SIDEBAR 1: Midway Today

The US Navy closed its base on Midway in 1997. Midway Atoll was designated a National Wildlife Refuge under the control of the US Fish and Wildlife service. The operational and logistical support of this remote location is expensive.The USFWS entered an agreement with a private corporation . At virtually no cost to the American taxpayers, Midway Phoenix Corporation maintains the islands infrastructure.

Midway is essential wildlife habitat for 15 species of sea birds, monk seals, green sea turtles and many species of shark. The facility has been converted into a Eco-Tourism destination. The barracks have been converted into comfortable but spartan guest rooms. Midway also has resident MD, a clinic and a hyperbaric chamber.
Eating in the mess hall food made me nostalgic of my Navy days. Luckily, Midway Sport Diving is adjacent to the Midway Sport Fishing. Many a lunch time was spent on the picnic tables outside the dive shop eating fresh sushi , smoked Ahi and grilled Mahi-Mahi.
Midway’s only allows a maximum of 100 guests at one time. From my observation, 80% of these guests, are bird watchers and/or navy veterans. Another 15% are sport fishermen. Divers are a decidedly small minority. With the average number of divers on island being 6, this means divers get access spectacular diving sites and the kind of diving flexibility that is often unheard of in most places.
Typically, in the early morning a massive rain shower drenches everything. After five minutes the sun is out again, and a spectacular rainbow portends another great day of diving. So in addition to large amounts sunscreen bring rain gear!
You can contact Midway Sport Fishing&Diving at telefone: 770-254-8326, email: dg@peachcity.com, www.midwaydive.com


MIDWAY ISLAND-HISTORICAL SIDEBAR

The epic battle at Midway occurred on 3 June 1942. This was less than 6 moths after the Japanese had humiliated and destroyed the US Navy at Pearl Harbor. At Midway the Americans not only scored its first decisive defeat against Japan but from that point on the Japanese Navy would always be on the strategic defensive.

The Japanese plan at Midway was two fold, first capture the US Naval base on Midway Island and second to engage the three remaining US Aircraft carriers and destroy them. If the Japanese would have succeeded. The Hawaiian Islands would have be easily invaded and the west coast of the US would have been in jeopardy.

Many historians believe that no matter what the outcome at Midway, the US (because of its massive industrial capacity) would have eventually defeated the empire of Japan. But, if the US lost at Midway and the America war effort would have to focus on the defense of he western coast. So it would have taken the Americans another year before they could engage in the war in Europe in a meaningful way. As such, the outcome of the war against the Nazi's was directly related to what happened on the island that is mid-way between Japan and California.