National Geographic The Battle for Midway

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00:00:07 A lonely outpost of coral and sand.
00:00:12 A thousand miles from anywhere.
00:00:19 Yet here,
00:00:23 America and Japan fought for control
00:00:27 and changed the history of the world.
00:00:46 It was one of
00:00:50 a turning point in
00:00:56 Midway.
00:01:00 Here in a few bloody hours,
00:01:03 thousands of young men
00:01:26 Now to the shadowy waters off Midway
00:01:30 the man who discovered the Titanic.
00:01:37 Ballard's quest is
00:01:39 and Japanese aircraft carriers
00:01:43 including the U.S.S. Yorktown.
00:01:47 But the ships are lost more
00:01:51 unseen, untouched on the ocean floor
00:01:57 the final resting place
00:02:11 A story of martyrs and heroes,
00:02:16 admirals and airmen...
00:02:18 of secret codes and lucky hunches
00:02:22 of lost chances and
00:02:28 all in one monumental day.
00:02:34 The battle for Midway.
00:03:22 Midway.
00:03:29 It is hard to ignore the archeology
00:03:46 Nearly a lifetime after the clash
00:03:49 four former soldiers walk
00:03:54 Two Americans, Bill Surgi
00:03:58 and two Japanese, Haruo Yoshino
00:04:04 all veterans of the battle.
00:04:12 The last time the veterans were here,
00:04:16 Now, as respectful comrades, they will
00:04:23 I met the two Japanese gentlemen,
00:04:29 And I have no animosity toward them.
00:04:31 They were warriors, like we were,
00:04:46 Welcome aboard.
00:04:49 All in their 70s now,
00:04:50 the survivors have traveled thousands
00:04:53 to join undersea explorer
00:04:56 in the search for the five aircraft
00:05:05 Ballard's quest,
00:05:08 is to find Bill Surgi's ship,
00:05:12 and Yuji and Haruo's carrier, the Kaga
00:05:16 It will be the voyage of a lifetime
00:05:53 May, 1942.
00:06:06 The United States and Japan are at war
00:06:13 It is five months
00:06:16 on the Pacific fleet
00:06:37 Now Japan is poised for total
00:06:47 Pearl Harbor.
00:06:49 In a dingy basement
00:06:52 Navy code breakers have pulled off
00:06:56 of the Pacific War.
00:06:57 Out of coded enemy radio transmissions
00:07:00 they have teased out the secret plans
00:07:07 A huge Japanese task force
00:07:09 to strike a crippling blow against
00:07:14 It will happen at Midway, as early as
00:07:21 Yet now the U.S. knows what's coming.
00:07:25 And the Americans will lie in wait,
00:07:36 Day one of the Ballard expedition.
00:07:39 To begin their exploration of the past
00:07:42 the veterans travel with
00:07:46 to the place where
00:07:52 There is no X to mark this spot,
00:07:55 just blue water and
00:08:04 But below the waves, Ballard believes
00:08:10 For here, young men came to fight
00:08:18 I mean, to be at the very spot,
00:08:20 this is where the battle took place.
00:08:22 This is like going to Gettysburg,
00:08:26 this is like going to Normandy.
00:08:29 This is where a great chapter
00:08:33 tragic in many ways,
00:08:36 and we're on the stage right now.
00:08:42 While Ballard studies the terrain,
00:08:45 the veterans explore their own
00:08:53 This is what I looked like back then.
00:09:05 This was taken before
00:09:19 I think this is what saved my life.
00:09:24 This is the hat I was wearing
00:09:32 Very brave, very brave.
00:09:38 A little older, a little wiser.
00:09:47 Pearl Harbor, 1942.
00:09:51 Yorktown sailor Bill Surgi hears they
00:09:57 The word Midway was a mystique,
00:10:01 mystery,
00:10:07 We were not fully aware of
00:10:10 So all we knew was that
00:10:19 Yorktown will rendezvous
00:10:21 Hornet and Enterprise,
00:10:23 at a point approximately 325 miles
00:10:28 Their mission: to ambush the Japanese.
