HEROES: Three Days of Blood & Glory

The U.S. people can see for themselves this week how the tide of battle was turned in mid-Pacific on three hot and sunlit days early last June. From the Navy came pictures* of the Battle of Midway, pictures that show destruction and death, courage and valor.

They show how the Japs, striking early in the morning—hoping to surprise tiny Midway as they had surprised Pearl Harbor—bombed oil tanks (see cut) and hangars. They show the flag-draped bodies of U.S. soldiers and marines killed by Jap bombs.

But there are also magnificent glimpses of Flying Fortresses roaring off the sandy airports to attack the oncoming fleet, of Navy fighter planes high in the air over fiercely burning Jap vessels. And there is ample evidence of crashed and burning Jap planes on the island.

The Jap attacked before sunup. One dramatic shot shows U.S. troops raising the flag at reveille while the smoke of battle rises beyond. The flag did not come down. This was an American epic.

* Some of them enlargements from color film shot on the scene by ace Hollywood Director John Ford, a lieutenant commander in the Navy.