Dax was surprised that he and his crew managed to survive the crash of their B-25 in the grassy marshes of southeastern Ningbo. And while Dixie had suffered a sprained ankle in the VERY rough landing, everyone else managed to escape with a few bumps and bruises. Unfortunately, now wasn't the time to just sit and wait, for Dax knew that without a doubt, Jap patrols would be converging on the downed bird.
Turning to his co-pilot, Dax looked at Link who was trying to stay upright. He no doubt was suffering from the impact of the crash.
"Link, help Cash get Dixie," Dax ordered his copilot, who did as he was told without complaint. And as Cash and link helped move Dixie out of the smoking wreckage, started scrounging together whatever arms and ammo he could find…well ammo. In truth, the four hand been issued army-issue M1911s, and a few spare ammo mags for the pistols. And once Dax had hopped out of the plane to meet up with his crew, he began diving up the mags.
"Ok, three clips for each of us," he said, but then he noticed Cash looking scared.
"JAP PATROLS!" Cash yelled pointing behind the silver wolf.
And before any of them knew it, a firefight started, the four American pilots jumped behind the flaming wreckage of their once proud bomber, each returning fire as much as they could. A few Japanese soldiers who were out in the open were killed, but the ones that were hiding in the tall grass were still returning fire. Dax and his fellow Raiders were putting up a good fight, but giving the fact that they were dealing with a platoon's worth of Japanese soldiers armed with advanced rifles. It was at that moment that Dax realized that there was no hope for survival as the advancing enemy forces pinned them down.
Cash turned to his girlfriend Dixie. "I love you, Dixie," he said popping a fresh mag into his pistol.
Dixie shot a Japanese soldier as he tried to flank them. "I love you too, Cash," she said.
But, when it seemed as if they were about to overrun and more than likely taken prisoner, the groups ears picked up the sound of more firearms being discharged, the sounds of what could only be the Japanese soldiers crying in pain, only to be suddenly silenced, filling their ears. And at that moment, the crew held their breath, Link shoulder to shoulder with Dax as Cash held on tightly to Dixie, each unsure of what to do.
Thankfully, they didn't have to wait long when they were suddenly staring down the barrels of six Hanyang 88s, each wielded by a fierce looking water deer or snow leopard, all female from what they could see, though the hodgepodge of worn-out and dirty civilian and military clothing didn't help.
Neither side spoke until…
"Bùyào dòng!" one of the snow leopards shouted through the mask covering her mouth, her yellow eyes staring daggers at the others, each with their own pistols trained on her as she shouted, pointing the bayoneted end of her rifle at Dax, the wolf scared out of his mind thinking that this was it. But, it was only upon noticing a symbol on the leopards mask, a white sun in a blue circle, The Flag of the Kuomintang, that Dax realized he needed to the defuse the situation…and fast
"HOLD YOUR FIRE!" Dax yelled at his compatriots, the lieutenant holstering his pistol before cautiously rising to his feet, one of the does rifles still locked on him. And even though Dax was scared shitless at that moment, he knew now wasn't the best time to be scared.
"It's okay…it's the Chinese!"
With that, Dax, with as much courage as he could muster, looked dead in the eye of the now shaking female snow leopard, who was now backed by the other two, one with her rifle pointed at Dax, and the other, while alert, watching with genuine curiosity. And Dax couldn't be sure, but he could have sworn that the third was heterochromic, one eye gold…the other a pale blue. She also appeared to have a notch in her left ear.
But he would dwell on that later as he uttered the phrase Doolittle told him and his fellow raiders to remember…a phrase that meant "I Am An American."
"Wǒ shì měiguó rén."
It was at that moment that all of the female warriors immediately dropped their guard, some quickly and without second thought, others more cautiously. And for a solid three minutes, nobody did anything except lower their weapons. And it was clear why. Both parties wanted to give the other a chance to calm down. And, before long, things definitely turned a lot more friendly. The water does even took some initiative in tending to Dixie, applying a very crude splint to her leg so that she would be able to walk. And upon seeing that the saluki was taken care off, the third snow leopard walked towards Dax, the wolf shrinking a little under the noticeably older feline's seemingly judging gaze…well half gaze, as Dax could now see that her pale blue eye was actually blind.
