The Battle of Midway: Cmdr Dick Best
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- Опубликовано: 17 окт 2024
- An interview on Midway Island with Cmdr Dick Best USN (retired) about his recollections of the Battle of Midway, #usnavy #battleofmidway #midwayisland #usnavy #usmc #DickBest
Credits
B-roll: DVIDS
Drawings: Jack Coogan
It’s an honor to listen to Dick Best. (RIP) A TRUE American hero, in a battle that stopped Japanese expansion dead in its tracks. 🇺🇸🇯🇵
I always remember the initial run of our torpedo pilots who sacrificed everything and didn’t score a hit during the battle. What brave men!
THe Mk14 was a big problem in the early days of the war.
To be able to see and hear this man that was there and played a main role in defeating the Japanese navy that day is Just absolutely awesome
His mind was as sharp as a tack. Awesome guy. The famous story about him getting lung problems due to an accident on his aircraft had me worried he didn't have a long life. He died a few days before the terrorist attacks on 9/11, and I"m glad he never had to be shocked and saddened by witnessing that day !
Great American, should have been given the Medal of Honor during his lifetime.
Wow at 89 during this interview he remembers it like it wsa yesterday...
Great to hear from a true American hero ❤
The movie "Midway" showed how important Dick Best was in the Battle of Midway. One of the greatest in the Greatest Generation.
A Primary Example of "The Greatest Generation"! Thank You so much.
Thank you for this interview. I’ve studied the Midway battle for years. That interest came from my late father who was a 26 year Navy veteran (1944-1970). He met George Gay when he was with a patrol squadron in Florida. Mr. Best was one of 2 pilots who scored multiple hits during the battle. The other was Dusty Kliess with 3 hits. God bless these men for what they did and the sacrifices of all who did their duty.
I am glad you enjoyed the interview. Here is the next video in the series: ruclips.net/video/suu64qc8HL4/видео.html
He's sharp as a tack. What an honor to get a chance to interview him. Deepest respects, Richard Halsey Best. RIP.
Thanks for the great insights from CMDR Best (retired). I've always wondered just how much the attacks by the TBDs contributed to the success of the three SBD squadrons that essentially destroyed the Kaga, Akagi and the Soryu on the 4th of June, 1942. CMDR Best, while giving acknowledgement to the bravery and sacrifice of the Torpedo Bombers, explains that the surprise was due to the timing of their arrival. Luck, and some skill in navigation was what contributed to the success. The skill of the SBD pilots was the ultimate deciding factor. I can also imagine the incredible luck that prevented the USS Enterprise (CV-6) from being docked in Pearl Harbor on the 7th of December. A simple fueling accident-astounding.
@poddiver
0 seconds ago
I am glad you enjoyed the interview. Here is the next video in the series: ruclips.net/video/suu64qc8HL4/видео.html. Interviews were conducted with LtCmdr Lee McLeary USNR and LtCmdr Bill Cullen USNR, who served as pilot-navigators onboard PBYs during the Battle of Midway. These interviews took place in 1999 on Midway Island, during a reunion of Battle of Midway veterans. Ensign Lee McLeary, who was 21 at the time, shared the harrowing experience of his PBY being shot down, resulting in the loss of five crew members. After the crash, Lee and four other crew members survived for 2.5 days in a life raft before being rescued by the PBY navigated by Ensign Bill Cullen.
@@poddiver Thank you. I'm watching the interview as I type this. Remarkable story.
This was a great interview. My Uncle Lewis piloted plane # 12 in Commander Best's Bombing Six at Midway.
I think that is the first time I ever heard Dick Best in an interview. Awesome! Great video.
That was very interesting. Thanks for posting. Those guys were true American heros.
Glad you enjoyed it
I read a book back in the 60's by an author named John Toland about the battle. It was hard to imagine what these pilots went through and what went into fighting that battle.
Dick Best changed the course of the war with his skill and daring. Another dive bomber pilot related that even if the Torpedo squadrons had been able to launch against the Japanese the chances of the Mark 14 torpedoes working was only 20% or lower due to design issues and lack of proper testing in war conditions. It was not until 1943 that some of these issues were finally fixed and the slower torpedo planes were replaced. The dive bombers were the only offensive weapon the US had that had a chance of putting the Japanese carriers out of action in the early part of the Pacific war. For Dick Best to make two hits on two carriers in two days was a massive display of skill. The average hit rate for the dive bombers was 20% for the whole war and as one pilot said a ship could survive bomb hits but letting the water in with torpedoes had a better chance of sinking that ship. The Yamato and the Musashi both absorbed up to 40 bomb hits each but it was the torpedoing of one side alone that sunk both of these battleships.
