In May 1942, Lt. Cmdr. Joe Rochefort was convinced the Japanese were planning an invasion of Midway Island. As usual, this was based on scraps of evidence: the Japanese moving forces to Saipan, the frequent use of the geographic code “AF” in radio traffic, and a Japanese seaplane flying near Midway transmitted that it was flying by AF. But there were doubts in Washington, where it was believed that Midway was a diversion, and that the real invasion was to come somewhere in the South Pacific. In order to prove that AF was Midway, Rochefort asked that a message be delivered by cable to Midway. They were ordered to send a radio message to Pearl Harbor that their salt-water

evaporator was broken and that water was running low. Two days later, an intercepted Japanese message reported that AF was running out of water.When Adm. Chester Nimitz scheduled a meeting May 25 to make the final plans for the upcoming battle, there was one more contribution Rochefort and those working at Station Hypo would make, though it would be late.Rochefort was invited to the meeting to personally present the latest intelligence, but a few days prior a series of messages had been intercepted. As they were being translated and deciphered, it became clear that the

Continued on page 4

DAILY DIGEST

June 3, 2013 Vol. 2 Issue 33

Story by MC3 Phillip LadouceurFinal Maneuvers

Part 6 in a Series

Commanding OfficerCAPT Jeff S. RuthExecutive Officer

CDR John CummingsCommand Master Chief

CMDCM Teri McIntyrePublic Affairs OfficerLCDR Karin Burzynski

EditorMC2 (SW) Jason Behnke

Lead DesignerMC3 George J. Penney III

Nimitz News accepts submissions in writing. All. submissions are subject to review and screening. “Nimitz News” is an authorized publication for the members of the military services and their families. Its content does not necessarily reflect the official views of the U.S. Government, the Department of Defense, the Department of the Navy, or the Marine Corps and does not imply endorsement thereby.

Sailors from the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) and embarked Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 11 spent three days performing

community services for the Banjo Learning Center during a port visit to Phuket, Thailand, May 29-31.During the three separate days, Sailors were able

to assist in painting the walls and doors, cleaning the yard of broken glass, and putting up chain-link fence to keep people out of the classrooms at night.“People hop over the walls and take the children’s

toys and things,” said Pat Michel, from the Rotary Club of Patong Beach, who organized the service project. “This is very important.”According to Michel, the new learning center

is only in its second year and has grown and flourished through the work of volunteers like the Sailors.“The Navy comes once a year and we actually

save projects for you,” she said. “It’s because of you this school looks the way it does today.”What started as only brick walls, the learning

center has grown over the past year and now has a roof, bars in the windows, chain-link fence where the walls are separated from the roof, clean painted walls, and brand new flooring in the classrooms. “I was impressed by the work they got done in

such a short time,” said Michel. “They helped enormously and they were cheerful the whole time.”After painting, cleaning the yard and putting up

the fence, the Sailors were able to sit, eat and visit with the children.“Sometimes when you’re away from people you

love for a long time, you question your reasons behind leaving,” said Boatswain’s Mate Seaman Vanessa McClelland, a Nimitz volunteer. “This is a huge reason why I joined the Navy and I feel so blessed to have been a part of it. I really hope to be able to participate in another opportunity like this at our next port.”

Story and Photos by MC2 (SW) Jacquelyn D. ChildsLENDING A HAND

BMSN Vanessa McClelland visits with children during a COMSERV.

YNSN Cesar Deguzman (left) and HM2 Edgar Rodriguez paint a door at a learning center in Phuket, Thailand.

Page 2

It starts with a click; a Sailor adds a number to his counting device signifying another customer coming through the mess deck lines.

Moving around the mess decks during the breakfast rush, the last meal in his shift, Operations Specialist 2nd Class Christian De Knikker is ensuring he and his nine assistants have everything just right for the number of Sailors they are about to accommodate.“We’ll serve 800 people on a slow day and more

than 1,000 on a fast day,” said De Knikker.Cups of cereal line a rack, coffee is made, and

assorted condiments lay in the center of every table. “We make sure everything is staged right from

the coffee to the creamer and condiments to provide the best dining environment we can,” said De Knikker, one of four mess deck master-at-arms aboard the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68).It can be a daunting job feeding so many

hungry Sailors. The aft galley alone goes through approximately 12 six-gallon boxes of milk, eight boxes of cereal cups, ten pots of coffee and 86 bottles of ketchup a day.“It’s constant work, there’s barely a break,” said

Airman Apprentice Brandi Stallard, one of the

night crewmembers who clean the mess decks.Besides cleaning the tables and stocking the food,

Stallard takes out around 16 bags of trash during midnight rations (MIDRATS), the slowest meal time, to 36 bags during the busiest meal: breakfast.“It’s not the most glamorous job,” said De

Knikker, “but it’s a job you can be proud of. It’s a small part, but it’s satisfying to say I helped feed 5,000 Sailors.”Growing up on a farm, De Knikker can appreciate

a hard days work, but he knows success at the end of the day is not just measured by his own merit.“It’s a tall order to fill, but my guys are the

backbone of it all,” said De Knikker. “They’re kids fresh out of high school and they got great attitudes.”Great attitudes can be hard to come by in a

demanding job like this.“Music definitely helps bring out the good

attitudes around here,” said Stallard. “It helps when people say ‘thank you’ too.” Besides a simple thank you, things like pouring

out milk before throwing cereal cups in the trash, taking all trash with you when you’re done eating and reporting spills can help food service attendants make your dining experience better.

Story and Photo by MC3 (SW) Devin WrayMASTERS MESSTHEOF

Page 3

Gathering Forces

On May 26, Vice Adm. William Halsey’s Task Force 16, with the aircraft carriers Enterprise and Hornet,

pulled into Pearl Harbor. Halsey was suffering from dermatitis so bad that he hadn’t slept in days and had lost more than 20 pounds. He would spend nearly two months in the hospital recovering, but not before visiting Nimitz and recommending his replacement: Rear Adm. Raymond Spruance.With Spruance in charge of Task Force 16, that would mean that Rear Adm. Frank Fletcher, who was senior to Spruance, would be in charge of the overall group from the aircraft carrier Yorktown. Both were fine officers, and Nimitz had confidence in both of them. But it meant that two black-shoed surface officers would command America’s carriers in the most important use of naval aviation in the war.

Yorktown

messages they had were essentially the Japanese battle plan.Arriving half an hour late, Rochefort handed a clutch of papers to Nimitz, telling him that it would explain everything.It wasn’t every detail of the Japanese plan, but it was enough. They now knew that there would be four enemy carriers, and that the carriers of Carrier Division 5, damaged in the Battle of Coral Sea, would not be participating in the invasion. They also knew the attack would come from the northwest, and it would happen June 3, though the very afternoon of the meeting, the Japanese high command postponed the attack until June 4. It would be enough.

Lt. Cmdr. Rochefort

On May 27, the Yorktown and its ten-mile-long oil slick pulled into Pearl Harbor, one day ahead

of schedule. Nimitz signed a special order allowing her to pull into Drydock Number One without first purging her stored aviation fuel. There was no time for that.The Yorktown had just finished a 101-day deployment, fought one of the major battles of the war, and limped the 3,500 miles home to Pearl. Fletcher thought he and his crew deserved a little rest. Nimitz agreed, but explained the situation.“We have to fix you up right away and send you out to Midway,” he said. He filled in Fletcher with all of the intelligence they had received.Wading into the water to inspect the Yorktown wearing hip boots over his uniform khakis, Nimitz surveyed the damage. The main power plant was operational, the airplane elevators were still working and the bomb damage on the flight deck was already patched. But the Yorktown had lost her radar and refrigeration system, and from frames 100 to 130 there were ruptures

Continued from page 1

Page 4

Repairs

The Yorktown was given liberty partly as a much needed rest and reward for their long cruise,

but also to get them out of the way of the workers that started repairing the ship. One thousand four hundred workers swarmed the ship, working around the clock. Even though blackouts were still in affect in the surrounding areas, welding torches and floodlights lighted the drydock. Some districts in Honolulu were without power, so great was the demand for electricity in Drydock Number One.No one bothered with blueprints or plans. Pieces of plywood were used to create templates to patch holes and then duplicated in steel, which were then welded and bolted into place. Work parties shored up sagging bulkheads. The overall sense of purpose was to save time. Make it work now, and it can be fixed later. Even Yorktown’s aircraft squadrons would be brought up to strength in patchwork-style, brought from another aircraft carrier.Nimitz gave Fletcher his orders. He was to hold the Yorktown in reserve, separate from Task Force 16, until all the Japanese carriers were accounted for. He was also told that if defeat seemed likely, or if there would be too many losses, to break off and retire.

in her hull and fuel-oil compartments, the cause of the trailing oil slick. It was estimated that it would take 90 days in a shipyard to properly fix her. Nimitz turned to the others inspecting the damage with him.“We must have this back in three days,” he said.There was a moment of silence, and a few of the men looked at each other briefly in surprise, but the response soon came back.“Yes, sir.”

After all, Midway was too far away from Japan for it to be easily held. The Americans could always get it back later.The goal was to preserve the American forces while hitting the Japanese as hard as they could.May 29, the Yorktown pulled out of the drydock and began taking on fuel, ammunition and provisions. Task Force 16 had already begun to leave the day before, the destroyers and cruisers leaving first. Nimitz visited Fletcher a final time. He had no more orders for them, and simply wished them good luck.Soon the Yorktown was underway, headed out to meet with Task Force 16 at a place 325 miles north of Midway that had been designated “Point Luck.” It was very near the spot that the judge of the Japanese war game had ruled the Americans would never attack from.

Adm. Nimitz

Page 5

Photos ByMCsN Derek harkins

(top Left)

MC3 Derek W. Volland(Right/Bottom Left)

THEAROUNDDECK PLATES

RP2 Joshua Smith sews on a Sailor’s 3rd class collar device in the Safety Office.

AM3 Cassandra Nelson positions a nose strut of an F/A-18F in the hangar bay.

AM1 Maten Sani loads a container with liquid oxygen.

Page 6

Channel 7Channel 6

1000 / 2200Big Miracle

1200 / 0000This Means

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1600 / 0400Austin

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0800 / 2000Extremely Loud

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Channel 5 Channel 29

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Seeking AFriend forthe End ofThe World

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Entrapment

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