VT - 8 Torpedo Squadron 8 ( VT - 8 ) was a United States Navy squadron of World War II torpedo bomber s . VT - 8 was assigned initially to the Air Group of the aircraft carrier " USS Hornet " , joining " Hornet " shortly after her commissioning in October 1941 . After heavy losses in the Battle of Midway , VT - 8 was assigned to USS " Saratoga " . When " Saratoga " was disabled on 31 August , VT - 8 was transferred to Henderson Field on Guadalcanal , operating there until November 1942 . Due to heavy cumulative losses on Guadalcanal , VT - 8 was then withdrawn and disbanded . A second VT - 8 was established in 1943 , and served on USS " Bunker Hill " until the end of the war . Midway . VT - 8 ' s first and best - known combat mission came during the Battle of Midway on 4 June 1942 . Flying the obsolete Douglas TBD Devastator s , Commander John C . Waldron ' s 15 planes were all shot down during their unescorted torpedo attack on Japan ese aircraft carriers . The squadron did not destroy any enemy aircraft with their defensive rear . 30 - caliber machine guns , nor did they damage any of the Japanese carriers . Only one member of VT - 8 who flew from " Hornet " on that day survived in the action , Ensign George Gay . Ensign Gay was rescued the day following the battle . Torpedo 8 was afterwards awarded the American Presidential Unit Citation . Torpedo 8 was the first squadron equipped with Grumman ' s new TBF - 1 Avenger , a bigger , faster , longer - ranged replacement for the TBD . When " Hornet " sailed to the Pacific , a detachment of the squadron under the command of Lt . Harold " Swede " Larson remained in Norfolk , Virginia to receive the first shipment of the new aircraft . Larson ' s detachment arrived at Pearl Harbor the day after " Hornet " sailed for Midway . Six of the squadron ' s Avengers were flown to Midway under the command of Lt . Langdon K . Fieberling to participate in the battle . These planes were the first Navy aircraft to attack the Japanese fleet that day . They attacked without fighter cover , and five of the Avengers were shot down , with only Ensign Albert K . Earnest and CDR ( then Radioman 2 / c ) Harry Ferrier surviving . A list of the fallen : Pilots of VT - 8 ' s Avenger detachment lost : VT - 8 ' s losses have been attributed to several causes . " Hornet " ' s CAG , Stanhope C . Ring , kept the group ' s fighter escort at high altitude in order to cover the dive bombers and to give the Wildcats an altitude advantage . This decision was supported by Admiral Marc Mitscher , then commanding officer of " Hornet " . Ring also led the group on an incorrect heading , so the dive bombers never made contact with the Japanese fleet . Commander Waldron made repeated attempts to take over the formation by radio before leading VT - 8 off on his own . Waldron ' s initiative coupled with Ring ' s faulty tactics led to VT - 8 attacking the Japanese force without fighter or dive bomber support . It is important to note , however , that all of the carrier - based torpedo squadrons suffered heavily in the battle , including VT - 3 , which attacked with fighter escort . Larson ' s detachment of VT - 8 that remained at Pearl Harbor was loaded aboard USS " Saratoga " when she was sent to reinforce the forces at Midway . They were later transferred to " Hornet " where they learned of the loss of their comrades . VT - 8 was reconstituted with this detachment as nucleus , and was reassigned to " Saratoga " . South Pacific . VT - 8 flew from " Saratoga " during the initial stages of the Guadalcanal Campaign . In the Battle of the Eastern Solomons , VT - 8 assisted in sinking the light carrier " Ryūjō " . When " Saratoga " was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine , the squadron was assigned to Henderson Field on Guadalcanal , where it served as part of the Cactus Air Force . VTR - 8 fought there to the point where all aircraft were disabled , and then operated as a single - aircraft unit , as one plane at a time was put back into service by salvaging parts ( often themselves damaged ) from other planes . VT - 8 pilots and air crew also participated in the ground defense of Henderson Field , assisting to fend off Japanese infantry attacks on 24 – 26 October 1942 . VT - 8 ' s last official mission was flown on 15 November 1942 , against damaged transports from the last major Japanese convoy to the island . After leaving Guadalcanal and returning to the United States , the squadron was disbanded . Central Pacific . A new Torpedo Squadron 8 was established in 1943 as part of the new Carrier Air Group 8 ( CVG - 8 ) . It was assigned to the newly commissioned aircraft carrier " Intrepid " at Norfolk ( Virginia ) , in November 1943 . After training in the Caribbean , VT - 8 left " Intrepid " at Pearl Harbor in January 1944 . Here , VT - 8 was assigned to USS " Bunker Hill " , in March 1944 . VT - 8 attacked Palau , Yap , Ulithi , and Woleai on 30 March and 1 April 1944 . Truk , Satawan , Ponape , and Hollandia on New Guinea were attacked a month later . CVG - 8 then took part in the Marianas Campaign between 12 June and 10 August 1944 . VT - 8 flew sorties in the Battle of the Philippine Sea and the Battle of Leyte Gulf . The Western Carolines were attacked in September , Okinawa , Luzon , and Formosa were attacked in October and November 1944 . For this deployment on " Bunker Hill " , CVG - 8 was awarded a Presidential Unit Citation . In June 1945 , VT - 8 trained with the USS " Saratoga " , but the did not deploy . CVG - 8 ( including VT - 8 ) was disestablished after the end of the war . Awards . Torpedo Eight won two Presidential Unit Citations : one for Midway , and one for Guadalcanal . Its members also won more than fifty medals for valor in combat . Literature . Herman Wouk ' s novel " War and Remembrance " pays tribute to Torpedo 8 , whose pilots he called " the soul of America in action . "