"You…" she began, almost skeptically, the other two leopards matching her judgmental gaze…well, the second, who stared menacingly at Dax while the third appeared genuinely curious. This did not settle Dax's nerves however as he audibly gulped.
"You…bombed Tokyo, didn't you?"
Dax and the others didn't know what surprised them most; the fact that this Chinese feline knew who they were…or that she seemed to have a good grasp of English. Though it was too soon to tell. Clearly his throat, Dax firmly nodded his head.
"Y-yeah," he stammered, "w-we bombed T-Tokyo."
What happened next, Dax, nor the others were prepared for as the third leopard let a massive smile spread across her face, the feline, with lighting speed, grasping both of Dax's shoulder's as she placed a giant kiss on both of his cheeks, the silver fur on Dax's face trying, and utterly failing to hide the deep red blush that bled through, all while the three water deer eagerly embraced the rest of the crew. Unfortunately, the very confusion celebration was cut short when they heard shots coming from beyond some nearby trees.
Upon hearing this, the third leopard, who now appeared to very clearly be the leader of the group, beckoned the Americans to follow.
"Follow me," she whispered, her new friends needing no further instruction as they made their way down a densely bamboo-forested path, which definitely would provide adequate cover in the event a patrolling zero happened by. And once she was certain that they were a good distance away, Su decided to strike up a conversation with Dax.
"I am Su by the way," she began with a smile, "Su Wu."
With that, Su gestured to the other leopards, first the who appeared every bit as savage in her eyes as she did in her disheveled appearance, then to the masked one, who seemed to shyly shrink away at being the center of attention.
"These are my sisters, Wing and Wan."
"Dax Sterling…my buds call me 'Big Daddy,'" Dax responded with a sly smile, only to receive an eyeroll and smirk from Su. For another few minutes, the group just seemed to move along at what appeared to be a leisurely stroll, a stroll that seemed to be taking its toll on Dixie, who, much to her surprise, but at the same time gratitude, had received aid by one of the water deer.
"Here," the green-eyed doe said in a noticeably bubbly fashion, "let me help!"
"OH!" Dixie exclaimed with a laugh as the doe motioned for Cash to help her grab Dixie's legs, left them off the ground so that they were full on carrying her.
"Thanks Hon."
Dax couldn't help but chuckle, earning a playful glance from Wing.
"That's Huifang, by the way," she said with a chuckle.
"Not the brightest among us, but she's loyal and a great fighter."
"Oh, be nice Wing," Wan said, though with a hint of mirth herself. It was at that moment, Dax decided to voice an observation he had made earlier about Su, that now appeared to apply to all of the Chinese fighters present.
"You guys speak good English."
This caused all the Asiatic women to look at Dax, who suddenly felt very small under their gaze, the line now very much afraid that he had just offended the very people who were helping him. But, it was only when Wan let out a small chuckle that Dax knew he could relax.
"We speak English WELL. My sisters and I were students at the University of California in our youth before coming home," Wan answered, the youngest sister clearly beaming beneath her mask, if the way her eyes scrunched up was any indication. Dax returned the smile, and wasn't until a few moments later that the group came upon a clearing the bamboo jungle, where there were several other water deer, and from what Dax and the others could see, to their amazement, a south China tiger, clad in a red, gold embroidered tunic, black pants and combat boots, a Hunyang slung over her back, speaking with a panda, dressed what appeared to be a dark blue civilian uniform of some kind.
"Good to see you back…with friends," came a strong feminine voice from the left, prompting the newly arrived group to turn and see another doe, lazily dressed in a Chinese military uniform, the tunic itself opened to reveal a dirtied undershirt, walk toward them, a Hunyang draped over her back as well.
"Yes," Su responded with a huff of amusement as the doe, who Dax and the others were amazed to see had what appeared to eb a solid jade tusk in place of a natural one, came to a stop beside them.
"This is Dax Sterling…though he says his 'buds' call him 'Big Daddy.'"
This earned a round of nervous and even flirtatious giggles from some nearby does, who only grew worse as a result of Dax sending them a wink, causing Su to roll her eyes before continuing.
"And his colleagues Link, Cash and Dixie…they belong to the ones who bombed Tokyo."
Upon hearing this, the doe looked up the group with what could only be great admiration.
"I am Qiān lù…but everyone here calls me 'Jade Tusk.'"
"Why do they call ya that," Dax said with a teasing smirk, a smirk returned by Jade Tusk.
