The Waterbury Democrat., 1942-06-16
Navy Ensign Spotted Jap Fleet At Midway
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q 5dBd uol then carried out the rescue work for 10 days, saving the lives of 27 Amer ican airnen.
 Crews of these planes had an av- craze Of two hours sleep Q day for many days.
 This was what the partol planes, "eyes of the feet" call their normal work.
 But in addition and on a volun- teer basis, they made q daring night torpedo attack, the first on record by planes of their type.
 Lieutenant William Richards, 3i, Colllngswood, N. J., was selected 10 lead the four PBY planes, with crews totallng about 40. They scored a hit on an 5000 ton troop trans port and another ship which they could not identify but attacked be- cause 1t was the biggest they saw in the darkness.
 The Navy revealed that in the Midway battle, the first In which units Of hte Navy, Marines and Army every operated under sim command, the directing man was Captain Cyril T. Simard, California, commander of the Naval Air Sta- ton and senior officer on Midway.
 Simard, Captain Logan 0. Ram sey, Philadelphia, native of Wash ington, D. O., who directed the op- erations of the patrol planes; Con- mander MasSie Hughes, Selma, Ala, and Commander Robert c. Brizner, Piedmont, Calif told the story of the Navy air arms role with the aid of the men who fought the battle.
 No Rest For Planes
 "Our planes worked for long hours without rest and covered wide areas" Ramsay said. "The perform ance of all hands in bad weather provided information, upon the ac- curacy or inaccuracy of which might have depended the success or non success of the entire operation. They were working all the time and they brought in good information. It was a highly commendable performance
 Hughes said that in addition to their patrol and torpedo work, the plane crews, when aground for re- fueling and tuning, aided the ground crews instead of resting.
 They were in the air 12 to IA hours a day" he said. "They gave god evidence that there arc iron men among us"
 Commander Brizner explained that the navy planes were operating on routine patrol from Midway when Ensign Reid gave the first re- port of the enemy's approach.
 After that, our routine was ac- tolerated Brixner said. Tt Is our mission to get information without being seen, if possible, and to fight for it If necessary.
 "In some cases, men died for 1t, but they got it.'
 Ramsay said Lieut.. Chase's report on the approach of Japanese planes to Midway not only permitted Mid way to prepare its defense but en- abled submarine, which intercept- ed his message-sent in plain lan- gllage because of its extreme ur- gency-- to find the enemy fleet and put three torpedoes in one of the carriers sunk.
 Two Plane Groups Attacked
 The attack on Midway was made by two plane groups, toLalling about 100 planes, Ramsay said.
 The marines opened fire with anti-aircraft guns as the first high altitude bombers came in.
 T saw one of them come down just before dueked into the dugout which was my post of command during the attack" Ramsey said.
 '"rhe attack was more concen- trated than that on Pearl harbor, because the area was smaller. The marines, on the ground and in the air, did a great job"
 Ramsey said that 48 of the enemy planes were downed.
 He added that he believed the Japanese lost several hundred planes from their carriers, and more on seaplane tenders.
 The men who came back from the dead after they had been shot down to float for days on rubber rafts told their stories. Some had been wounded. some had been on rafts which had capsized under the at- tack Of sharks. attracted by the blood which leaked through holes.
 Aviation ordnance man Pilip l.. Fhllghum. 20. Portland. Ore, said the plane on which he was bonn bardier vas attacked by three Jap- anese fighters. One which attacked from the front was shot down. As Ffilghum reached for a fresh supply Of ammunition two more planes at- tackled from behind The plane was set afire and it started to fall, out of control.
 nombs Are Released
 f started aft from my position in the noGe of the ship" Fulghum said. Then I remembered had bombs hanging from the wings. ! went back and released them.
 "As [ started aft again the am- mmniti0n in the plare started ex- plodlng from the Intense heat. [