Naval Air Station/Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth held a ceremony Friday marking the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Midway. The battle occurred in the Pacific Theater of World War II on June 3-6, 1942.
The battle between the United States and Japan came seven months after Pearl Harbor. The National World War II Museum describes Midway as "a key battle to secure dominance in the Pacific in World War II."
"This was one of the most strategic and significant naval battles in our history," said MA1 Roberto Villareal, the 2021 NASJRB sailor of the year.
During the battle, 307 Americans were killed. Villareal says those losses were tragic, but winning the battle shows "what we can do as a force when we come together."
"Soldiers, sailors, Marines, airmen, Coast Guardsmen, we're all brothers at arms,' Villareal said. "We all come together when that time comes for us."
Among those attending the ceremony was Bill McIntyre, an Air Force staff sergeant. McIntire, 101 years old, says he was in Washington D.C. the day Pearl Harbor was attacked.
"I was in a movie, watching Bing Crosby in White Christmas," McIntyre said. " When I walked out of there, the paperboys were hollering, 'extra, extra, extra!' Pearl Harbor has been hit."
McIntyre was stationed in Algeria. On DDay, he was in Italy.
"We liberated Rome, Italy that same day, June 6, 1944," McIntyre said. "In '45, when it was over in Europe, they were still getting us ready to go to Japan. They were loading the ships there in Italy."
He says the people killed at Midway two years earlier helped turn the Pacific theatre to an offensive posture. McIntyre says those veterans must be remembered, but civilians working in the U.S. should be remembered, too.
"The ladies working on the aircraft carriers and buying war bonds, they sacrificed just like we did," McIntyre said.
Villareal says current service members are proud to honor those who fought in World War II, saying Midway helped turn the war in the Pacific from a defensive fight to offensive posture.
"We are a war-fighting organization, so we have to look back at our roots and see where we started, the wars we won, the battles we won, and carry that into the future because we never know when we'll be called back into that again," Villareal said.
The Texas State Historical Association says 750,000 Texans fought in World War II, including 12,000 women. At the end of 2021, the National World War II Museum said just 11,599 veterans of the war were still alive.
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