"Victory at Midway" Shirt in Youth sizes

Our original design recognizes the Victory at Midway and is packed with meaning for people who love the history of WWII, including detailed profiles of the carriers as they were during this battle; the primary planes used; the islands, with ""AF"" marked on them; the dates of the battle; and, the 48-star American flag that flew on the USS Enterprise.

The shirt:

• Navy blue - Unisex shirt for kids - Printed on a super soft 6 oz 100% USA grown cotton shirt that has been pre-washed to reduce shrinkage. Youth Sizes: M - XL.

This design is also available in a crewneck shirt, women's v-neck shirt, long-sleeved shirt, crewneck sweatshirt, long-sleeved shirt with UV protection, sticker, and a magnet.

Browse through other WWII themed products in this collection. 

Historical accounts and background

The Naval History and Heritage Command has an online library that contains a very interesting publication from 1943: Combat Narratives — Battle of Midway, June 3-6, 1942

As explained in a January 8, 1943 forward:

While one can find later accounts that may be more thorough, this document provides detailed accounts and is well worth reading.

It includes this summary of losses:

Summary of American losses

Ships: Yorktown [carrier] and Hammann [destroyer] sunk.
Planes: About 150 lost in action or damaged beyond repair.
Personnel: 92 officers and 215 men.

And this observation:

""Both Admiral Spruance and Admiral Fletcher have pointed out that ""in a duel between CV's [carriers] the side which is able to strike the first blow against enemy CV's whose planes are on board wins."" At Midway we won in precisely this manner. We were able to do this because we knew of the enemy's presence, the approximate composition of his force, and because we had calculated correctly his method of approach. The Battle of Midway was essentially a victory of intelligence."" [emphasis added]

The 59-page document ends with this quote from Admiral Nimitz:

""The performance of officers and men was of the highest order, not only at Midway and afloat, but equally so among those at Oahu not privileged to be in the front line of battle. I am proud to report that the cooperative devotion to duty of all those involved was so marked that, despite the necessarily decisive part played by our three carriers, this defeat of the Japanese arms and ambitions was truly a victory of the United States' armed forces and not of the Navy alone.""

Our thanks to Martin Quinn for his extensive help in ensuring accuracy of this design.