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The Yorktown: I Liked This So I Copied It Here
nunn
Forums Admins, Member, Moderator Posts: 36,085 ******
"If intelligence gave the Americans prior warning of the
Japanese plan of attack [at Midway], the amazing
restoration of the damaged aircraft carrier Yorktown
ensured that there would be three, not two, American
carriers to meet Admiral Nagumo's four. Without the vital
role of the Yorktown's air squadrons in sinking the Japanese
carriers, and the carrier's drawing the entire Japanese
counteroffensive away from the Enterprise and Hornet, the
battle could easily have been lost."
- Victor Davis Hanson, Carnage and Culture
"In the days before Midway, 1,400 welders and pipe fitters
at Pearl Harbor worked fiendishly to repair Yorktown-heavily
damaged weeks earlier at the Battle of the Coral Sea-in a
mere 72 hours; this ensured her vital presence at the battle."
- Victor Davis Hanson, "Midway & Today," New York Post, 6/6/02
Steaming eastward, headed for Midway,
in June of `42,
This much the Japanese admirals
were confident they knew:
The U.S. Navy was hobbled,
demoralized by defeat;
It couldn't stop the progress
of their fearsome Pacific fleet;
Against their four heavy carriers,
with experienced pilots and crew,
The U.S. fleet was outnumbered,
with carriers down to two,
For last month, in the Coral Sea,
they'd seen the Lexington sink,
And the Yorktown burn so fiercely
they had every reason to think
That she must have sunk in the night,
and they needn't give her a care:
When they made their assault on Midway,
the Yorktown wouldn't be there.
At least three bombs had ripped her,
that day in the Coral Sea,
But none of them had sunk her,
nor dimmed her crew's esprit:
They called her the "Fighting Lady,"
and they wanted another lick;
Two weeks later she limped into Pearl,
trailing a ten-mile slick.
She slipped into a dry dock,
and before it was fully drained,
Men in boots were wading around her,
to note what she'd sustained.
The Yardmaster gave his opinion:
She'd need a three-month stay.
Admiral Nimitz shook his head:
She had to be underway
And able to fight in three days-
that's all they had for repair.
The Japanese were coming,
and the Yorktown had to be there.
Some fourteen hundred workmen
came into the Yorktown then,
Some barely more than boys,
others grizzled old men,
Each knew what he had to do,
and each brought a willing heart:
Machinists, welders, and shipwrights,
each practiced in his art,
Electricians, fitters, and planners,
they swarmed throughout the decks;
With no written plans or orders,
they patched the bombs' effects.
They fought against fatigue,
eyes aching, muscles sore,
They worked a shift, then slept,
then arose and worked some more.
They'd seen the carnage at Pearl
when the foe had struck from the air:
If the Japanese were coming,
the Yorktown had to be there.
Three days they repaired the Yorktown,
then she sailed again to war;
She rushed to join her two sisters,
who had sailed two days before.
As the Yorktown left the harbor,
she carried some extra crew:
Some Yard men still were inside her,
still working to make her run true.
The battle was fast and deadly.
When its roar was heard no more,
All four of the Japanese carriers
lay entombed on the ocean floor.
Only one of the U.S. carriers
shared their final estate:
After giving more than she got,
the Yorktown met her fate.
Dying, she gave full payment
to those who gave her care
And to all who did their part
so the Yorktown would be there.
SIG pistol armorer/FFL Dealer/Full time Peace Officer, Moderator of General Discussion Board on Gunbroker. Visit www.gunbroker.com, the best gun auction site on the Net! Email davidnunn@texoma.net
Japanese plan of attack [at Midway], the amazing
restoration of the damaged aircraft carrier Yorktown
ensured that there would be three, not two, American
carriers to meet Admiral Nagumo's four. Without the vital
role of the Yorktown's air squadrons in sinking the Japanese
carriers, and the carrier's drawing the entire Japanese
counteroffensive away from the Enterprise and Hornet, the
battle could easily have been lost."
- Victor Davis Hanson, Carnage and Culture
"In the days before Midway, 1,400 welders and pipe fitters
at Pearl Harbor worked fiendishly to repair Yorktown-heavily
damaged weeks earlier at the Battle of the Coral Sea-in a
mere 72 hours; this ensured her vital presence at the battle."
- Victor Davis Hanson, "Midway & Today," New York Post, 6/6/02
Steaming eastward, headed for Midway,
in June of `42,
This much the Japanese admirals
were confident they knew:
The U.S. Navy was hobbled,
demoralized by defeat;
It couldn't stop the progress
of their fearsome Pacific fleet;
Against their four heavy carriers,
with experienced pilots and crew,
The U.S. fleet was outnumbered,
with carriers down to two,
For last month, in the Coral Sea,
they'd seen the Lexington sink,
And the Yorktown burn so fiercely
they had every reason to think
That she must have sunk in the night,
and they needn't give her a care:
When they made their assault on Midway,
the Yorktown wouldn't be there.
At least three bombs had ripped her,
that day in the Coral Sea,
But none of them had sunk her,
nor dimmed her crew's esprit:
They called her the "Fighting Lady,"
and they wanted another lick;
Two weeks later she limped into Pearl,
trailing a ten-mile slick.
She slipped into a dry dock,
and before it was fully drained,
Men in boots were wading around her,
to note what she'd sustained.
The Yardmaster gave his opinion:
She'd need a three-month stay.
Admiral Nimitz shook his head:
She had to be underway
And able to fight in three days-
that's all they had for repair.
The Japanese were coming,
and the Yorktown had to be there.
Some fourteen hundred workmen
came into the Yorktown then,
Some barely more than boys,
others grizzled old men,
Each knew what he had to do,
and each brought a willing heart:
Machinists, welders, and shipwrights,
each practiced in his art,
Electricians, fitters, and planners,
they swarmed throughout the decks;
With no written plans or orders,
they patched the bombs' effects.
They fought against fatigue,
eyes aching, muscles sore,
They worked a shift, then slept,
then arose and worked some more.
They'd seen the carnage at Pearl
when the foe had struck from the air:
If the Japanese were coming,
the Yorktown had to be there.
Three days they repaired the Yorktown,
then she sailed again to war;
She rushed to join her two sisters,
who had sailed two days before.
As the Yorktown left the harbor,
she carried some extra crew:
Some Yard men still were inside her,
still working to make her run true.
The battle was fast and deadly.
When its roar was heard no more,
All four of the Japanese carriers
lay entombed on the ocean floor.
Only one of the U.S. carriers
shared their final estate:
After giving more than she got,
the Yorktown met her fate.
Dying, she gave full payment
to those who gave her care
And to all who did their part
so the Yorktown would be there.
SIG pistol armorer/FFL Dealer/Full time Peace Officer, Moderator of General Discussion Board on Gunbroker. Visit www.gunbroker.com, the best gun auction site on the Net! Email davidnunn@texoma.net
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