RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The Battle of Midway took place June 4-7, 1942, only six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor and one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea; and
WHEREAS, The battle was waged northeast of the Midway Islands, 1,300 miles northwest of Honolulu, Hawaii; and
WHEREAS, The U.S. Navy was under the prodigious command and leadership of Admirals Chester Nimitz, Frank J. Fletcher, and Raymond A. Spruance who respectively led the USS Hornet, the USS Enterprise, and the USS Yorktown; and
WHEREAS, Admiral Nimitz sent an uncoded message as a ruse to determine where Japanese forces planned to attack and the technique helped American cryptanalysts determine the date and location of the attack, enabling the U.S. Navy to prepare its own ambush; and
WHEREAS, The Battle of Midway was the scene of the great sea-air battle which was the turning point in the Pacific war; and
WHEREAS, Americans will never forget the heroism of Lieutenant Commander John C. Waldron and the brave members of his squadron of torpedo bombers who perished during the Battle of Midway; and
WHEREAS, The victory of the Battle of Midway played a pivotal role in preventing further advancement of Japanese forces in the Pacific Theater of World War II, and many historians believe it changed the outcome of the war; and
WHEREAS, All four of Japan's large aircraft carriers Akagi, Kaga, Soryu and Hiryu, which were part of the six-carrier force that attacked Pearl Harbor six months earlier, and a heavy cruiser were sunk, while the U.S. only lost the carrier USS Yorktown and one destroyer; now, therefore
BE IT RESOLVED, That we, the Mayor and the members of the Chicago City Council, assembled this 24th day of May, 2017, do hereby commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the U.S. Navy's naval and air victory at the Battle of Midway; and
WHEREAS, In 1949 the Chicago City Council officially renamed Chicago Municipal Airport as Chicago Midway Airport to emphasize the airport's "geographical position" betw...
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