00:10:37 At the same time,
00:10:40 Akagi, Kaga, Soryu, and Hiryu,
00:10:43 under the command
00:10:46 are steaming for Midway.
00:10:50 These are the same machines
00:11:03 The Japanese know nothing of
00:11:10 Many of the American airmen
00:11:13 have never faced enemy fire
00:11:16 including Yorktown radioman
00:11:21 Childers was attached
00:11:25 He can't forget an intelligence
00:11:30 They said, if a 15-plane squadron
00:11:35 ...against a determined Japanese fleet
00:11:41 if three of you get through
00:11:44 you will have considered that
00:11:48 I immediately became alarmed,
00:11:52 because the odds were not good.
00:11:58 Lloyd Childers will soon find out just
00:12:14 It's the seventh day of the expedition
00:12:18 Time to part the waves and
00:12:22 three miles down.
00:12:26 Ballard's eyes will be the U.S. Navy's
00:12:31 called ATV
00:12:33 equipped with lights and video cameras
00:12:43 Will Ballard finally, after years
00:12:48 be able to find the downed Yorktown?
00:12:59 For the veterans,
00:13:02 carrying them back to a distant world
00:13:07 All stations, deploying the vehicle
00:13:23 I remember walking up and down those
00:13:27 I'm gonna look at those decks again.
00:13:31 And it'll bring back memories.
00:13:44 The ATV has now traveled over two miles
00:13:52 The ocean bottom is getting close.
00:13:57 Twelve thousand feet
00:14:01 All stations...
00:14:04 Passing one-five thousand feet, aye.
00:14:10 Approaching 16,000, the depth Ballard
00:14:17 Nearing the sea floor, deeper than
00:14:40 Under the relentless pressure
00:14:43 key equipment on the ATV has imploded.
00:14:46 It has collapsed into itself,
00:14:48 reducing metal and glass to rubble.
00:14:53 The ATV is crippled.
00:15:02 It's a disaster that may mean the end
00:15:14 June 3, 1942
00:15:18 The white sands of Midway
00:15:21 by hundreds of
00:15:28 and dozens of bombers,
00:15:35 The battle is less than 24 hours away.
00:15:42 Among those waiting is a small
00:15:48 Both the planes and their young crews
00:15:52 but the young pilots are eager
00:15:57 Seventeen-year-old Harry Ferrier
00:16:03 You don't think about the fact
00:16:08 as a teenager, which I really was.
00:16:13 And we had what we thought were
00:16:16 that the Navy had come up with
00:16:17 and we would really give
00:16:23 I guess you'd say, and come back.
00:16:26 And it didn't work that way.
00:16:31 Dawn, June 4th nearly six months
00:16:39 Two hundred-forty miles from Midway,
00:16:41 Admiral Chuichi Nagumo readies
00:16:46 He is supremely confident
00:16:51 and utterly unaware of the American
00:17:11 My spirits were, well, up to then,
00:17:16 so we thought we would win again.
00:17:21 Now is the moment of attack.
00:17:39 Six a.m.
00:17:43 With Japanese aircraft bearing down,
00:17:45 the American planes on Midway scramble
00:17:56 With them is the torpedo bomber
00:17:59 Bert Earnest and the third member
00:18:02 Jay Manning, the turret gunner.
00:18:05 They're going after
00:18:11 Earnest, Ferrier and
00:18:15 before enemy planes hit Midway.
00:18:26 The Americans fight back
00:19:40 Less than half an hour later,
00:19:45 But if the enemy aircraft carriers
00:19:58 Six-fifty a.m. June 4, 1942.
00:20:02 A hundred-and-sixty miles
00:20:05 the torpedo bomber carrying Ferrier,
00:20:07 Earnest and Manning head straight
00:20:13 As they near the carriers,
00:20:15 the Japanese fighter attack
00:20:19 And tragically effective.
00:20:22 But very shortly,
00:20:24 and so I looked back over my shoulder
00:20:27 and he was just hanging down
00:20:32 and obviously had been killed.
00:20:47 And then, really, the next thing
00:20:52 with my head hanging down
00:20:58 Their plane is shot up.
