Prof. Greg Jackson

Now, oh Lord, won't you please take care of those wonderful ones who loved us so much.

They were willing to die for us without hesitation.

As day turns into night and Dusty falls asleep, it's pretty clear who's won this battle.

As the destruction settles, Rear Admiral Raymond Spruance remembers his boss's instructions.

Take calculated risks to destroy the enemy.

Raymond infers that the Japanese are playing to their strength and mounting a night attack, so he orders his ships to head east and wait for daybreak.

He'll later put it into the official battle report.

I did not feel justified in risking a night encounter with possibly superior enemy forces, but on the other hand, I did not want to be too far away from Midway the following morning.

I wished to have a position from which either to follow up retreating enemy forces or to break up a landing attack on Midway.

Aboard his distant flagship, the Yamamoto, Yamamoto and his staff anxiously search for a way to hit back at the Americans.

Full of emotion, the admiral finally realizes the extent of American naval strength.

He tells his staff, I am the one who must apologize to his majesty.

At 2.55 a.m.

on June 5th, Yamamoto orders a withdrawal.

With the huge amount of the Japanese fleet either in flames or making its way to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, Yamamoto gives yet another shocking order, have destroyers torpedo Akagi.

I mean, it's the best option.

Otherwise, the US will seize the ship and be able to both learn the inner workings of a Japanese aircraft carrier and display it as a battle trophy.

Vice Admiral Ugaki Matome is frustrated.

He writes in his diary that, quote, emotion must not be mixed with reason, close quote.

With hundreds of Americans and some 3,000 Japanese dead, the Battle of Midway is essentially over by the evening of June 4th.