The air-dropped torpedo was the Mark 13. There were incremental improvements to it culminating in a very reliable weapon by the late summer of 1944. By the time of the battleship attacks you mentioned, the Mark 13 was at the or near the top of the best air-dropped torpedoes of the war.
Yes, I correct the statement I made with Cmdr Best about torpedos. I just read a book about The Battle of Leyte Gulf and how the Torpedo Bombers were so effective at sinking IJN BBs and CAs.
How great to hear from someone actually there for it all from the carrier side. He is still as sharp as they get. That is "Real News."
🙏🙏🙏🙏🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹from eternally grateful Pacific 🌹🌹🇺🇸
There seems to be some confusion, did Commander Best land bombs on 2 Japanese carriers or one? In the first attack was Best's strike the only hit and in the 2nd strike, Best was one of a least a few attacks that landed. This would be in reverse of the film.
This guy one shot the Japanese carrier Akagi, one of the most monumental single acts in the history of warfare.
Wow just wow.
outstanding
Dick was nearly put in the brig because he was on a search mission flying and SBD and found the Japanese carriers, but did not attack them even though he and his wingman carried 500lb bombs. Then, a few days later at the Battle of Midway, flying from the USS Enterprise, Dick redeemed himself with a stellar performance as a dive bomber pilot.
Wonderful interview.
I think one question was missed: "Have you watched the movie, 'Midway,' and what did you think of it?"
What sucks is American people can't go visit Midway. As a Navy veteran & a WW2 PTO history buff, I'd LOVE to visit Midway.
I am a Navy Vet too (ET-3).... if you want to see more Midway watch this video I did ruclips.net/video/uYrWdD8sIxc/видео.html
@@poddiver thank you ! I was an AD2 with VA-85 onboard the USS Forrestal 76-80.
The next video in the Battle of Midway series is online: The PBYs of Midway ruclips.net/video/suu64qc8HL4/видео.html
That goony bird standing there at 16:05 looked like it was at attention while listing to the speech
The gooney birds (aka Lasson Albatros) on Midway are protected by USFW, so can't touch them or move them. We drive around on golf carts and the have the right of way.
@@poddiver yeah I read that somewhere a few years back,just thought it looked great that bird just standing there maybe think all this was for him
👍🏻🇺🇸✌️🏴🇬🇧
That's the kind of historian you want to learn from.
I look at these videos as oral history from the men who fought it. You might also be interested in this episode about the PBY pilots stories ruclips.net/video/suu64qc8HL4/видео.htmlsi=jGcY06zWWv1v9zDi
I left him good. He had Rachel but she has struggled lately on 16 oz. He also got a 20 oz right after 12 so maybe he will get closer to the 15 thousand and if so Rosa and Me will take care of the rest. Not Rosa fault as she got 17 thousand today. The 9 thousand on start up is hard to overcome. But we will get there. Brian will get better or someone will. If I had Garrett I would have got 20 plus but Richard will get better. I know he is trying but Case packers are a tuff cookie to swallow at times. Lee and me have jumped in to help him hit he depends on us and we will not always be there.
This message sent in Error. Sorry and Richard Best is the Hero of midway. A real American Hero and very humble and probably doesn’t think he is a hero but what he did that day was Monumental for our Freedoms
No worries.. Thanks for the comment. Glad you enjoyed the episode. You might like the latest episode on Midway I just posted about the PBY pilots ruclips.net/video/suu64qc8HL4/видео.htmlsi=jGcY06zWWv1v9zDi
So you had the man in an interview, but didn't ask him about the actual attacks he made during the battle? Had he indicated he wouldn't discuss that topic, or what? Otherwise, why wouldn't you ask him about his amazing role in one of the most important events in the history of naval warfare?
What a great video.
Glad you enjoyed it! You might enjoy the next Midway video in the series ruclips.net/video/suu64qc8HL4/видео.htmlsi=Gvd_4LERRKTSr3YH