At 9:20 on the morning of June 5th's eve, Lieutenant Commander John Waldron banked his outdated TBD Devastator toward the Japanese fleet, knowing he was leading his men to their deaths.

The Last Flight from Midway: When Torpedo Squadron Eight Died

Fifteen planes, thirty men, one survivor — the sacrifice that changed the Pacific War

All but one man of Torpedo Squadron Eight died attacking the Japanese fleet, but their sacrifice enabled victory at Midway.

At 9:20 on the morning of June 5th's eve, Lieutenant Commander John Waldron banked his outdated TBD Devastator toward the Japanese fleet, knowing he was leading his men to their deaths.

Torpedo Squadron Eight had launched from the USS Hornet with fifteen aircraft, each carrying a single Mark 13 torpedo — a weapon so unreliable that crews called it 'the flying coffin maker.' The squadron had no fighter escort. Their Devastators could barely make 115 knots, slower than a modern highway speed limit. They were flying into the teeth of the most powerful naval force Japan had ever assembled.

Waldron, a South Dakota-born aviator with Sioux heritage, had told his men the night before: 'If there is only one plane left to make a final run-in, I want that man to go in and get a hit.' He'd spent hours the previous evening studying charts, convinced he could find the Japanese carriers through instinct and seamanship rather than the assigned search coordinates. He was right.

As the squadron descended toward the waves, Zero fighters fell upon them like silver hornets. One by one, the Devastators burst into flames. Ensign George Gay, flying the last aircraft in formation, watched his squadron m…

💡 Lieutenant Commander Waldron's navigation instincts were so uncanny that he found the Japanese fleet after deliberately ignoring his assigned search coordinates, proving his claim that he could 'smell' his way to the enemy.