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Lot #2131
Battle of Midway (5) Letters

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Estimate: $200+
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Description

Collection of five letters concerning the Battle of Midway, including: an ALS by Rear Admiral Ralph J. Arnold, three pages, in part: "I think my most vivid recollection is of the last day, two days after the battle, when a salvage party of about 150 of us returned aboard. There were some fires smoldering, so the destroyer Hammann came alongside to give us pressure on the fire mains…We still weren't sure we wouldn't be attacked, so it was agreed that the trouble signal would be the firing of a machine gun…After I had been below decks about 5 minutes one of the men called to me that the machine guns were firing, so I started topside. On the way up I felt two torpedoes hit the ship…I could see the Hammann sinking fast…When she sank, several of her men were in the water and we helped as many as we could"; an ALS by Rear Admiral William H. Ashford, Jr., one page, in part: "I missed the Battle of Midway as I was detailed to bring Admiral Halsey back to the US for treatment"; a TLS by Arnold E. True, one page, in part: "While the air attack on Yorktown by Japanese planes was in progress, I saw one of our fighter planes crash into the sea several miles from our ships…My lookouts sighted torpedoes coming at us and H. gunners began firing at their wakes in hope of exploding them…Two others went under our keel and exploded…I was thrown across the bridge by force of the explosion and broke two ribs"; a TLS by Rear Admiral J. M. Worthington, one page, in part: "The only part I played in the Battle of Midway was in command of the USS Benham"; and an ALS by Rear Admiral Worthington S. Bitler, with a two-page account of his experience on the USS Pensacola. In overall fine condition.

Auction Info

  • Auction Title: Military and the Cold War
  • Dates: #684 - Ended May 18, 2023