the U.S. aircraft carriers on which they defend Hawaii. The only half-way chance was that Nimitz's carriers were located. Early on the morning of June 3, PBYs from VP-44 and VP-23 took off on their 700-mile research missions, joined alone by Flying Fortress B-17. search and attack missions. The remaining aircraft at Midway were armed, refueled, and awaiting the first report of contact with an enemy ship of the battle. At 0904, Ensign Charles R. Eaton, patrolling 470 miles from Midway, sighted three ships and received a burst of antiaircraft fire. fire for his problem. Eaton quickly radioed Midway the first report of contact with an enemy ship of the battle. Seven hundred miles west of Midway, Ensign Jack Reid flew his PBY-5a across a largely empty ocean, nearing the end of the outbound leg of his patrol. He found nothing of interest and left again. Reid saw some specs on the horizon 30 miles away. At first he thought it was dirt on his windshield. Then he looked again and shouted to his co-pilot, "Ensign Gerald Hardeman, 'Do you see what I see?' » "You're damned, aren't you?" » At 9:25 a.m., Reid radioed “Main body visible” to Midway. and began to follow the Japanese ships. Midway ordered Reid to amplify his report, and at 9:27 a.m. he radioed, "Heading 262 degrees, distance 700." At 10:40 a.m. he reported: “Six large ships in column.” “Eleven ships, course 090 degrees, speed 19.” At 11:30 a.m., Reid received orders to return to Midway. “Open fire when targets are within range,” informed 6th Battalion Headquarters. A minute later the cannons opened fire. A Kate caught fire and rolled straight. A second Kate landed in the lagoon, missing the PT boats. The remaining Kates struck Sand Island, destroying three oil tanks and setting fire to a seaplane hangar. Colonel Shannon's trenches, bunkers and revetments proved it. effective. Only 11 of Midways' ground defenders were killed and 18..