"Why do they call you 'Big Daddy?'" Jade Tusk jabbed back with a flirtatious tone.
"Good girls don't ask," Dax said, intentionally deepening his voice to sound more seductive.
"Bad girls find out for themselves."
"Well keep it in your pants, buster," Su quipped, smacking Dax upside the head before moving alongside Su, the leopard surprising the American party by linking her arm with Jade Tusk's. Not that any of them had a problem with this, they just knew that the Japs, as well as the Chinese themselves have their own reservations about such relationships.
"This one's taken."
"Well, if you are all finished," a new voice chimed in, causing the group to turn and see the tiger from earlier saunter up to them, closely followed by panda. And needless to say, the tiger did not look amused.
"We must get moving."
"And you are?" Cash rather rudely inquired, earning his cheek a pinch from Dixie. The tiger did not seem affected.
"My name is not important, but you may call me Tigress if you please."
"Original," Link sarcastically whispered, only to receive a slap upside the head from Dixie.
"And we are indebted to you," Tigress finished with a small smile of gratitude, even offering a small bow, which was returned by, though somewhat awkwardly by Dax.
"And you as well," Dax answered, his gaze finding itself on the Panda behind Tigress.
"And this is?"
"I am Po," the panda responded kindly, offering a bow as well.
"I am to lead you on the rest of your journey to the nearest American base…it's far, so we'll stop at the Jade Palace for the night."
"Thank you, Po," Dax responded with great civility, offering the kind panda his hand in friendship, which Po happily accepted. And before long, the group was on its way again, Po and Dax leading them away from the encampment, the female warriors watching with hope in their hearts that these brave Americans would live to fly another day.
As night fell over China, Dax and the others finally reached the Jade Palace, which was an old, but stil very ornate monastery, located in a rural area that the inhabitants affectionately referred to as the Valley of Peace. However, as the American pilot's could see, the shelled streets and damaged buildings located around the towering holy place did not scream "Peace." Eve the Jade palace itself sported a gaping wound in it's roof.
Upon reaching the top of the tall flight of stairs that lead to the imposing structure, the faced displaying how it got it's name due to the jade green trim and decorative engravings, the pilots were greeted by none other than the master of the Palace himself. A short, hunched-over red panda known only has Master Shifu. With a smile on his old face, the four foot-two Shifu, whose hunched back made it clear to the others that he was slightly taller in his youth, bowed to the Americans.
"Welcome to the Jade Palace, Noble Pilots. Make yourselves at home," he said calmly, stepping aside to allow their visitors to enter, their boots creating an echo on the awe-inspiring floor of pure jade. But, luckily, their attention did not remain on the immaculate interior of the palace for long, as Dax and the others were happy to see not only other Doolittle Raiders here as well, but also Doolittle himself.
Things were looking good so far.
And after some good food and hot baths, all the Doolittle Raiders were settling in for the night, but Dax, who wanted a chance to explore such a grand palace, stayed up for a little longer. The silver wolf saw the main training room with all its dangerous tools and traps. He was also amazed by everything in said palace, but it was the main keep where the golden Dragon was that amazed him the most, the massive, gleaming reptile seeming to look down it the reflecting pool beneath it, the pool itself sat before shelf upon shelf of ancient scrolls.
And while he marveled at the sights, Master Shifu was meeting with Col. Doolittle. It appeared that the Kung Fu Master wanted to strike a deal with the American commander, which Dax just so happened to see the two talking nearby. From what the silver wolf heard, Shifu wanted Doolittle and the other Americans to take the little children who were seeking refuge in the Jade Palace, back to the base for them to get out of China.
Doolittle agreed but only if they had Po lead them the whole way.
Shifu accepted the conditions of the deal and shook Doolittle's hand.
After watching the deal go down, Dax was walking along the wall when he was suddenly stopped by two beautiful felines, a snow leopard and mountain cat, schoolteachers whom he had met while helping to tend to the children who he and his fellow raiders would be taking with them. Song and Mei Ling were their names, the two offering very flirtatious looks as they offered Dax a massage and some wine. The silver wolf smiled at seeing how these Chinese beauties wanted to have a little fun with him. And in the end, he did not waste a minute as the two of them processed to tend to the silver wolf on the wall.
