Turning Points: The Battle of Midway

Beginning on December 7, 1941, the Imperial Fleet of the Japanese Navy began one of the most destructive campaigns the world had seen in one day. Whenever December 7, 1941 is discussed, most people think of the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor. December 7 was a lot more. All across the Pacific Ocean, Japan attacked the US wherever it had bases, ships, or men stationed. In one fell swoop, Japan had come perilously close to wiping out the Pacific fleet in one day. By early 1942, the refueling station at Midway was one of the few targets left standing. However, the failure of Pearl Harbor for the Japanese was that while the Japanese planes took out most of the battleships at Pearl that Sunday morning in 1941, the planes failed to take out the US aircraft carriers. In 1942, Admiral Yamamoto, the man who designed the Pearl Harbor attack began to design a second attack on an atoll, northwest of Hawaii, called Midway. This time, Yamamoto would not carry out the attack. He would leave that to someone else in June 1942.

USS Hornet – One of the 3 Aircraft Carriers at the Battle of Midway

The Japanese on Paper
Had battles been fought on paper, the Japanese should have won easily. They had more experience pilots. They had more experienced commanders. They had planes which could fly farther and faster. They had more ships and support vessels. Vice Admiral Chūichi Nagumo was in charge of the fleet. His experience would play a key role. Nagumo’s greatest strength was he always did what he was told. He was a good soldier. He followed battle plans to the letter. However, these strengths would also be Nagumo’s undoing.

The Americans on Paper
Frank Jack Fletcher was an American Admiral. His greatest experience had come at the Battle of the Coral Sea in May of 1942. The Americans and Australians had repelled an attempt by the Japanese to invade Australia, New Guinea, and other South Pacific targets. As the Admiral in charge of the Yorktown, the Coral Sea had left the Yorktown near listless. Somehow, Fletcher over saw the refit of the Yorktown. In what should have taken months, was done in days as over 1,400 men put the aircraft carrier back on its proverbial feet. This was done out of need as they were not many US aircraft carriers left. At the Battle of Midway, the Japanese would have 4 of them while the Americans only 3. The Japanese had every advantage on paper. However, it was the advantage of paper that swung the battle.

The American Secret Weapon: The Code
The Americans were close to breaking the Japanese code system in the fall of 1941. To many code breakers, the failure to break the code before Pearl Harbor stuck in their craw. One such analyst was Joe Rochefort.  In the spring of 1942, the Japanese code JN-25, the operational code of the Imperial Navy, was extremely complex; more so than other Japanese codes. JN-25 contained 33,333 five-digit code groups. Rochefort and his decryption code team used guesswork to finally break the code in the week before Midway. It was an amazing accomplishment as the team was deciphering between 500 and 1,000 messages a day. The US then put out a message saying Midway was almost out of water. Within hours, Japanese messages begin chattering about AF having a water emergency. The code was broken and a trap was put in motion.

Joe Rochefort

The Battlefield
The military significance of the Midway Island was almost insignificant. The US had little use of the base early in the war. But for the Japanese, it would get them one step closer to Pearl Harbor. Once the code had been broken, Fletcher moved his fleet away from the islands to open up the islands and enabled the Japanese to show their hand.

The Battle
Nagumo sent seven Japanese scout planes to confirm that the American were not at Midway. Their own hubris of their attack plan would be their undoing. And in believing the plan to be invincible, Nagumo would not waver from it or put much stock in scouting. There would be no improvising, no changing of tactics. The US sent out over 20 scouts and found the Japanese fleet. Fletcher sent in torpedo bombers. However, initial attacks by US torpedo bombers on the Japanese fleet were a complete failure. All but 3 torpedo bombers were destroyed. This fact only cranked up Nagumo’s and the Japanese confidence.

When the first wave of Japanese planes attacked Midway, they failed to put the nail in the coffin. When word comes of a US aircraft carrier being sighted by a Japanese scout plane, Nagumo has to make make a key decision about whether to continue the attack on Midway or to go after the Aircraft Carrier. This was not part of the plan. The US aircraft carriers were supposed to be in Pearl Harbor. Nagumo chooses to reconfigure the bombs on his planes for an attack on the carriers. This would take an additional 60 minutes. To do this, the planes would be reconfigured on the decks of the aircraft carrier. It would be a fatal mistake.

When Fletcher’s attack force arrives to attack the Japanese carriers, the torpedo bombers continue a string of bad luck for the US. The first wave did no damage. The first wave of bombers got separated from its escort of fighters and were shot down easily by the Japanese fighters.

The Thach Weave – US Fighter Tactics which helped to destroy the Japanese planes. The Japanese had no answer to the confusion the tactic caused.

The second wave by the US was not going to make the same mistake. 6 US Wildcat fighters were set to face over 20 Japanese Zeroes in the skies over the Japanese aircraft carriers Akagi, Kaga, and Sōryū.  The Zero was a superior machine. It was faster, more maneuverable, and had more range. However, its one weakness was the fuel tank easily caught fire. In addition, the hubris of the Japanese commanders spread throughout the fighter ranks. In addition, they could not improvise. In what becomes known as the Thach Weave, US fighters fight in pairs but by flying inter-locking patterns which confuses the Japanese and they are unable to adjust to the American tactics. The bombers now had free reign to attack the JAkagi, Kaga, and Sōryū.

