Wednesday, June 4, 2008

The Battle of Midway Commemoration

We had 109 visitors today to commemorate the Battle of Midway which was fought June 4-7, 1942. It was a nice ceremony and people had a great time even though they were only here for about 8 hours. We thought that we might have overnight visitors after an albatross went through the engine during landing, but after cleanup and inspection, they determined that there was no damage and the plane could leave. After the ceremony, the visitors had a walking tour of the major island sites such as the seaplane hangar, command post, cable houses, and memorials. They ended up getting some beach time and had some food and drinks at Capt. Brooks' Tavern. I'm glad I got to take part in this before I'm gone.

We had the ceremony under the hangar.

Our main speaker was Lieutenant Colonel H.C. (Hank) Stackpole, USMC (Ret.).

Chuck Wheeler was on the USS Enterprise during The Battle of Midway. He's pointing to his group.

A group is listenening to the story of George Cannon at the command post.

The Japanese Consul General came from Honolulu to honor the Japanese losses during the battle.

Some of the visitors are enjoying the beach just before sunset.

No comments: