Midway

Admiral Yamamoto, please.

He asked not to be disturbed.

It is most urgent.

Admiral Yamamoto?

Tokyo has been bombed.

When?

Ten minutes ago, Admiral.

Yokohama, Kawasaki and Yokosuka were also bombed.

His Imperial Majesty is unharmed, sir.

I personally phoned the palace. The Emperor is safe.

Damage?

Very little to Tokyo.

The other cities haven't reported in yet,

but it seems probable that they too were barely scratched.

How did they do it, Watanabe?

They launched long-range land-based bombers

from their carriers, B-25s.

They came in at treetop level,

they weren't even seen until they were over the city.

Tokyo... Bombed!

Sir, I understand your deep concern

for the Emperor's safety, but...

You may speak freely, Commander.

Sir, this raid is a blessing in disguise.

The Americans have done us an invaluable service.

They have proven you correct.

Our homeland is not invulnerable to attack.

After today, there will be no more

foot-dragging by the general staff.

Now they will certainly approve your Operation M-I.

Lieutenant Colonel James H. Doolittle

led the raid with a force of 16 B-25s

and an all-volunteer crew of airmen.

Most of the planes carried three 500-pound demolition bombs

and single incendiary clusters,

which were dropped on oil stores,

factory areas and on some of the military installations of Tokyo.

A few planes went on to make minor strikes on Kobe, Yokohama and Nagoya,

with one bomb hitting the Japanese aircraft carrier Ryujo.

News of the raid has had a most heartening effect on American morale

and the morale of our allies,

while at the same time constituting a blow

to the prestige of the Japanese.

Yes, sir.

At his press conference today,

President Roosevelt was asked the following questions,

quote, "Mr. President, couldn't you tell us about that bombing?"

"Where did those planes start from and go to?"

He replied, "Yes, the time has now come to tell you."

"They came from our new secret base at Shangri-La." Unquote.

Well, my God, it's Captain Garth!

I was expecting some junior intelligence officer. Not air ops himself.

Well, this is an unexpected honor.

Yeah, like hell it is, Joe!

Admiral Nimitz sent me over here...

To chew out my ass, huh?

Officially, Joe, I'm supposed to question that estimate

of Japanese intentions you sent over.

Why so grim, Matt?

My God, I should think that Doolittle attack

would have you CINCPAC people dancing in the streets.

Not by a long shot. That damn raid could boomerang on us.

The fleet's still crippled.

We only got four carriers in the whole Pacific.

We need time to rebuild.

Now the boss is afraid Yamamoto's going to jump right back at us.

Question is, "Where?"

Well, we got all the latest intercepts right over here.

Here's a list of Japanese ships

that we suspect are gonna be assigned

to amphib operations south of Rabaul.

The Coral Sea!

That's where we think they'll strike next.

But something else is stirring, something out our way.

Joe, we need facts, not guesswork.

Matt, we've cracked Yamamoto's staff level code.

I know.

But that don't mean we just reel it off word for word like a song.

We get a flicker here and a glimmer there.

Missing pieces fall into place. These interceptions...

How much can you decipher?

Hell, 15 maybe...

Really decipher.

10%. 10...

That's one word in ten. For Christ's sakes, Joe, you're guessing!

We like to call it "analysis."

All right.

What are these indications you got

of something brewing back our way?

Got no hard clues yet.

What do you have, Joe?

An increase in radio traffic between Yamamoto's staff commanders.

And that's all?

Could be significant.

At least I feel that something is stirring.

All right.

I'll take that list of Jap warships

you feel are heading for Coral Sea.

Nimitz may wanna send Jack Fletcher's task force down there

to find out what the hell is going on.

We'll see how your 10% guesswork pays off, huh?

As for the Black Chamber code-crackers, I thank you, Matt.

Hey, Joe, could I ask you something personal, very personal?

Certainly.

You know, it really stinks down here.

How often do some of your people take a bath?

Bath? My God, I don't know... What day is it?

Forget it, Joe.

Any new Yamamoto intercepts?

Here's a first mention of something they're calling "AF,"

whatever that means.

AF?

Captain!

Tom? Dad.

My God, Tom.

When did you get in? I didn't know...

Last night.

This is beautiful.

Why didn't you write me you were coming?

I've been assigned to Kaneohe.

Well, I'll finally get to see something of you.

Three years! You look great, Tom.

Really great.

So do you, Dad.

Kaneohe, huh? What squadron?

VF-8.

You'll like it out there.

Your CO used to be my wingman when we were flying off the old Langley.

Could we talk somewhere?

Sure. Here.

I phoned you from Guam, the day you graduated.

Yeah, I heard later.

Sorry I missed the call.

I guess your mother was there.

Yeah.

How is she?

Recovered from the divorce, I guess.

Oh, that's good.

I was hoping maybe we could...

Dad...

I've fallen in love with a Japanese girl.

I want to marry her.

I need your help.

I damn well guess you do, tiger.

She's been arrested here in Honolulu.

How the hell did you manage that?

Training in San Diego and getting mixed up

with a Japanese girl here in Honolulu?

She was a student at San Diego State. I met her there.

Wait a minute. She was arrested here in Honolulu?

Her parents live here.

She wouldn't marry me without their consent, so she came out to see them.

Apparently, the FBI has some sort of information on her folks,

so the Army picked her up, too.

Well, that figures.

Haruko was born here.

She's as loyal as either you or me.

Anyway,

the minute I got in, I went off to see where they're being held.

She wouldn't see me.

Why not?

I don't know.

But I did find out that she and her parents are gonna be sent back

to the mainland in a few days.

Sticks in your throat, doesn't it,

my wanting to marry a Japanese girl?

Sticks in your... Look, don't give me any of that racial bigot crap.

I don't care what color your girl is.

That's not the point...

Christ Almighty!

Six months after Pearl Harbor. Boy, you have one lousy sense of timing.

What's her name?

I'll see if I can get hold of the FBI report on her.

I wrote it down for you. Haruko Sakura.

But promise me one thing,

just don't do anything stupid

till I see what I can get hold of on this, huh?

That's a deal.

In my opinion, this entire plan is not only unnecessary,

but doomed to fail.

Admiral Kondo, Operation M-I has been conceived

by our most brilliant strategist.

We are all aware of Captain Kuroshima's

authorship, Commander, and his reputation.

But this time, the God of operations has conceived a monster.

Would you please explain, sir?

How am I expected to land my invasion forces on Midway,

unless the enemy airfields and shore batteries have been neutralized?

Sir, you've heard Admiral Nagumo say that his carriers

will obliterate the American defenses at Midway.

The enemy's land-based bombers

have a range of at least 400 miles more

than Nagumo's carrier planes.

His ships would be blown out of the sea

before he could launch his attack.

I took my carriers to Hawaii, where the risk was far greater

and destroyed the American fleet.

Where were the enemy land-based bombers then?

That was then, Nagumo, not now.

A surprise attack with a carrier task force is one thing.