But down below them, a wolf from the now late Lord of Japanese-Occupied Gongmen City Shen's army was finishing his noodles when all of a sudden two Japanese soldiers rushed him, the wolf only able to let out a gurgled gasp of shock as he was viciously stabbed. And once the deed was done, both men turned to a slew of their fellow soldiers, the signal being given to slowly advance on the unsuspecting occupants of the Jade Palace. With any luck, they would not only capture the American pilots that bombed Japan, but also kill the Chinese rebels.
As Dax finished his wine Song had given him, he heard a soft thud against the wall. He knew something was wrong, so he pulled his pistol and looked over the wall, only for his eyes to widen at the sight of Japanese soldiers scaling the wall with a ladder when he looked up to see Dax staring right at him. His eyes went wide as the silver wolf pointed his pistol right at his head and… BANG!
Dax shot him right there, killing him.
As the Japanese soldier's body fell off the ladder, another soldier shouted, "Long live the Empire of Japan!"
This caused all the Japanese soldiers to start shouting like mad, their cries echoing through the Jade Palace's walls, waking everybody who was sleeping inside.
And ten minutes later…it was total bedlam
"We can't hold them!" Po shouted kicking a Japanese soldier into two of his fellow soldiers, before quickly taking aim with a borrowed M1911, send a bullet straight through three advancing soldiers.
Shifu tuned to Doolittle.
"Take your people and the children with you!" he shouted.
"The masters and I will hold the Japanese back long enough for you to make your escape!"
Doolittle scooped up a small bunny in his arms, his men following his example as they picked up the children and made a run for it, Song and Mei Ling following close behind. But as they ran, Dax looked back with sad gaze to see Master Shifu, a burly rhino known simply as Master Rhino, and Tigress and so many others fighting to their bitter end.
With the sacrifice from the Masters, Dax and the others made it to the American base.
And in the coming months…America would need all the help it could get.
But in the end, Dax could think…
At What Cost?
The Imperial Japanese Army killed an estimated 250,000 Chinese civilians for helping Doolittle and his men escape…including the Masters of the Jade Palace. Unfortunately, Tigress and her group of female gorilla fighters would being death as mercy, following what would become known as…
The Rape of the Daughters of Kuomintang.
Hiroshima Bay
Battleship Yamato
A grey fox, Admiral Chūichi Nagumo stood before Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto. Around the two senior admirals were a handful of other Japanese naval officers. From captains, vice-admirals to rear admirals, from red pandas, to foxes, to ibexes and wolves, each one looking at the complex plan the great strategist Admiral Yamamoto had come up with. In their minds, it wasn't just a simple battle plan, but a nightmare.
Vice-Admiral Kondo Nobutake shook his head.
"Admiral Yamamoto, are you sure this plan will work?" the slim red panda asked, unable to believe what his eyes were seeing on the table before him. Vice-Admiral Takeo Kurita also questioned the plan before him, but Admiral Yamamoto quickly cut the offending black-furred wolf off.
"We will have the advantage of position and at a least a two-to-one superiority in carriers and four times the numbers of screening vessels," the skilled fox said confidently to his fellow admiral.
Admiral Nagumo smiled as he looked at the plan.
"I agree," he said, then let some of his pride shine.
"After all, I took our fleet halfway across the Pacific where we launched the attack that destroyed the American fleet at Pearl Harbor."
"That was then, Nagumo! Not now!" Rear-Admiral Tanaka Raizo said in objection to Nagumo's confidence in the plan, the ibex's eyes burning with fury.
"In case you forgot, we are planning an operation for the Coral Sea. There is no conceivable way this plan can work."
Sensing that things we
re going to get out of line between Tanaka and Nagumo, Yamamoto quickly interceded on the matter.
"We have enough forces to deal with both operations. First thing we do will be to test the Americans fighting capabilities at Coral Sea..." he said, then looked over his battle plan once more.
"Then, we will destroy them at Midway."
After that, Japan engaged the Americans at Coral Sea.
Thou the battle was pretty much a tie, the sleeping giant lost the Carrier Lexington, while the Carrier Yorktown was badly damaged.
IJN Yamato, June 3, 1942
The air was still in the briefing room of the Japanese flagship. Seated once again around the large table, which displayed a map of key positions in the Pacific, were several members of the Imperial Naval Staff, many of them keeping their attention on the haggard looking Admiral Yamamoto at the head of the table, his eyes scrutinizing the map as he continued to mentally finalize his plans, the results of the Coral Sea battle still weighed heavily on him.