00:21:00 Their controls and compass out
00:21:03 Their comrade Jay Manning is dead.
00:21:06 But Ferrier and Earnest
00:21:09 and now they have
00:21:15 I decided to climb up above the clouds
00:21:17 and see if I could see anything,
00:21:20 And when I got up there,
00:21:21 I saw a great big plume of
00:21:26 ...and realized that probably
00:21:39 They manage to land safely in a
00:21:50 After getting patched up at
00:21:52 Harry Ferrier waits for the return of
00:21:58 He waits in vain.
00:22:03 But it was afternoon,
00:22:07 and it became obvious that our airplane
00:22:13 that the other five did not,
00:22:15 and we eventually just had to accept
00:22:18 all five were shot down.
00:22:34 It is day eight of the expedition.
00:22:38 Ballard's robot explorer, the ATV,
00:22:44 And the Navy doesn't know if they can
00:22:50 They need more time,
00:22:57 Fortunately, the sonar
00:23:00 Instead of just waiting,
00:23:02 Ballard leaves
00:23:05 to look for Japanese carriers
00:23:13 The Japanese veterans
00:23:17 not since the death of their ship,
00:23:21 Yet here, time is erased.
00:23:29 My heart is racing in anticipation
00:23:34 I keep remembering the image
00:23:38 I hope it is found soon.
00:23:53 After all the frustration and delay,
00:23:56 the ATV makes it to the bottom
00:24:25 But all too soon,
00:24:33 no carrier, no planes
00:24:44 No excuses.
00:24:52 Round one.
00:24:55 To Kaga.
00:24:58 I'll get to Yorktown.
00:25:00 I really want the Yorktown.
00:25:03 That's where I'm headed.
00:25:07 But one unspoken question
00:25:11 If the sonar was wrong
00:25:14 is it also wrong about the location
00:25:26 Seven a.m. The waters off Midway.
00:25:31 Japanese commander, Admiral Nagumo,
00:25:33 is still completely in the dark
00:25:43 Eight-twenty a.m.
00:25:45 Admiral Nagumo receives
00:25:49 His scout planes sight the one thing
00:25:54 an American carrier.
00:25:56 Nagumo is shocked to discover
00:26:02 Now he must decide on his next step.
00:26:05 Should he launch a
00:26:09 Or regroup, refuel,
00:26:13 and then obliterate what he believes
00:26:20 He decides to wait.
00:26:22 It is a decision that will change
00:26:29 While Nagumo waits,
00:26:31 the American pilots wing their way
00:26:36 Yet very quickly,
00:26:37 many of the American squadrons get
00:26:47 Most of the torpedo bombers find
00:26:50 without fighter protection from
00:26:58 One after another,
00:27:01 just as they have been taught stead on
00:27:08 directly into murderous enemy fire.
00:27:13 And one after another,
00:27:40 The Enterprise torpedo squadron
00:27:50 The Yorktown's 21 out of 24.
00:27:57 And of the 30 from Hornet's torpedo
00:28:07 Yet not a single torpedo makes a
00:28:12 against any of the Japanese carriers.
00:28:22 Despite all the sacrifice,
00:28:35 America is facing defeat at Midway.
00:28:40 And the enemy commander,
00:28:42 is set to launch a massive attack
00:28:48 Nagumo's crews work feverishly
00:28:51 to get nearly a hundred warplanes
00:28:54 Abandoning all caution,
00:28:56 they leave explosives and
00:29:01 The decks are a disaster waiting
00:29:05 Less than a hundred miles away,
00:29:08 is the last American hope,
00:29:12 But none of them can find the enemy.
00:29:15 The Japanese have taken
00:29:19 to engage the U.S. ships.
00:29:22 Then Enterprise's dive bombing
00:29:25 and changes course.
00:29:29 And in their sights appear
00:29:33 Kaga, Akagi, Soryu and Hiryu.
00:29:38 And there is not a Japanese fighter
00:29:44 The enemy fighters are still
00:29:47 against the last of
00:29:51 to stop the dive bombers high above.
00:29:56 It's a sight Lt.
