Midway was an improbable victory, but nothg was more improbable than what happened that day to Ensign Gee H. Gay.
Contents:
- GEE H. GAY, 77; WAS SOLE SURVIVOR IN A MIDWAY ATTACK
- ENSIGN GEE H. GAY'S FATEFUL DAY, JUNE 4, 1942
- DECIDG WHETHER TO LIVE OR DIE: GEE GAY, MIDWAY SURVIVOR
- GEE GAY JR.; SURVIVED BATTLE OF MIDWAY
- GAY, SURVIVOR OF BATTLE OF MIDWAY, DI
GEE H. GAY, 77; WAS SOLE SURVIVOR IN A MIDWAY ATTACK
An oral history om Lt. Gee Gay, the sole survivor of Torpedo Squadron 8 durg the Battle of Midway. * george gay battle of midway *
Then-Ensign Gee Gay, U. None of Torpedo 8’s 15 Devastators returned, and Gay was the sole survivor of all who took off that morng om Hor. Naval History and Herage Command, Gay remembers the Battle of Midway and his squadron.
Gee Gay, USNR: Well, as you know Torpedo [Squadron] 8 was anized Norfolk [Virgia] and I thk you know the history of the [aircraft rrier USS] Hor [CV 8] and where we went and what we did.
Gay, Jr. Gay at Pearl Harbor Naval Hospal wh a nurse and a py of the Honolulu Star-Bullet newspaper featurg acunts of the battle. Gay’s book Sole Survivor dit that the date of this photograph is probably June 7, 1942, followg an operatn to repair his jured left hand and a meetg wh Adm.
ENSIGN GEE H. GAY'S FATEFUL DAY, JUNE 4, 1942
Gay wasn’t actually the squ * george gay battle of midway *
Gay? Gay, 77; Was Sole Survivor In a Midway Attack ADVERTISEMENTOct. Gay Jr., a pilot who was the only survivor of his torpedo squadron the battle of Midway, and who drifted the sea as the most important naval battle of World War II unfold around him, died on Friday at Kenntone Hospal here.
Gay flew a Douglas Devastator torpedo plane an attack on Japane warships near Midway Island on June 4, the plan his squadron were shot down, and he was the only one of 30 men Torpedo Squadron 8 to survive. Gay watched the Amerin dive bombers hurtle out of the clouds to attack Japane aircraft rriers and found himself "cheerg and hollerg wh every h. Gay ma personal appearanc for the Navy, spreadg the news of the victory at Midway.
That victory -- achieved by an Amerin fleet wh only three heavy rriers agast four heavy Japane rriers and three light on -- was a turng pot the war that Gay was a Trans World Airl pilot for 30 years after the war. Gay toured the untry wh the film's stars, Charlton Hton and Henry Fonda, to promote the film. A native of Wa, Tex., he eventually moved to is survived by his wife, Esther Huffman Bevacqua Gay, and two stepchildren.
DECIDG WHETHER TO LIVE OR DIE: GEE GAY, MIDWAY SURVIVOR
For Ensign Gee H. Gay, Jr. of Wa, Texas, the morng of June 4, 1942 began wh groggy trepidatn. Wh knowledge of a large Japane vasn fleet movg towards Midway Island outnumberg the assembled Amerin naval force, Gay did not sleep well., * george gay battle of midway *
Gay, 77; Was Sole Survivor In a Midway Attack. Gay wasn’t actually the squadron’s sole survivor, but he was as disputably brave as the two others om Torpedo Eight who survived the battle that day.
GEE GAY JR.; SURVIVED BATTLE OF MIDWAY
Narrative of events durg the Battle of Midway by Ens. Gee Gay -- sole survivor of VT-8 (Hor's torpedo bombers) * george gay battle of midway *
Historians generally agree that the most ntemporaneo statements are the most reliable; therefore, this narrative of Gay’s actns and observatns on 4 June is drawn om the ial statements he ma to his rcuers and to the Navy shortly of VT-8’s Green PilotsThree days before the battle, Litenant Commanr John Waldron, the manr of Torpedo Eight, addrsed his pilots their ready room on board the Hor, ncludg at one pot, “You might want to tidy up your personal affairs and wre a letter home jt se some of don’t get back.
The dwdlg formatn was still om the rriers when two Zero moved to attack Gay’s plane. A One-Plane AttackGay began jkg his plane, si-slippg between the Zero’ mache-gun bursts, drawg ever closer to the neart rrier.
As Gay closed toward the rrier, she began swgg to starboard to avoid his torpedo.
GAY, SURVIVOR OF BATTLE OF MIDWAY, DI
* george gay battle of midway *
He was gog the elevators, Gay kept the Devastator’s nose up as the bomber dropped toward the sea. Gay grabbed the black seat chn and held over his head, wag until the pilot fished his n. From Rcue to NimzAll that day, Gay floated the sea.
Meet Ts, the wife of Midway pilot Gee H. Gay. * george gay battle of midway *
Gay spread his arms horizontally, which was the “roger” sign for beg okay.
Gee Gay Jr., 77, who beme a natnal hero as the only aviator of his 30-man squadron to survive the Battle of Midway World War II. * george gay battle of midway *
It was Admiral Chter Nimz, the Pacific Fleet Gay tried to e to attentn lyg down, Admiral Nimz said: “Relax son. He told Gay that people back home were qutng what the Navy had been dog sce Pearl Harbor. After he appeared on the ver of Life, 20th Century Fox wanted to make a movie about San Diego, Gay set asi time to vis many of the widows and fiancé of the lost pilots.
It has been 65 years sce the pivotal Battle of Midway changed the urse of World War II. Ensign Gee Gay flew a formatn of 15 torpedo bombers and watched as every other plane his squadron were shot down as they approached the Japane aircraft rriers. * george gay battle of midway *
Admiral Nimz didn’t subscribe to the talk about Gay. There, he earned an Air Medal for his numero bat the war, Gay beme a mercial airle pilot and enjoyed an unblemished 30-year reer wh Trans World Airl.
View John Ford’s Torpedo Squadron 8, below:Sourc:Audrey Faye Ellison, Torpedo Squadron Eight widow, Gay, Actn Dispatch, 5 June 1942, RG 38, Natnal Archiv and Rerds Admistratn, College Park, MD (hereafter NARA), urty of John B.