June 7, 1942: The Battle of Midway

The USS Enterprise, CV-6

June 7, 1942: The U.S. Navy defeats the Imperial Japanese Navy in the battle of Midway, near Midway Island, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

The U.S. lost 307 people and the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown, with the carriers USS Enterprise and USS Hornet emerging intact. The Japanese lost over 3,000 people, and 4 carriers. This was as bad a defeat for them as Pearl Harbor, 6 months earlier, was for America.

This was the turning point in the Pacific Theater of World War II, and essentially guaranteed that Japan would not be able to successfully defend is ill-gotten Empire. Military historian John Keegan called it "the most stunning and decisive blow in the history of naval warfare." Naval historian Craig Symonds called it "one of the most consequential engagements in world history, ranking alongside Salamis, Trafalgar and Tsushima Strait, as both tactically decisive and strategically influential."

(Salamis: 480 BC, Greece beats Persia, and ends the threat of Persian invasion of the Balkan Peninsula for the next 1,200 years. Trafalgar: 1805, Britain beats France, and ends the threat of Napoleonic France invading. Tsushima: 1905, the Japanese themselves beating Russia.)

That version of the USS Enterprise, CV-6, nicknamed "The Big E," "The Gray Ghost" and "The Galloping Ghost," was launched in 1936, decommissioned in 1947, and scrapped in 1958. Its nuclear-powered replacement, CVN-65, was launched in 1961 and retired in 2017. It was because of these two ships that Gene Roddenberry named the starship in Star Trek the Enterprise. A 3rd carrier with the name, CVN-80, is under construction, and could be launched as soon as 2025.

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June 7, 1942 was a Sunday. This is widely believed to be the birthdate of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, although it is not known for sure.

It was the off-season for the NFL and the NHL. There was no NBA yet. But there was not just a full slate of Major League Baseball games, but a full slate of doubleheaders:

* The New York Yankees split with the Cleveland Indians at Yankee Stadium. The Indians won the opener 5-4. Indian starter Joe Heying had nothing, and was taken out in the 1st inning. But Al Smith went the rest of the way, and outpitched Tiny Bonham. Frank Crosetti and Tommy Henrich hit home runs in defeat. The Yankees won the nightcap 13-1. Henrich, Charlie Keller and Joe Gordon hit home runs, backing Spud Chandler.

* The New York Giants got swept by the St. Louis Cardinals at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. The Cards won the 1st game 4-1, and the 2nd game 2-0.

* The Brooklyn Dodgers swept the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. "Dem Bums" won the 1st game 8-4. They won the 2nd game 4-3, when Pete Reiser singled home the winning run in the top of the 10th inning.

* The Boston Red Sox swept the Chicago White Sox at Fenway Park. The final score in both games was 3-2. However, the 2nd game only lasted 8 innings. At the time, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts had a 6:59 PM curfew for Sunday events.

* The St. Louis Browns swept the Philadelphia Athletics at Shibe Park. The Browns won the 1st game 5-2, and the 2nd game 7-1.

* The Detroit Tigers won the 1st game against the Washington Senators, 6-4 at Griffith Stadium in Washington. The Senators won the 2nd game, 8-0.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates swept the Philadelphia Phillies at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. The Bucs won the 1st game 5-4, when Elbie Fletcher and Bob Elliott led off the bottom of the 10th with back-to-back doubles. As the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania also had a Sunday night curfew, the 2nd game only went 7 innings, and the Pirates won 8-6.

* And the Cincinnati Reds swept the Boston Braves at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. The Reds won the opener 6-2, and the nightcap 3-2.