00:30:02 I was amazed to see that a,
00:30:07 because our decks had been stained
00:30:09 a north Pacific blue ever since
00:30:12 And in addition to the deck being
00:30:16 the big rising sun up forward
00:30:19 it was glowing red,
00:30:21 Here we are, we are the Japanese Navy.
00:30:25 He dives toward the rising sun.
00:30:46 And releases his bomb
00:30:50 onto Japanese decks now crowded
00:30:54 bombs, gasoline, planes-and men.
00:30:59 She was a mass of flames
00:31:02 with tremendous eruptions coming up
00:31:04 every four to five seconds
00:31:10 Japanese survivors float hour after
00:31:14 in silence with the dead and dying
00:31:19 Most are rescued by
00:31:22 but not all.
00:31:26 We were fortunate to have been rescued
00:31:31 But there were still men left swimming
00:31:46 In five short minutes Kaga, Akagi,
00:31:52 scores of planes destroyed,
00:31:58 Many of the Japanese airmen are caught
00:32:02 with nowhere to land.
00:32:07 In just five minutes, the cream
00:32:15 But the battle is far from over.
00:32:31 At first, I would like to read
00:32:38 Ballard's search for
00:32:41 And the two Japanese veterans
00:32:51 But the voyage to Midway allows Haruo
00:32:55 to bid their fallen comrades one
00:32:59 and to remember all the young men
00:33:08 We believe that the innumerable spirits
00:33:14 country should be forever honored
00:33:18 We are honored to have fought
00:33:22 Veterans from both countries have
00:33:26 and have pledged a renewed peace.
00:33:30 Spirits, please rest in peace.
00:33:54 Yes, I was thinking, as Haruo and Yuji
00:33:58 that I, too, lost 45 shipmates
00:34:04 As all the planes in my squadron,
00:34:07 were actually shot down here among
00:34:10 so this was a very solemn moment
00:34:39 Eleven a.m. on June 4th.
00:34:42 Admiral Nagumo regroups his
00:34:46 the only carrier
00:34:54 There is still a chance
00:34:58 The Japanese pilots take off,
00:35:00 heading for
00:35:03 Yorktown.
00:35:40 The enemy dive bombers score three hits
00:35:49 But, unlike the Japanese carriers,
00:35:52 torpedoes or fuel on deck,
00:35:57 For all the smoke and fire,
00:36:09 Two hours later, as the Yorktown
00:36:13 a second wave of enemy planes target
00:36:29 Yorktown's fighter pilots scramble
00:36:44 Down goes one Japanese torpedo bomber
00:37:09 But still the enemy comes.
00:37:21 I look out there and
00:37:24 and it looks like a brand new nickel
00:37:28 right beneath us. And I said,
00:37:33 And it goes off.
00:37:35 One American carrier is down.
00:37:38 The Japanese carrier Hiryu must
00:37:50 When they find it, Lt. Dick Best
00:38:13 And I did look back when I was
00:38:17 and she was aflame,
00:38:18 and burning just the way the ones
00:38:26 I felt myself to be the Lord
00:38:29 the sense of accomplishment,
00:38:30 and fulfillment of revenge
00:38:35 I don't think I ever felt anything
00:38:43 Caught in the inferno on the Hiryu
00:38:47 one of the torpedo pilots
00:38:56 The maintenance crews and emergency
00:38:59 to extinguish the fire were injured
00:39:03 and many lost their legs and hands.
00:39:12 The military doctor was operating
00:39:22 The troops were burnt black,
00:39:36 Hiryu, Soryu, Akagi, Kaga.
00:39:45 By the end of the day, all four
00:39:51 Hundreds of young men dead, maimed,
00:40:05 Twenty-four hours later,
00:40:06 the injured Yorktown is still afloat
00:40:10 escorted by the destroyer Hammann.
00:40:15 What nobody sees is the enemy
00:40:21 with two sitting ducks in her sights.
00:40:35 Japanese torpedoes split the Hammann
00:40:41 And mortally wound Yorktown.
00:40:46 For nearly a day, the carrier lingers
00:40:54 Yorktown Radioman Lloyd Childers
00:40:58 with serious wounds to both legs.
00:41:02 He watches his carrier go down.