"Midway will be taken swiftly," he finally said.
"Our intelligence reports that the Enterprise and Hornet, of their Task Force 16, are the only carriers at the American's disposal, with the loss of the Lexington, and the severe damage of the Yorktown at the Coral Sea, where we regrettably lost the light-carrier Shoho. With their carrier force utterly obliterated, we will have the advantage. My main battleship force with trail behind Admiral Nagumo's carriers. We will lure the Americans into a false sense of security…"
"Then Admiral Nagumo will launch his raids."
"Once they have been weakened, I will order the remaining forces to destroy any American reinforcements that come to them from Pearl Harbor."
Looking to the men around him, the Admiral could see their eyes filled with uncertainty. Even Admiral Nagumo seemed to be having second thoughts about this operation.
"The Americans are demoralized," he reassured them.
"I have also received word, that their Admiral Halsey has been stricken with psoriasis. Admiral Spruance has been ordered as his replacement. With one of their greatest strategists incapacitated, the battle is as good as won. This battle, combined with our victories over recent months will send a clear message that we are the reigning military power."
And for a time, this quelled the fears of those around Yamamoto.
But he would soon find…that he was terribly mistaken.
Thanks to a well-trained team of codebreakers, the American forces were able to intercept the Admiral's orders, which would allow them to come up with a proper counter attack. Unfortunately, they did face some difficulties, for on that day, Yamamoto agreed to have the navy aid the Japanese Army on the Aleutian Islands of Kiska and Attu, which were part of the Alaskan Territory, making it the first time American soil had been occupied by a foreign nation since the War of 1812.
And, when it came to morale, Yamamoto once again would find himself wrong, as the sleeping giant, in a stunning display of resilience, which resulted in rolling blackouts around Pearl Harbor, completed repairs on the Yorktown within seventy-two hours, sending her out to join the Enterprise and Hornet five days earlier, carrying on her decks a squadron that would help to rain fire down upon them…
The Angel Squadron.
June 4, 1942.
Admiral Nagumo had finally launched his attack against the island of Midway, sending an attack force of 108 planes. However, the defending forces of Midway were ready for them. Cap. Cyril Thomas Simard sent Maj. Floyd B. "Red" Parks to intercept the incoming Japanese with 6 F4f-3 Wildcats and 18 F2A-3 Buffalo Fighters. Yet the insuring battle was a disaster. Maj. Parks was killed and lost fifteen planes, only being able to shoot down two zeros.
With the American planes now out of the way, Lt. Tomonaga Joichi led his planes to attack Sand and Eastern Island of Midway. However, unlike Pearl Harbor, the Americans were ready this time, for on Sand Island, several marines were attempting to get ammo to their 50 calibers, and fuel into the planes of a new asset that had arrived int eh form of Burrow Squadron, the army planes having landed on the tropical base earlier in the week. And as Marine 2nd Lt. Eliot "The Chief" Bogo stood next to Pvt. Jake Fangmeyer and Sgt. Rick Delgato, who couldn't help but notice a certain bunny speaking with one of her squamates, Marion Hood, the dipstick ears of the bunny very hard to miss as she held her aviator cap loosely in her arms.
"HEY HOPPS!" the British-born Bogo called out with a cheek smile, causing Judy to look in the direction of the usually surly buffalo who had made her training a living hell. Yes, even though Judy was Army Air Corps, the Corps had called in Bogo, once a proud drill-instructor in the RAF during the Great War, to whip the new recruits into shape. And needless to say, he did not take it easy on any of them, especially Judy, who made it clear that she definitely remembered Bogo, as evident by the indignant scowl on her face. However, the scowl lessened as a look of surprise was made evident by her hiked brows as Bogo, as well as the once equally annoying Fangmeyer and Delgato, sent her a genuine salute each.
"REMEMBER WHAT I TAUGHT YA AND YOU'LL BE FINE!"
Judy, upon hearing this, could sense the teasing tone of Chief's voice, and, with a smug smirk herself, issued a rebuttal.
"ALREADY GOT SIXTEEN KILLS IN A WEEK CHIEF! MAYBE YOU SHOULD WATCH ME AND YOU'LL LEARN A THING OR TWO!"
"JESUS!" Delgato shouted back with a booming laugh, "IF THAT'S HOW YOU TALK TO A SUPERIOR THEN IT'S NO MSYTERY WHO WEARS THE PANTS BETWEEN YOU AND WILDE!"
This resulted in a round of booming laughter from the three marines. Even Judy and Marion were laughing out loud at the statement as the three marines resumed their close watch of the sky, their hands tensing on the triggers of their anti-air machine guns. And as Chief scanned the sky with his binoculars, he suddenly saw several red dots.
"Enemy planes approaching!" the big buffalo shouted, causing Judy and Marion's stunned gaze tot run skyward. And their first instinct was to get int heir cockpits, they knew it wasn't the time for it, especially with what Bogo said next.
"Shit! They have high level bombers!"
From inside his cockpit, Lt. Tomonaga gave the order, "Attack pattern Alpha!"
With that, the grey-fox, along with his bombers, began their decent to attack Sand Island first, while the other half of his attack group would go for Eastern Island. Soon, the sky erupted with anti-air rounds as the ground forces opened fire on the Imperial planes, actually managing to shoot down twenty-five, thus forcing an agitated Lt. Tomonaga to retreat, causing the panting soldiers on the ground to smile with glee as the adrenaline coursed through their bodies. And after taking a second to calm himself, but when he did, the young Marine his voice.
"I got one," he whispered to himself, the tiger soon turning his attention to The Chief, the muscular buffalo looking to be resting as he leaned against his smoking gun.
"Hey, I shot down a Zero," Fangmeyer said a little louder to Bogo, giving him a gentle nudge with his arm, only to continue to receive no responce. Fangmeyer took a closer look at his commanding officer.
"Hey… Chief?" he whispered, his smile slowly fading as he still got no answer. The tiger then reached over and shook Bogo, speaking again, this time with a hint of fear and desperation.
"Chief? Come on, buck up!" he said, only to finally notice blood running down the buffalo's lower abdomen, courtesy of a piece of shrapnel sticking from his ribcage.
2nd Lt. Eliot Bogo was dead.
Back on the Carrier Akagi, Admiral Nagumo sat watching the horizon, waiting eagerly for the details on Lt. Tomonaga's attack on Midway. He didn't have to wait long when a young officer walked onto the bridge, carrying a battle report. He handed it to his admiral and waited to see what Nagumo's reaction would be, only to find it nothing less of disappointed.
"Tomonaga is asking for a second strike," he said reading the report aloud. Another young, red panda officer named Minoru Genda took the report from Admiral Nagumo, he looked it over as well, but his reaction was different then said admiral.
"Sir, this report shows that we struck a powerful blow to Midway," Genda proudly said.
"We destroyed a power station, destroyed a number of enemy planes and damaged the airfield."
"Yes, damaged, but not destroyed," Nagumo replied with a frown, just then, a sailor came rushing onto the bridge with a recon report. He handed it to Admiral Nagumo. The old fox's eyes widened with shock. "Ten enemy ships sighted, 350 miles from Midway. Two cruisers, seven destroyers and…" Nagumo took a second look at the report to see if he had misread what he saw. "...the carrier believed to be the Yorktown."
"That can't be," Genda said equally shocked.
"The Yorktown was blown out of the water at Coral Sea. There's no way they could have repaired her in such a short amount of time and brought this far west."
Admiral Nagumo looked over a Genda.
"We have to assume that they have," he growled, but before Genda could reply, Lt. Tomonaga's voice crackled over the radio.
"Request permission to land! Many of my pilots reporting 'Near empty fuel tanks!' Urgent, we need to land."
Well, this caught Admiral Nagumo by surprise. Now he was faced with a difficult choice—Let Lt. Tomonaga land and risk getting caught off guard by an attack from the Yorktown, or launch his planes that were ready for take off, thus causing Lt. Tomonaga and his planes to run out of fuel and crash.
Genda looked at Admiral Nagumo.
"Sir? What do we do now?" he asked.
Sitting back in his chair, Nagumo made the decision that would prove to be his undoing.
"They may land. And while we are recovering our planes, have all planes on deck be brought below and armed with torpedoes."
With Admiral Nagumo's order heard, Genda contacted Lt. Tomonaga and gave him permission to land.
Torpedo Squadron 8 (USS Hornet) 9:15 A.M.