While US carriers were made of metal, Japanese carriers had wooden decks. In a mere five minutes, 3 out carriers were in flames. Between the bombs the US dropped, the Japanese carriers were sitting ducks with their own bombs on deck, the armaments underneath, and the wood. The battle was nearly over. Nagumo, despite losing the flagship, was not going to be stopped. He thundered on towards Midway. Despite only having 1 carrier to the 3 of the US, Nagumo pressed forward undaunted and undeterred. The Japanese found the Yorktown and thought they laid it waste with three bombs. Quick thinking by the US stopped the fire on the Yorktown. Nagumo thought the odds were closing to his favor. The Yorktown, while badly damaged could still float and would play a key role in the outcome of the battle.

 

The Japanese quickly regroup and attack what they think is another carrier but it is the Yorktown again. This time, the Yorktown is dead in the water. Nagumo thinks he has evened the odds. As Nagumo thinks he has taken out 2 carriers, he begins to attempt a final attack. Before the Yorktown is abandoned Fletcher sends out scout planes to find the final Japanese carriers. And the Americans find the final Japanese carrier. The Hiryū was hit with 4 bombs. A key to the sinking was that the Japanese pilots were eating below deck when the Americans arrived.

Midway reports for June 5 contained a variety of activity going on that day. For Fletcher and the US, a key to the battle was deciphering the reports that were coming in. While history records the key details, it also can reveal the small details. Fletcher had to sort through the large amount of data to make decisions. Here is a list of just June 5, 1942.

5 June, 1942.
Daily search, 10 planes, sector 250 to 020 to 250 miles. Co-verage about 100%.
0000 – Flight 102, 2 PBY5A’s with torpedoes off to attack transport group.
0130 – Submarine shelled Midway. Batteries returned fire. Three hits on SS are claimed.
0415 – Submarine reports large enemy force at 28-23 N., 179-09 W, at 1417 Zed.
0430 – All B-17′s in the air.
0510 – 1V102 requests MO’s.
0530 – Search group in the air.
0600 – 7V55 reports 3 men in boat, 29-08 N., 178-07 W.
0615 – V92 reports unable to locate target, unfavorable wea-ther, verify position, advise.
0625 – Ordered V92 to proceed to Kure.
0630 – 2V55 reports sighted 2 battleships bearing 264, dist-ance 125 miles, course 268, speed 15.
0632 – 2V55 reports ships damaged, streaming oil.
0700 – 4V58 reports 2 enemy cruisers bearing 286, distance 174, course 210, speed 20.
0719 – 7V55 reports 5 ships bearing 325, distance 200.
0735 – 7V55 reports 5 ships on course 338, speed 25, latitude 31-15, longitude 179-55.
0800 – 6V55 reports 2 battleships and one carrier afire, 3 heavy cruisers bearing 324, distance 240, course 310, speed 12.
0815 – 6V55 reports cruisers and destroyers screening burning carrier. Battleship well ahead.
0820 – 8V55 reports bearing 335, distance 250, one carrier course 245.
0821 – 10V55 reports ENTERPRISE on fire and sinking.
0850 – Submarine reports land plane out 279½°, distance 570.
0945 – 10V55 reports TF 16 bearing 020, distance 90, course 270, speed 25.
1000 – V92 reports making hits on Jap battleship.
1020 – 10V55 reports TF 16 bearing 018, distance 80.
1220 – 10V55 reports destroyer rescued crew of 1V58 (23P2).
1220 – Remains of Marine Air Group, 8 dive bombers, scored one hit on damaged cruiser to westward. Lost one plane by AA fire.
1250 – 7V55 picked up man at 20-27 N., 179-17 W.
1320 – Flight V92 in air to attack crippled carriers to north-ward.
1430 – V92 reports TF 16 bearing 322, distance 105, course 322, speed 25.
1430 – PT boat reports attacked by cruiser aircraft bearing 150, distance 170.
1545 – V93 on attack mission.
1610 – 1V56 reports one carrier, two battleships, three heavy cruisers, five destroyers, course 280, speed 10, bearing 325, distance 110, friendly ships.
1800 – V92 reports finding only one cruiser. Scored only near misses.
1845 – 2V56 reports being attacked by 12 enemy planes bearing 313, distance 350.
1930 – 5V93 dropped bomb bay tanks instead of bombs on enemy.

Nagumo limped home in defeat. The Americans, while losing the Yorktown, only lost over 300 men. The Japanese lost 3000 experienced sailors and airmen. For the Japanese it wasn’t the pilots who were the key loss, but rather the maintenance crews and the aircraft carriers. A lot of technical know how went down in the ocean. An invasion was deterred. A turning point in the war in the Pacific changed the course of the war. From now on, the Americans could rebuild their fleet, planes, and begin an offensive against the Empire of Japan. The Battle of Midway was the high water mark for the Japanese. Their navy nearly destroyed was now on the defensive. The battle also marked an important turning point as it showed the importance of aircraft carriers as the key to the Pacific theater of operations. Air power by sea was going to win the war. However, on June 6, 1942, the US had no strategy on how to defeat Japan. They only hoped to stop it. Midway changed that mindset.

“After a battle is over, people talk a lot about how decisions were methodically reached, but actually there’s always a hell of a lot of groping around.” – Jack Fletcher

For Fletcher, he groped better thanks to his ability to improvise and make adjustments throughout the battle. This trait would be a key for the Americans in the Pacific against the Japanese and in Europe against the Germans.

Dr. Seuss puts the Battle of Midway in perspective in 1942

Here are three excellent educational films about the Battle of Midway.

Teaching Reagan: Constructing a Unit Based on Argument

For the last 20 years, I have never been a big fan of the textbook. They serve a small purpose to a very small point. For me, the small point of the textbook is to have it be the basis for an argument. As a teacher of US History, I try to have my students make arguments and analysis based on facts. An opinion usually sneaks in here or there, but that is fine once in a while. The past week has found me ending a unit in my history classes. The foundation for the unit is the shift from a moderate populace to a more conservative one in the 1980s. At the center of this shift is none other than Ronald Reagan.

I have blogged about Reagan before. He is an enigma, a wildly popular president and for the life of I have a hard time understanding why sometimes as I look at the record. However, as a teacher, I have to make my own students make their own choices.

Whether it was SDI, the conservative movement, cartoons, supply side economics, or one of many other events, I have been slowly accumulating lessons about the Gipper. 20 years ago, he took up one day. Now, he takes up six. The reason for the change has been the effect Reagan still has on the Republican party and on middle America. I grew in Reagan country and still live here as an adult. I have not always agreed with his policies and I have not agreed with his legacy. For the students, the enigma of how Reagan became so influential is perplexing.

The Unit Begins
1. The Malaise
The Fallout of Watergate and Vietnam are examined in this introductory lesson. Topics include the Halloween Massacre, the continuing energy crisis, the election of 1976, the Iranian Hostage Crisis, and the continuing malaise during the Carter presidency.

2. Culture of the 1970s
Students learn about the fabulous and the dangerous late 1970s culture through my eyes. I talk about my days of nerd heaven between Star Wars and beginning to play Dungeons and Dragons. I also take about the scourge of Disco and the coming of Punk. New technologies are also discussed like the Microwave and cable TV.

3. Reagan and his first term
In the third lesson, I finally get to Reagan. We discuss his background of growing up in nearby Tampico and Dixon and his early career. We reminisce about HUAC and discuss his time as Governor of California. Finally, we get to the election of 1980. After a short PPT presentation, the students read about his first term and discuss things that went well and things that didn’t. Students discuss the merits of his presidency and do a cartoon worksheet which.

4. The Great Communicator
Five speeches are examined as students make a product about Reagan’s speaking ability. A Time for Choosing, the Challenger Speech, Tear Down this Wall, Evil Empire Speech, and the Iran Contra Speech. The goal is to break down the elements of what made Reagan and effective speaker. Here are two of the speeches…

5. Reaganomics
Students review Reagan’s first term. Then a discussion is held about why people are certain denominations of money. Bills are discussed and not coins. Then in small groups, they read a balanced account of economic indicators about Reaganomics. Students make a t-chart and place the items in either good or bad.

With the advice from former president Richard Nixon, Reagan concentrated on economic issues his first six months in office. Reaganomics was the name given to the supply-side economic theory which Reagan based his economic plans. It operated on the belief that the economy was struggling in large part because of excessive taxation. With more money going to taxes, individuals and corporations were unable to invest capital to stimulate growth. The plan called for massive tax cuts in order to stimulate investments. The economic growth would then `trickle down` to the workers. Supply side economics also called for budget cuts to counteract the loss of revenue from the tax cuts. Reagan followed this model in creating his budget plan in 1981. Reagan put together legislation that cut government expenditures by $40 billion and created a three-year tax cut plan for individual and corporate income taxes. The tax cut was the largest in history and was expected to jump-start the economy. However, after the bills passed in the summer of 1981, the country fell into the worst recession since the Great Depression.

Inflation averaged 12.5 percent when Reagan entered office, was reduced to 4.4 percent when he left.

Interest rates fell six points.

Eight million new jobs were created as unemployment fell.

An eight percent growth in private wealth.

According to the Statistical Abstract of the United States for 1996, the number of people (white, black, and Hispanic) below the poverty level increased in almost every year between 1981 (31.8 million) and 1992 (39.3 million).

We were $994 billion in debt in fiscal 1981, when Carter left off, and $2,867 billion when Reagan leaves office in fiscal 1989. The rough number is 2.85 times as much in 1989 as in 1981.

The primary reason the deficit grew during the Reagan years was the Cold War military buildup.

Tax cuts did revenues increased in fact in almost a straight progression from pre-Reagan years.

The trade deficit quadrupled.

The 1986 Tax Reform Act is widely considered to be the best piece of American tax legislation since the adoption of the income tax. It is the opposite of Reaganomics. Over its first five years, it closed more than $500 billion in loopholes and tax shelters. As a result:
•Major U.S. corporations that previously had paid little or nothing in income taxes due to loopholes were put back on the tax rolls, and corporate taxes were increased overall by a net of more $100 billion over five years.
•A huge wasteful tax-shelter industry for high-income individuals was shut down.
• Tax rates on capital gains income were raised to the same level as on other income.
• Millions of moderate-income working families got tax relief through a major expansion of the earned-income tax credit.
• Taxes on most families (on average, all but the best-off tenth) were reduced. (The table shows the tax changes by income group.)
• The income tax was substantially simplified for most filers.
The average annual growth rate of real gross domestic product (GDP) from 1981 to 1989 was 3.2 percent per year, compared with 2.8 percent from 1974 to 1981 and 2.1 percent from 1989 to 1995.

During the economic expansion alone, the economy grew by a robust annual rate of 3.8 percent. By the end of the Reagan years, the American economy was almost one-third larger than it was when they began.

When Reagan took office in 1981, the unemployment rate was 7.6 percent. In the recession of 1981-82, that rate peaked at 9.7 percent, but it fell continuously for the next seven years. When Reagan left office, the unemployment rate was 5.5 percent.

Real median family income grew by $4,000 during the Reagan period after experiencing no growth in the pre-Reagan years; it experienced a loss of almost $1,500 in the post-Reagan years.

The savings rate did not rise in the 1980s, as supply side advocates had predicted. In fact, in the 1980s the personal savings rate fell from 8 percent to 6.5 percent. If the median family was better off why did their savings go down?

In 1993 Clinton raised the taxes on the rich, the opposite of Reaganomics, opponents argued that this would stop the growing economy. That did not happen.

Not surprisingly, students understand most of the economic discussion held. As a class we discuss which fact goes on which side. Most of the time it is clear cut, but there are some facts up for debate. Students look at a graph and answer some questions about the chart and conservative thought. Then, using the t-chart, the students determine whether Reagan should be put on the $10 bill replacing Alexander Hamilton.

6. Foreign Affairs
Students review what they already know about Reagan and foreign affairs from his speeches. Then a cartoon is analyzed. Students get a blank map and using text boxes and arrows, they read their textbook and fill out where the hot spots that Reagan had to deal with. Reagan’s dealing with Central America are discussed as well as Iran-Contra, Nicaragua, El Salvador, and the Reagan Doctrine. Students then get a worksheet to analyze the Iran-Contra affair. In the worksheet are what other options did Reagan have and other solutions to the problem.

7. SDI
Students go to the computer lab and read a PPT a student did for National History Day about Reagan and SDI. At the end of the PowerPoint are a series of questions about how SDI influenced foreign affairs in the summits with Gorbachev and the functionality of SDI today.

8. Reagan in Cartoons
Students go to the computer lab and analyze a selection of about 30 cartoons about Reagan. Students pick out ten and explain how the cartoons reflect the presidency of Reagan – both good and bad. Using what they have learned in previous lessons as evidence, the students put it altogether.

 

While the Reagan Lessons are over, the unit continues for another week and a half as students examine George H.W. Bush, Desert Storm, the Clinton Legacy, Columbine and 1990s culture.

Altogether, the unit lasts about 4 weeks. It is a unit that is always evolving. As more and more information is released and more and more documents are released from the Reagan era, then lessons can be built around investigation and argument. I think that next year, I would like to add some video which discusses the presidency as a whole and add some polling data about his popularity. In addition, I would like to add a scenario or a simulation for the students to investigate Iran-Contra or dealing with the Soviets.

At its core, the lessons are about using the evidence to make arguments for both sides as the students form their own opinions and learn multiple points of view.

One of my students….

brought this home from the state history fair. It was not a bad day!

The student travels to Annapolis next month for National History Day. It was a pretty big deal in our small little town!

Here is the article from the local paper, The DeKalb Chronicle

Hiawatha senior qualifies for national history contest
By NICOLE WESKERNA – nweskerna@shawmedia.com
Created: Friday, May 18, 2012 5:30 a.m. CDT

Hiawatha High School senior Jordan Williams was recognized as a National Award Winner at the Illinois History Fair for her performance of Mary Todd Lincoln. She advanced to the national competition at the University of Maryland in June. (Photo provided)

KIRKLAND – Bringing Mary Todd Lincoln to life earned a Hiawatha High School student a chance to participate in a national history competition next month.

Senior Jordan Williams qualified May 3 for the competition after winning the National History Day medal at the Illinois History Expo in Springfield. She’s the first Kirkland student to qualify for the national competition.

“I was really surprised but really excited,” she said. “… I’m really proud to represent Hiawatha and Illinois.”

Williams wrote a script and acted it out to prove Lincoln wasn’t insane, but that she suffered from severe depression after outliving all but one of her four sons.

Students submit projects in five categories: an exhibit, performance, website, documentary or research paper. Williams decided on a performance because she’s involved in school plays. During her 10-minute performance, she dressed as Lincoln, wearing an 1800s mourning outfit. It took Williams about three months to complete research before competing at a regional competition at Northern Illinois University in February.

Williams said Lincoln’s son tried her for insanity, and courts deemed her legally insane. After spending six months in a Batavia asylum, a female lawyer proved Lincoln was sane. Williams includes excerpts from Lincoln’s diary, and judges appreciated that Williams portrayed the emotional side of the trial.

Students who win at the state level qualify to compete at the Kenneth E. Behring National History Day Contest at the University of Maryland at College Park. The competition runs from June 10 to 14 and draws about 2,400 students, parents and teachers. Williams will compete against more than 100 students in the performance category.

Todd Johnson, a junior high social studies teacher at Hiawatha, said all 35 students in the Hiawatha History Club participated, 15 of whom earned superior or blue ribbons at the state level.

Williams is a history lover who has submitted projects to the competition since she was in seventh grade. She has plans to attend Loyola University in Chicago to study pediatric cardiology. Johnson said he believes her experience with the competition will give her an edge as a college student.

“We’re just excited for her,” Johnson said. “Jordan has worked very hard on this. … The skills she learned – reading, writing, making arguments and multiple points of view – will help her become a doctor.”

The 1968 Election: A Turning Point in History

That summer, Mick Jagger sang,

“Everywhere I hear the sound of marching, charging feet, boy,
‘Cause summer’s here and the time is right for fighting in the street, boy
Hey, said my name is called Disturbance;
I’ll shout and scream, I’ll kill the King, I’ll rail at all his servants”

While Jagger reflected what was happening in the streets, it was much more than that. In the US, the country was tearing apart at the seams. The world, too, seemed to be on the brink. Prague, Mexico City, and Chicago all became focal points of that summer. While Revolution seemed to be within a breath, law and order seemed to be absent. It was year when everything seemed to happen. And to top it all off, the US was having an election. It would be a year unlike any other.

It began to unravel in January 31. The North Vietnamese launched the Tet offensive breaking an agreed upon truce. 70,000 North Vietnamese troops took part in attacks all across the country of South Vietnam. It was military disaster but a psychological victory for the North. They proved they determined the order of battle. They proved that President Johnson and General Westmoreland were lying to the public about who was in control in the war. By taking the battle from the jungle to the city, Johnson and Westmoreland had some explaining to do. The public would not be receptive. Ironically, two days after the offensive began, Richard Nixon, declared his presidential candidacy and entered the New Hampshire primary.

Early on in the campaign, it became evident that Vietnam was the major issue. When Peter Arnett quoted a US major that “It became necessary to destroy the town to save it,” the Johnson administration came under attack for its handling of the war. Adding fuel to the fire came later in February when Walter Cronkite reported on his recent trip to Vietnam. Entitled, “Who, What, When, Where, Why?”, the report was a stinging condemnation of the US in Vietnam. Cronkite’s special contradicted official statements by Johnson and Westmoreland on the progress of the war. Cronkite said near the end, that the US “…not as victors, but as an honorable people who lived up to their pledge to defend democracy, and did the best they could.” Johnson knew that in losing Cronkite, he had lost the middle of the country.

Two weeks later…
On March 12, the New Hampshire primary showed how American felt about Tet. Senator Eugene McCarthy almost defeated incumbent President, Lyndon Johnson. Four days later, Senator Robert Kennedy entered the 1968 Presidential race. Johnson was to have his hands full if his campaign was to continue. It would not. Johnson would drop out on March 31.

Four days later, Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. The largest manhunt began for his killer but not before riots swept most American cities. Robert Kennedy gave one of the most emotional speeches amid the chaos. He was appearing more and more presidential.

Martin Luther King dedicated his life to love and to justice between fellow human beings. He died in the cause of that effort. In this difficult day, in this difficult time for the United States, it’s perhaps well to ask what kind of a nation we are and what direction we want to move in. For those of you who are black — considering the evidence evidently is that there were white people who were responsible — you can be filled with bitterness, and with hatred, and a desire for revenge.

We can move in that direction as a country, in greater polarization — black people amongst blacks, and white amongst whites, filled with hatred toward one another. Or we can make an effort, as Martin Luther King did, to understand, and to comprehend, and replace that violence, that stain of bloodshed that has spread across our land, with an effort to understand, compassion, and love.

For those of you who are black and are tempted to fill with — be filled with hatred and mistrust of the injustice of such an act, against all white people, I would only say that I can also feel in my own heart the same kind of feeling. I had a member of my family killed, but he was killed by a white man.

But we have to make an effort in the United States. We have to make an effort to understand, to get beyond, or go beyond these rather difficult times.

My favorite poem, my — my favorite poet was Aeschylus. And he once wrote:

Even in our sleep, pain which cannot forget
falls drop by drop upon the heart,
until, in our own despair,
against our will,
comes wisdom
through the awful grace of God.

What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence and lawlessness, but is love, and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or whether they be black.

So I ask you tonight to return home, to say a prayer for the family of Martin Luther King — yeah, it’s true — but more importantly to say a prayer for our own country, which all of us love — a prayer for understanding and that compassion of which I spoke.

We can do well in this country. We will have difficult times. We’ve had difficult times in the past, but we — and we will have difficult times in the future. It is not the end of violence; it is not the end of lawlessness; and it’s not the end of disorder.

But the vast majority of white people and the vast majority of black people in this country want to live together, want to improve the quality of our life, and want justice for all human beings that abide in our land.

And let’s dedicate ourselves to what the Greeks wrote so many years ago: to tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world. Let us dedicate ourselves to that, and say a prayer for our country and for our people.

Thank you very much.

Later that months, the anti-war movement began to throttle up. Occupation of five buildings lasted for seven days later when police stormed the buildings and removed the protesters. Other riots and sit ins began at campuses all across the country. It was not sure if the country would make it to election day.

On June 4, the California Primary saw Robert Kennedy win big. Addressing a large crowd of supporters at the Ambassador Hotel in San Francisco at 12:13AM on the morning of the fifth, Kennedy was shot by Sirhan Sirhan. Sirhan claimed he shot Kennedy for his pro-Israeli sentiments. Kennedy, only 42 died on June sixth. The election was getting more and more surreal.

On August 8, the Republicans nominated Richard Milhouse Nixon to be their presidential candidate. The next day Nixon chose Spiro Agnew. Nixon said he had a secret plan to end the war but would not reveal what it was. Nixon, said he spoke for a “silent majority” who wanted to restore law and order to the country in chaos. Nixon would later refuse to take part in the debates. He would, however, offer up this campaign commercial.

Nixon was not the only “law and order” candidate. “Dixiecrat” George Wallace ran as his 3rd party candidate that fall.

The former Alabama Governor represented a strong portion of the South that felt the Democratic party had strayed too far from its principles on Vietnam and Civil Rights.

On August 20, 200,000 Soviet troops stormed in to Prague ending the “Prague Spring,” and began “normalization” procedures to return the country under Soviet rule. No response came from the Johnson people. The revolution there had been crushed.

On August 26, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley opened the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. It would be the most tumultuous convention in American History. Yippies and riots occurred in the streets, fighting took place on the convention floor, all the while the convention tried to nominate Hubert Humphrey for president. Chicago police took action against the large crowd of protestors, beating some unconscious. Over 100 protesters were sent to the emergency room. Mayor Daley said of the actions by his police, “The policeman isn’t there to create disorder, the policeman is there to preserve disorder.” The leaders of the antiwar movement and the protesters, the Chicago 8 (later renamed the Chicago 7), were charged with crimes relating to the riots.

In October, nights before the Olympics began, police attacked protesters in Tlatelolco Square. It was estimated 500 demonstrators were killed. The government of Mexico silenced any news. At Games, 32 African nations boycotted because of South Africa’s participation. On the 18th, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, shocked the world by performing the Black Power salute during the “Star-Spangled Banner” at their medal ceremony for the 200 meters. Smith said,

“If I win, I am American, not a black American. But if I did something bad, then they would say I am a Negro. We are black and we are proud of being black. Black America will understand what we did tonight.”

On October 31, President Johnson announced a halt to US bombing in North Vietnam. The action gave Humphrey a boost in the polls. It was not enough. Nixon won the electoral college handily a few days later. Dominating the center of the country while Humphrey was strong in the Northeast and Wallace in the deep South, Nixon ran away with the victory.

The 1968 election was steeped in events of the year and in fact, took a backseat to the events of the day. When it was all said and done, the country had spoken its mind. It craved for law and order, some sense of normalcy in a year of chaos. Reflecting back, many leaders of the antiwar movement failed to rally behind any viable candidate. Fractured and disruptive themselves, no consensus could be reached on whom to put forth after the death of Bobby Kennedy. Humphrey was too close to Johnson for them. In reality, Humphrey was more distant from Johnson than he lead on. However, Humphrey was not about to denounce the man to whom he was Vice-President. The failure to support Humphrey was one of the great tragedies of the year. Nixon would not end the war. It would continue on for almost five more years. Although his secret plan of Vietnamization was announced early in 1969, it would not take effect for years as Nixon tried to stop the Ho Chi Minh Trail by secretly invading Cambodia.

For a time that summer, many wondered if America was going to collapse and implode. It did not. The antiwar movement would continue throughout Nixon’s first term. The issues to be resolved never were. But 1968 did mark a turning point. The election, while historical, was not the key event. The key event was the US was no longer seen as the bastion of liberty in the world. Between the assassinations, the riots, the Tet Offensive, and the election, freedom was lost. The world would never see us the same way after that summer. It would take a long time for the US to get itself back together and restore its place in the world.

Juwan Howard and the Fab Five: The Templates for Modern Athletes

When I get to teaching the 1970s and 1980s, I show my students pictures of me playing basketball as young kid and in high school. I show them pictures of my basketball idols – Dr. J, Gail Goodrich, and Larry Bird. My students laugh. They laugh a lot. Not at me, or my idols, but rather, they laugh at the shorts – the short shorts to be exact. That was how basketball players dressed until the early 1990s. Then everything changed in 1991. Five freshman at the University of Michigan, including one from the south side of Chicago,  changed everything about the modern athlete. It was more than just the shorts. It was how the modern athlete was going to act. There were going to be no apologies.

Jack Johnson was the first African-American athlete to gain national prominence. The boxer became heavyweight champion of the world and flaunted his “blackness” unforgivably. He wore long coats with fur, drive fancy cars, lived in a swank home in Chicago, and married a white woman. In 1908, Johnson won the heavyweight championship in Sydney, Australia. Immediately, calls for a “great white hope” began. No one could defeat Johnson and his defensive style in his prime. What brought Jackson down was the enforcement of the Mann Act. Ken Burns’ film “Unforgiveable Blackness” said of Johnson:

What most bothered whites about Johnson was that he openly had affairs with white women—and even married them—at a time when miscegenation of this sort was not only illegal but was positively dangerous. Johnson did not seem to care what whites thought of him, and this bothered most whites a great deal. He was not humble or diffident with whites. He gloated about his victories and often taunted his opponents in the ring. (This behavior was not unique to him as a champion boxer. Many boxers, notably John L. Sullivan, acted this way. It was unique for a black public figure.) He also did not care what blacks thought of him, as some were critical of his sex life. His preference for white women seemed an embarrassment and something that would bring the wrath of whites down on the heads of every black person.  [...] Since Johnson could not be defeated in the ring, the battle moved to defeating Johnson in the area where he most offended and where he was most vulnerable—his [personal] life.

Rather than serve one year in jail, Johnson left the US for Europe. He would eventually return and serve his term but his prime years were behind. There would not be another African-American champ until Joe Louis in 1937.

The modern athlete still was a long way away. Despite Jackie Robinson’s breaking the color barrier in 1947 and 1948, the issue of sport and race would not change until the 1960s. In 1964, a young Cassius Clay defeated Sonny Liston for the Heavyweight Championship. Clay was brash, outspoken, and unlike anything the world had seen to that point. Immediately after defeating Liston, Clay changed his name to Muhammad Ali and for the next three years, he was an unstoppable cultural force until he was drafted into the Army. Ali refused to go. He was at the center of everything in the 1960s – Civil Rights and Vietnam. His boxing licenses were suspended all across the country. He filed suit not to go and the case went all the way to the Supreme Court. Ali would return to boxing. Like Johnson, his prime years had been taken away. He still could fight, but he was not the same. His influence was huge.

For Juwan Howard, growing up on the south side of Chicago was not easy. Raised by his grandmother, Howard had strict rules to follow including being home by sundown every day. Along with church and school, Howard did small jobs as a child including raking leaves and shoveling driveways. He worked hard and did not take life granted. He said, “You can be here today and gone tomorrow.” But above all else, Howard wanted out. He was going to do what it took. Whether it was sport or school, he would give both everything he had.

A star at the Chicago Vocational Career Academy, Howard was one of the top recruits in the nation. He was heavily recruited by many schools including the University of Illinois and the University of Michigan.

Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune explained the decision Howard had to make:

About this time last year, Howard was on track to attend Illinois. Coach Lou Henson came out to watch him play on a few occasions, and Howard figured to fit in well with fellow Public League stars Deon Thomas and Jamie Brandon (who later transferred to LSU). But the NCAA’s prolonged investigation of the Illinois program, which eventually resulted in probation, drove Howard away, and he wound up choosing Michigan over Arizona State.

“Illinois was in a situation where I was waiting to find out what would happen with them,” he said. “Four days after I committed, (the NCAA sanctions) were announced. That hurt them. Deon was always joking that I had better come to Illinois or he’d never speak to me again. He may have been a little upset, but I had to go to the place that suits me best.”

The day he signed his letter of intent, his grandmother passed away. Coaches Steve Fisher and Brian Dutcher became his new family. For Fisher and Dutcher, Howard became the lynchpin to help get other recruits. He helped recruit Jimmy King and then Howard lent his talents to help recruit Ray Jackson.

The final two pieces of the prized recruiting class came in the form of Jalen Rose and Chris Webber. Rose, like Howard, had grown up in the inner city. Webber did not. Still, the five freshman became the most highly touted recruiting class – they were four of the top 11 recruits in the nation that year.

When the five freshman showed up in Ann Arbor in the fall of 1991, the style began to change. Jalen Rose instituted the move to long shorts. While Michael Jordan had begun the move to long shorts, his were still above his knees. The Fab Five wanted the long shorts like Jordan, but only longer. Coach Fisher relented. The players would add black socks to complete the look.

In a Big Ten preview in the Chicago Tribune, Neil Milbert wrote:

“Freshmen can be unreliable here, but we’re not talking about ordinary freshmen,” said Illinois coach Lou Henson. “When you’re as good as they are, you’re going to be right up there with the best.”

“Those five new kids averaged close to 145 points per game last year in high school,” said Fisher. “But they’re freshmen. Who’s going to score? Who will set the screen for the going to score? Who can accept coming off the bench?

“How quickly they adjust to going to Bloomington, East Lansing and hostile arenas like that will dictate how good we are. We hope we can reach a consistency by the middle of the Big 10 season where we can be a factor and a force.

According to Juwan Howard, the next three years would be the best years of his life. They would also be filled with highlights and controversy. That first year started off well. Webber, Howard, and Rose all made the starting lineup. After a 4-0 start, the young Wolverines ran into number one Duke. In an interview on TV, the team showed no fear. They were not afraid of Duke. At the end of the interview, the team flashed signs using their hands. The thought of young athletes flashing signs was unheard of. Even more so, the team explained they were signs about themselves. Duke got out to early lead and built that lead to 17 points. The freshman did not quit though. They fought back and showed they could hang with the best team in the country. Although they lost in overtime, it showed how good Michigan could get. Sports Illustrated said of the team:

They’re certainly not ordinary freshmen. Webber, a forward, and his classmates—center Juwan Howard, forward Ray Jackson and guards Jimmy King and Jalen Rose—proved that fact against Duke, even though Michigan ultimately fell to the Blue Devils 88-85 in overtime. By the time Duke escaped from Ann Arbor with its ranking intact and record unblemished, the best-freshman-class-ever label, with which the Michigan newcomers had been saddled, was more than mere hyperbole. In their first exposure to elite college competition, the Fab Five proved they are as good as advertised.

It would not be until February that all five freshman would start against Notre Dame.

At the time, America was in a cultural transformation. On the outside, George H.W. Bush’s presidency had been about a 1000 points of light. Desert Storm and the first Gulf War had been over for a year. The Soviet Union had collapsed. America was at the top of the heap. But on the inside, America was changing. Hip Hop culture was slowly taking over music, movies, fashion, and television. The Fab Five brought it to sport. What made these five freshman different was their culture and attitude. They listened to rap. They listened to NWA and Public Enemy. They had tattoos. They got in opponent’s faces to get in their heads. The ABA in the 70s had brought playground style basketball to the NBA. The Fab Five brought everything else about the playground to the arena.

For Michigan basketball, it was only three years removed from the Glen Rice team that had won the NCAA basketball championship. In February and March of 1992, the team became the team everyone wanted to see. Every Saturday afternoon, the Fab Five celebrated the routine and redefined the spectacular. They became the Beatles of basketball. Crowds and cameras followed them everywhere. It did translate in to winning but it did not translate in to winning championships. In 1992, the Wolverines made it to the NCAA Tournament. In the elite eight, they faced a team that had beaten them twice in Ohio State. In overtime, the Michigan Wolverines prevailed. In the national semi-final, they beat Temple to advance to the final, a rematch against Duke. It was not to be. Duke won going away. However, Michigan and the Fab Five would be right back in the title game next year against North Carolina.

For every fan in the inner city of Michigan basketball, there was an equal detractor.  Before the 1993 title game, Bernie Lincicome of the Chicago Tribune wrote,

Today’s mission is to determine what is most unlikable about Michigan’s basketball team. This is not an easy chore because there is something to offend everybody.
Some say it is Michigan’s arrogance, but opinion is not unanimous on this. Ego, like gardening, is psychically damaging only in the extreme. Winners need confidence in themselves.
“My idea of an ideal championship game,” said Jalen Rose, “would be to be sitting on the bench with three minutes to play leading by 30 points already wearing a championship shirt.”
Only 30 points? See, Michigan has its ego under control.
There are those who cannot stand Michigan’s incessant intimidation, its constant badgering and trash talking. Jimmy King scores inside on UCLA and comes down screaming into his defender’s face. Against Kentucky, Rose is yelling at Travis Ford while Ford is shooting free throws.
“I was just asking him where he was going to have dinner,” Rose said.
A sincere inquiry in a close ballgame.
“Intimidation is never a factor against us,” Chris Webber said.
It is easy to be annoyed by the Wolverines’ smirking self-absorption, their complete lack of charity, as if the rest of the world is either against them, or it doesn’t exist.

The undisciplined play and attitude of the Fab Five was not popular in the coaching ranks either. John Chaney of Temple of claimed Fisher failed at teaching the young men character. Rick Pitino, for one, did not like how the team did not box out but rather used their hands in the lower back to gain an advantage.

The infamous “time out” by Chris Webber marred that 1993 championship game for Michigan as they lost to North Carolina. Webber would go pro that summer while Rose and Howard waited one more year. Howard and Rose returned to the Elite Eight in 1994 where they lost to eventual champion Arkansas. Webber, Howard, and Rose would have long pro careers. Howard is still playing while Webber and Rose are retired. Jimmy King would play parts of 3 seasons in the NBA. Coach Fisher is now at San Diego State.

After the fact, events came to light which involved a Michigan booster named Ed Martin. All five players would testify in court about the relationship they had with Martin and most involved money. Webber will not talk about the events while Jalen Rose has always been forthcoming about those days. Despite Rose’s honesty, the banners hanging in the Michigan rafters were taken down after the school received NCAA sanctions. But the memories would not be.

The Fab Five, although they didn’t win any championships, they changed the game and became the template for the modern American athlete. They are arguably the most well known college basketball team of all time. Their attitude, style, and look changed sport and society and not just basketball. While they did not invent the clothes, the look, the swagger, they did popularize them and thus influence athletes of all races.

Neil Milbert of the Chicago Tribune said this of Juwan and his grandmother after that first year:

“She’d also be proud of the fact that off the court, he has tried hard to continue the lifestyle she wanted him to follow. His intensity in games masks a considerate and caring personality. He is serious about his studies and wants to get his degree before pursuing a pro basketball career. The bonding of these freshmen has given Howard a new sense of family. “I’m happy I came to Michigan, and they all decided to come,” he said. “It doesn’t feel right if I’m not with at least one of them.”

While Howard has played over 17 seasons in the NBA, he is still best known as a member of the Fab Five wherever he goes and whoever he meets. As Jalen Rose would say in a documentary that it would the closest he would get to blood brothers. 

For educational purposes only

The Camera at War: Part 2

Several years ago, I wrote about the power of photography in war in this blog. The Camera at War post is one of my favorite posts. And in teaching Vietnam, it is one of my favorite lessons to teach. The VHS video I used for 17 years had started to deteriorate. For the past two years, I have had to make adjustments to the lesson and was unable to show the video. I felt I was shorting my students.

Today, while trolling YouTube for a Malcolm X video to download, I stumbled upon the Camera at War finally being posted on YouTube. I could not download the video fast enough. The Camera at War was produced by BBC2 in the mid-1990s. Many of its participants and photographers have since passed away. It is an emotional video to watch as these were the images of my youth. For my students, it is a unique experience for them to see the images I saw as a young child from six years old to twelve. I will still have to wait three weeks to show it, but this morning, I am really excited!

DISCLAIMER: The following links are for educational purposes only

Hopefully, the videos will stay uploaded on to YouTube for a while!