00:41:05 This huge ship slowly sank below the
00:41:13 until it disappeared and we watched it
00:41:22 It's very brutal business.
00:41:26 My other thoughts were that
00:41:30 that so called civilized nations could
00:41:38 convincing me that we're not really
00:41:46 It is Day 19 of the expedition.
00:41:50 It has been hours since Robert Ballard
00:41:52 sent a robot vehicle down
00:41:56 to find the USS Yorktown.
00:42:03 And half a century since Bill Surgi
00:42:10 Ballard has only a left
00:42:19 After six long hours, the ATV finally
00:42:37 All they see are rocks
00:42:38 that have probably rested here
00:42:56 I wanna keep looking to the left.
00:42:59 Yet within a few moments of
00:43:04 something that shouldn't be there.
00:43:09 A smooth patch of ground clear of rock
00:43:12 as though something had swept across
00:43:16 Something unnatural,
00:43:22 They follow the trail.
00:43:37 Bingo, bingo, bingo.
00:43:41 Suddenly a glint
00:43:43 a shiny metallic glint catches
00:43:48 Dead ahead, range 150 feet.
00:43:52 Keep it nice and high.
00:43:58 I want him to look down and away.
00:44:06 And now the sonar on the ATV itself
00:44:10 and oddly beautiful dead ahead.
00:44:14 There it is.
00:44:15 Stop, stop, stop, stop. Contact.
00:44:25 It's definitely Yorktown.
00:44:30 The Yorktown at last
00:44:34 exactly where Ballard thought it
00:44:39 Hold that, hold that still.
00:44:51 I'm lookin' up my ready room right now
00:44:53 this under the bridge on the island,
00:45:01 Too much, too much,
00:45:08 I can see them doin' them now.
00:45:13 Keep coming up.
00:45:16 Oh, Yorktown, you're beautiful.
00:45:39 Okay, now I want to pivot to the right
00:46:02 The Yorktown-1,100 miles from Hawaii,
00:46:11 over 3 miles below the surface.
00:46:18 Her 19,000 tons sunk halfway
00:46:28 Yet Yorktown is still intact.
00:46:37 The bridge.
00:46:44 The flight deck.
00:46:53 The pilot house.
00:47:04 She is nearly untouched by time,
00:47:06 her guns still pointing skyward,
00:47:21 I walked across the deck
00:47:26 Thanks again for finding it.
00:47:27 My pleasure.
00:47:28 And on behalf of the crew,
00:47:35 Me too.
00:47:38 That's the boat.
00:47:42 Maybe next time I'll get to see
00:47:46 Well, we'll be back.
00:47:50 That's right. It ain't gettin' away now
00:47:54 Thank you.
00:47:57 How does it feel, Bill?
00:48:01 I'm here, they're not.
00:48:04 So I'm representing the crew
00:48:28 June 4th, 1942.
00:48:37 America has won the battle for Midway
00:48:55 The Japanese Navy would never recover
00:49:01 For the Japanese pilots, the defeat
00:49:04 of their comrades is
00:49:07 They will return home to find
00:49:11 in silence.
00:49:13 They treated us like prisoners of war.
00:49:17 We were shut away from outside contact
00:49:18 since they were afraid
00:49:37 You see the veterans who've come back,
00:49:42 And we brought them here to this spot,
00:49:46 Every one of them cried.
00:49:48 They didn't laugh.
00:49:54 They're hurting.
00:49:58 So it's their story and what
00:50:05 This is not fun. It's not wonderful.
00:50:19 Comrades in arms who sleep in darkness
00:50:22 at the bottom of the ocean
00:50:26 thank you for your sacrifice.
00:50:33 I've brought a tribute, flowers
00:50:40 which I've placed on your grave.
00:50:42 My heart is full!
00:50:48 Thank you.
00:51:00 It's difficult,
00:51:02 you think how many people gave up
00:51:06 and they call George Gay and they call
00:51:10 eventually Bert and I,
00:51:13 but you know, I've said
00:51:14 and I'll always go to my grave
00:51:17 believing that the real heroes died
00:51:22 They earned a victory.