12 March 2010
Issue Number: 2010-09
Our 13th Year
~ AROUND THE TABLE ~
MEMBERS’
TOPICS IN THIS ISSUE:
1. From Our Archives: Position Reports on Kido
Butai
2. Did Midway Know About TF 16 & 17?
3. Santa Claus in March
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1.
FROM OUR ARCHIVES: POSITION REPORTS ON KIDO BUTAI
Ed. note: we often see
inferences (as in Stanhope Ring’s “Lost Letter”) that the Yorktown air
group’s success on 4 June ’42 was due in part to follow-on reports concerning
the enemy fleet’s location. That notion
was dispelled for us in 2004 by YAG veteran Tom Cheek, in his last message to
the Roundtable.
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4 May 2004
From: CDR Tom F. Cheek, USN-Ret
BOM vet, F4F pilot, VF-3, USS Yorktown (CV-5)
Russ:
The only info we had was the PBY report. [Ady’s]
--Tom
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2. DID MIDWAY KNOW ABOUT TF 16 & 17?
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8 March 2010
From: W. P. (Paul) Zampol
Georgia
Thanks for all your efforts on the Roundtable; I enjoy it very much. You've probably covered this long before, but I'm curious how much the Midway island commanders were told or knew about the operations of TF 16 and 17, or even their presence. I've read in some of the commentaries that Fletcher and Spruance were not happy about the lack of continued position reports on Kido Butai by the PBYs from Midway.
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Ed. note: that's an old
subject but always a good question. The
personnel on the atoll were told nothing about TF 16/17. CINCPAC staff
was hedging the possibility that Midway might actually be captured by the
Japanese, along with POWs who might give up vital intelligence under
interrogation.
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3. SANTA CLAUS IN MARCH ( see issue #08 )
Ed. note: here is the second and last call from Ted
“Santa” Kraver for free books. Contact
Ted as shown in the “new issue” announcement to all members.
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11 March
2010
From: Ted Kraver
Arizona
About 30 books to 16 members went out Media Mail a couple of hours
ago. The following are left. Send me your request and postal mail address
if you are interested in round 2. There
is no round 3.
The Campaign for Guadalcanal Coggins
(large format)
World War 2 Sulzberger
(2)
The Pacific War Ienaga
War in the Pacific Gailey
War in the Pacific Vol 1 Triumph of Japan Hoyt
Up Front Bill
Mauldin
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~ NOW HEAR THIS! ~
NEWS
& INFO IN THIS ISSUE:
- Link of the Week
- BOM Anniversary and Unit Reunions
- Editor’s Notes
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LINK OF THE WEEK
This week’s link is a double, a pair of remarkable Japanese
video documentaries on the BOM. The
narration and most of the text is in Japanese, but don’t let that deter
you—these are very interesting to watch.
Some of the footage is familiar, such as clips from John Ford’s BOM
movie, but there is an abundance of Japanese film that will be new to almost
everyone.
These are parts 9 and 10 of a series that encompasses the
entire war. Part 9 has fascinating
coverage of U.S. radio intelligence prior to the battle, with numerous clips
and stills of Rochefort, the CIU at Pearl, and descriptions of how the meaning
of “AF” and essential elements of the Japanese op-plan were decoded by the
Americans. Part 10 covers the battle
up to the time of the dive bombing of Akagi, Kaga, and Soryu. Part 11 yet hasn’t appeared yet—if
anyone finds it, please pass the word.
Each segment runs approximately five to seven minutes.
Click
here for the link of the week.
“PART 9”
Click
here for the link of the week.
“PART 10”
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BOM ANNIVERSARY AND UNIT REUNIONS
Here are the BOM anniversary and reunion events for 2010
that have been reported to us. Please click this link to add
or update an event to the list.
Each event has an open invitation for BOM veterans, and many are seeking
guest speakers. Interested members can
make direct contact with an event organizer via the e-mail address provided in
your “new issue” announcement.
Non-members can request info here.
1. May 26: NOUS BOM luncheon, Macao’s
Restaurant, Phoenix, AZ.
2. May 31 - June 5: “Return
to Midway” Pearl Harbor symposium and Midway tour. For details, click here (.pdf
file)
3. June 3: NOUS “Dining Out” at Army-Navy
Country Club, Arlington, VA.
4. June 3 - 6: Annual Yorktown
CV-5 reunion, Little Rock, AR.
5. June 4: USN BOM commemoration at the Navy
Memorial, Washington, D.C.
6. June 4: Naval War College, BOM commemoration
with Jon Parshall as guest speaker, Newport, RI.
7. June 4: NOUS “Dining Out” Newport RI (Jon
Parshall also guest speaker at this one).
8. June 4: NOUS BOM luncheon at the Hess
Club, Houston, TX.
9. June 5: USN BOM commemoration aboard USS Midway
museum, San Diego, CA
10. June 5: Navy League BOM
luncheon, Phoenix, AZ.
11. June 5: NOUS “Dining Out”
at Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA.
12. June 5: NOUS “Dining Out” at Marines
Memorial Club, San Francisco, CA.
13. June 5: NOUS & Navy League “Dining
Out” at Renaissance Center,
near Jacksonville, FL.
14. June ?: (date TBA) NOUS
BOM commemoration, New York, NY.
15. June ?: (date TBA) NOUS
BOM commemoration, Virginia Beach, VA.
NOUS = Naval Order of the United States
TBA = to be announced
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EDITOR’S NOTES
~ Here’s a detailed review of The Pacific (HBO
miniseries) from the New York Times. It
includes a brief video excerpt that you can watch: click
here. (Thanks Ted Kraver.)
For a glossary of abbreviations, acronyms, and terms used in The
Roundtable Forum, click here
or go to our home page and click "The Roundtable Glossary" link.
Unless otherwise noted, all
original content in this issue of The Roundtable Forum, the Official
Newsletter of the Battle of Midway Roundtable is copyright 2010 by Ronald
W. Russell (see the “About
the BOMRT” page). Permission to
forward, copy, or quote from this issue is granted if the following citation is
included: “The Roundtable Forum, official
newsletter of the Battle of Midway Roundtable, www.midway42.org.”
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