A Dawn Like Thunder (1 Viewer)

[L Flowers]

This follows Torpedo Squadron 8 from Midway to it being disbanded after Guadalcanal. The latter to me was just another island. This book made me realize the importance of Guadalcanal. I've read many books on the land battle and sea battles but never realized its importance vis-a-vis the US and Japanese high commands and how many resources were put into the battle.

 

[theBaron]

Yes, it's an excellent book, and until I read it, I never realized that Torpedo 8 wasn't wiped out at Midway, but that half the squadron missed the battle.

It's a great look at those men, and their heroism, every bit as great as the ones who died at Midway.

 

[jrsteel]

I thought this was a great book. It's amazing the courage those guys had at Midway. They knew they weren't going to make it and yet they still went in and tried to deliver their torpedoes. Also amazing was some of the bad American leadership. Torpedo Squadron 8 found the Japanese fleet by directly disobeying the order of the flight leader who was going in the totally wrong direction.

 

[theBaron]

Those details, about Waldron's decision to disobey the Airgroup Commander, Stanhope Ring, and how the Hornet's captain at the time, Marc Mitscher, more or less covered up Ring's mistakes, and then how those details were, well, covered up by the Pacific command, were something I had never read before. Walter Lord didn't really get into that at all in "Midway-Incredible Victory". There is more detail about the issue in "Shattered Sword," which looks at the battle from the Japanese side, and dispels a number of beliefs held here in the West, mostly because no one ever bothered to read the original Japanese docs, and what little had been translated was inaccurate or an apologetic for certain officers (like Fuchida's "Midway, The Battle that Doomed Japan").

Much of what Torpedo 8 accomplished can be credited to Waldron and his ability as a commander.

Recommended reading, definitely!