Lt. CMDR. John C. Waldron was leading his fifteen TBD-1 Devastators when the middle aged coyote suddenly saw something. Signaling his tail gunner, he was quickly informed that he had indeed found the Japanese carrier fleet. After waiting five minutes, Waldron saw the carriers turning into the wind, getting ready to launch. There was no time in waiting for their fighters' escorts to arrive, so the Lt. CMDR gave the order to attack.
One of the members of the torpedo squadron was ENS. George Gay.
"Sir, if go in without fighter protection, we might not make it out alive," he said, but his commander shut him up and ordered his to follow him closely.
George obeyed like a good soldier.
As the torpedo squadron moved into attack formation, the Japanese carrier Hiryu spotted the incoming planes. Rear ADM. Tamon Yamaguchi watched the Devastators close in with his binoculars. A young lookout stood next to him, watching as well.
The look out then gasped at what he saw.
"They're coming in without any fighter protection. Suicide. Mindless suicide," he said.
But Yamaguchi saw it in a more tactical way.
"Perhaps," the experience ibex said, "but it is an effective technique. We can't launch an attack against Yorktown while we're busy avoiding them."
And as the Devastators advanced at a steady pace toward the carriers, they were suddenly attacked by the Zeros who were on air patrol. The tail gunners opened fire in an attempt to fend off the attacking planes, but were outmatched by the skills of the Japanese pilots. Within fifteen minutes, only George Gay and Lt. CMDR Waldron were still trying to make a pass at the nearest carrier.
"Close in,Gay," Waldron ordered. George came up right behind his commander, ready to go down in a blaze of glory. When the two pilots were within rage to drop their torpedoes, the anti-air guns on the carriers and their escort ships opened up on the two remaining Devastators as plumes of black smoke filled the sky around the two Devastators, but they kept on advancing.
But, just when Waldron was getting ready to drop his torpedo, his plane was suddenly hit.
"Commander Waldron! Pull up! Pull up!" Came the frantic cries from George Gay, but there was no response.
Lt. CMDR Waldron was gone, and his plane went crashing into the sea.
Now, only George Gay was all that remained of Torpedo Squadron 8.
This was it for him.
No turning back, no time for regret, and no time to bail out now. No! He was going to torpedo that carrier or die trying. Once he saw that he was in range, George Gay released his torpedo, but by then the anti-air guns had locked onto his slow-moving Devastator.
Not good.
Pulling up on his flight stick, George was able to fly right over the flight deck of the carrier Soryu, causing some of the gunners to duck as the Devastator flew over them.
But alas, George Gay's luck ran out.
A stray bullet had hit him in the arm and he lost control of his plane, which crashed into the sea. With no other option but to bail out, the surviving Texas cougar jumped into the water and hoped that he would be picked up by his people.
Meanwhile, onboard the Akagi, Admiral Nagumo had watched the audacious actions of the Devastator pilots.
Commander Genda then walked up and made his report.
"No damage to Soryu."
All Nagumo could do was nod.
Once Genda was out of sight, the admiral felt a great deal of respect for the pilots who had just died, but what he also felt, was sadness.
"A whole squadron," he sighed.
"They sacrificed themselves like Samurai. What an honorable way to die."
Then, the admiral gave a salute and went back to organizing the rearming of his attack planes. But ten minutes later, a lookout spotted more incoming Devastators. Admiral Nagumo looked through his binoculars and stared in disbelief.
"All these torpedo planes can't be coming from one carrier."
"Then they must be coming from Midway," an officer said.
"Or a second carrier," Genda hypothesized.
Then it dawned on him.
Turning to Admiral Nagumo, he quickly voiced his theory.
"Sir, we've heard nothing from the scout plane that spotted the one enemy carrier. I think the Soryu should send out its scout plane. We must know for certain what we're up against."
Nagumo nodded.
"See to it personally, Genda."
IJN carrier attack fleet, 10:10 A.M.
George was all alone in the water. Ever since he had been shot down, the Texas cougar had watched Devastators from Enterprise and Yorktown get taken out, and it looked like the Japanese were going to win this battle, but just then, his water logged ears picked up the sound of incoming planes. Looking up, George saw SBD-3 Dauntless dive bombers coming in quick.
"Give them hell boys!" he shouted, as he watched the dive bombers make their approach on the enemy carriers.