George gay midway movie

In the film Midway, he was portrayed by Brandon Sklenar. He attended the decommissioning ceremony of USS Midway on April 11, In May Gay was named to the Georgia Aviation Hall of Fame. [9]. American squadrons attack the Japanese fleet without success, and a surviving crew member George H. Gay Jr. in the water as the persistent attacks disrupt the fleet from launching their counterstrike. Charlton Heston narrates this featurette to the movie, Midway, produced in Short interviews with Ensign George Gay, Maxwell Leslie and Joseph Rochford.

Midway: Directed by Roland Emmerich. With Ed Skrein, Patrick Wilson, Woody Harrelson, Luke Evans. The story of the Battle of Midway, told by the leaders and the sailors who fought in it. George Gay, the downed torpedo bomber memorialized at the American History Museum, watched this decisive action from the water. He later recalled, “The carriers during the day resembled a very.

Some things just stick in my mind — names, dates, images. When I was a kid, I enjoyed watching war movies with my father. This year marks the 75th anniversary of the battle, fought between June 4 and 7. At the beginning of , the Japanese appeared to be unstoppable. They had bombed Pearl Harbor, sank the British warships H.

Prince of Wales and H. Repulse, conquered U. Japanese forces did almost exactly that, defeating Allied forces in battle after battle. There are too many things about this stunning and somewhat unexpected American victory to sum up in one short column, but the beginning of this fascination the Battle of Midway was watching that movie with Dad.

When George Gay appeared on-screen, Dad remarked on him, talking as if he knew him personally. Ensign Gay was the sole survivor of his unit during the battle. Flying from the aircraft carrier U. Pressing home their attack despite not having fighter cover, all 10 planes were shot down.

bruno midway

Twenty-nine naval aviators died in the attack, and George Gay was left alone, wounded and floating in the Pacific with little chance of survival. There, he witnessed the most stunning 15 minutes in the history of the U. He had an unobstructed view of the attack of several more U. Navy air units on the Japanese carriers. Through a combination of skill — and frankly, luck — our forces scored hits on three of the four Japanese carriers in close succession, dooming all three.

The fourth Japanese carrier was located and sunk several hours later. Against all odds, Ensign Gay was located and rescued. After recuperating from his wounds, he later returned to combat duty, but he never stopped telling the tale of his lost comrades and their attack. As much as I have read about the Battle of Midway, that scene from the movie remains the one thing I always remember — the image that brings the battle into focus for me.

On Memorial Day, we remember the men and women who died in service to our country. George Gay did what all sole survivors do — they tell the story of their fallen comrades. They bear witness to the sacrifice that was made. Oftentimes, history might not know the full story of what happened were it not for their witness. So, as we remember the dead, we also should be grateful to the survivors who bear their witness.

We should listen carefully to those stories. When he died, his body was cremated.

He can be contacted at murdockcolumn yahoo. The opinions reflected are his own. On Ensign Gay and the Battle of Midway.