The Faces of Midway
Artist R.G. Smith’s depiction of SBD Dauntless dive-bombers attacking the Japanese aircraft carriers Akagi, Kaga, and Soryu during the Battle of Midway.
Whether they strapped into cockpits of airplanes on the sandy shores of Midway Atoll or on the wooden planks of carrier decks, a select group of young men faced a daunting prospect in early June 1942. Bearing down on them was a mighty Japanese Fleet, some of the ships of which had last ventured this far east in the Pacific Ocean the previous December en route to launch air attacks against Pearl Harbor. This time, owing to code breaking by Naval Intelligence, U.S. Pacific Fleet commander Admiral Chester W. Nimitz knew details of the enemy’s plans. Yet, as it always does in war, success or failure hinged on those closest to the action, which in a carrier battle included naval aviators who winged their way towards the enemy.
The National Naval Aviation Museum holds a collection of archival records in its collection consisting of the flight training records of individual aviators. They provide a unique glimpse into the months in which young men first learned to fly, taking the first steps towards active service in the fleet. Using these records, and other sources in the historical collection, we present the faces of Midway.
Ensign Clarence Wade McClusky
When this photograph of Ensign Clarence Wade McClusky was taken at Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola, Florida, in 1929, naval aviation had reached a turning point in its development. In January of that year, the aircraft carrier Saratoga (CV 3) had detached from the battle line during Fleet Problem Nine (war games conducted off Panama) and delivered a mock attack against the Panama Canal. This foreshadowed independent operations of flattops during World War II and young Ensign McClusky was destined to play a major role in one of those wartime engagements, the Battle of Midway. As Commander, Enterprise Air Group he led two squadrons of SBD Dauntless dive bombers launched to attack the Japanese fleet on the morning of June 4, 1942. Finding only empty ocean at the last reported location of the enemy ships, McClusky initiated a change in course to search further, realizing that dwindling fuel would soon force his formation to return to the carrier Enterprise (CV 6). Fortuitously, he spotted a ship below making high speed. It was the Japanese destroyer Arashi making its way back to the Japanese fleet after having attacked the U.S. submarine Nautilus (SS 168), which had been pursuing the enemy ships throughout the day. Following the wayward destroyer led McClusky and his charges to the Japanese fleet. Their attacks, combined with those of dive bombers off the carrier Yorktown (CV 5), resulted in devastating attacks against three enemy flattops that resulted in their eventual sinking. Another Japanese carrier met the same fate later in the day. For his actions, Lieutenant Commander Clarence Wade McClusky received the Navy Cross.