 Give the thought to the heart of men we thought he knew as well for us. Spring, 1942. The Axis was winning the war and the Allies faced their gravest crisis as Nazi and Japanese officers met in Germany. If their victory is continued, and as yet there was no force to stop them, the Axis' powers hoped their armies would victoriously meet in Asia, just as their tacticians met for maneuvers. Each greedy for immediate conquests, they planned to completely dominate the world. In those black days of 1942, German armies and air forces pushed toward Japan. Relentlessly, the gigantic Axis pincers were threatening to close in Central Asia. That's why American industry doubled and quadrupled its war effort. There was definite hope for victory, provided the British and Russian people could give the United States time to supply our allies and time to build an air force which could smash the Axis pincers. It wasn't long when the Truman Committee was able to state, we have succeeded in building up an air industry in the U.S. which our foes cannot hope to equal. But planes alone were not enough, and so specialized training began in 1942 under the watchful eye of Secretary of War Henry Stimson. He saw the 82nd Airborne Flying Foot soldiers change from a brave dream into a deadly fighting machine under command of General Matthew Ridgeway. The first air troop carrier unit had been set up by the AAF to work with paratroopers. The amazing success of the Germans had awakened the late American interest in vertical envelopment, which means landing a combat force behind enemy lines. Reliable C-47s were quickly boarded by the shock troops who were going to spearhead the way for a glider army which would follow. They were about to test tactical principles in North Carolina before going overseas to help blunt the Axis pincers. For all the great airborne operations of the war, American troop carrier Manin Plains provided most of the lift. There was nothing new about an airborne army. Billy Mitchell had received approval for such an operation during World War I. But even he never dreamed of entire armies filling the skies. In theory, the American paratroopers dropped on surprise defenders and seized bridgeheads for the gliders. Another airfield's tow craft, modified C-47 sky trains, hitched down two carrier gliders which were loaded and ready. Nylon, the new strong synthetic, was science's answer to the tow rope problem. Put together, the transport towed the glider into position for the takeoff front. This made room for another sky train. On a split second schedule, there were like so many locomotives taking on freight cars. Some sky trains hauled double freight. Taxiing at full throttle, the tow planes had to remain on the ground until a ton and a half gliders were airborne. Once over the drop zone, glider pilots cut their ships loose to play their special part in the pattern of attack. Banking sharply away, they dove with the ground. Quickest possible landing kept the unarmed gliders from being easy game for enemy fighters. As more cut loose and headed down to the spinning earth, the glider army joined the paratroopers who had set up points of resistance. Thus, the AAF gave the infantry wing and the weapon's vertical envelopment became a reality. Another weapon in America's arsenal for global war was the skill and experience of our great commercial airlines operating under contract to the War Department. July 1942, this ferrying service was reorganized as the Air Transport Command under veteran flyer General Harold George. In the company of C.R. Smith, his deputy, they inspected new installations. By summer, ATC routes touched all six continents. The growth of the Air Transport Command closely paralleled the expansion of the Air Force itself. In less than two years, sky bridges connected practically every corner of the world. ATC skywagons, guided by the Army Airways' communication system, crossed the Atlantic on an average of one every 13 minutes. They brought a Pacific every hour and a half. And so ATC, by supplying both men and machines to world battle fronts, was preparing to smash the Axis Threat. During these critical early days, the Navy succeeded in breaking the Japanese secret code. On May 15, Navy intelligence officers intercepted an important communication. It was the detailed JAP plan to attack Midway and points in the illusions with an invasion army, supported by a tremendous task force. But if the JAPs knew that we had broken their code, this could have been a wild goose chase or a trap. The Army and Navy decided to gamble. If we could intercept the JAP Navy at Midway, the payoff was too great to overlook. And so the call went out. ATC had to deliver reinforcements, bombs, and ammunition to the illusions in B-17s to Midway. The Hawaiian Department had to beg, borrow, and steal these bomber aircraft from our slim Pacific forces. The B-17s committed to this mission were led by Lieutenant Colonel Walter Sweeney and Brooke Gallant. Every last plane would be needed for the impending battle. Once down on Midway after the long flight, with no rest, our crews had to be thrown into immediate patrol. The Japanese fleet, more than 80 warships, advanced. The coded message was authentic. Their task forces divided, some steaming north toward Alaska, the main body converging on Midway. 470 miles west of the island, the battle stage was set when a Navy Catalina spotted the strong enemy task force. But Midway's commander refused to commit American naval or air units until he had more information about the enemy. Our newly arrived B-17s and B-26s as well as Marine fighters were under constant alert. Installed extra gas tanks to increase bomber range. Our crewmen realized that this was going to be the first test of B-17s as a defensive weapon against attacking surface forces. And some big bomber boys even claimed that B-17s could stop carriers. The 4th of June was the day of the real battle. Minutes after a patrol sighted the enemy, those bombers not yet in the air got going fast. 9 B-17 crews under Colonel Sweeney were joined by 5 from Colonel Alex. Warmed up and ready for battle, Air Force bombers took off to find the enemy. The wonderful point was Cury Island, from where our bombers were to proceed. 100 miles out our bomber commanders received new orders. After an enemy carrier force that had broken away from the main fleet and was now launching an attack against our bases. The Japanese dagger, pointed at midway, was made up for 4 carriers, great battle wagons, many destroyers and transports. The mission of the Imperial Carrier Plains was to wake the island's gun emplacements and bomb away for an invasion. Marine vindicators sprang to meet the enemy and the battle was on. In the heat of battle our flag was struck down. Marines quickly repaired the broken staff and ceremoniously raised old glory against the backdrop of fire, smoke and fate. Units of the U.S. Navy, including 3 flattops, had raced up to midway. Navy fighters and bombers were wound up and set off while the jets were still counting U.S. defenses. Enemy destroyers and cruisers were the target. Our marauders and fortresses went after enemy carriers. Jet units were like huge magnets attracting Navy planes, marine dive bombers and AAF heavies. One B-17 found his target and leveled off. Jet units and American bombers joined the battle. This jet ready got to our barrage. It was up-free for all. Finally, when our Navy and Air Force bombers hammered back at jet carriers, the issue was decided. First our bombers attacked from 3,600 feet and then came down to scrape the deck of a fire. During the three-day battle aside from eight auxiliary vessels sunk or damaged, Japan lost four carriers, two heavy cruisers and three destroyers. In addition to 275 aircraft and 4,800 men, we had smashed the jet dagger. The base, now free from the threat of invasion, the men dug themselves out of the wreckage. A Navy PBY, which had rescued a ditched B-17 crew, now brought them home. The battle ended with midway's installations, including the hospital badly wrecked by enemy bombers. Unified under one flag, sailors, Marines and airmen who had fought side by side now saluted the 92 officers and 215 enlisted men we had lost. All were heroes. In the battle of midway, perhaps the most important single engagement of the Pacific naval war, the airplane at last proved itself a defensive weapon against attacking surface forces. Once again, the AAF had demonstrated its ability to meet the enemy on land, on sea and in the air. It was planned destiny that the Axis pincers would suffer the crushing blows of the greatest striking force in military history, the United States Air Force.