Pacific Payback

Now in paperback: From the surprise attack at Pearl Harbor to the showdown at Midway, Pacific Payback is the true story of the American dive bomber pilots whose crusade for vengeance led them across the Pacific to inflict the decisive blow against the Japanese Navy in World War II’s most important sea battle.“Deeply researched and well written….By far the most detailed account of USS Enterprise’s dive-bombers and their decisive role at the Battle of Midway.”*Sunday, December 7, 1941, dawned clear and bright over the Pacific….But for the Dauntless dive-bomber crews of the USS Enterprise returning to their home base on Oahu, it was a morning from hell. Flying directly into the Japanese ambush at Pearl Harbor, they lost a third of their squadron and witnessed the heart of America’s Navy broken and smoldering on the oil-slicked waters below.The next six months, from Pearl Harbor to the Battle of Midway-a dark time during which the Japanese scored victory after victory-this small band of aviators saw almost constant deployment, intense carrier combat, and fearsome casualties. Many were killed by enemy Zero fighters, antiaircraft fire, or deadly crash landings in the Pacific, while others were captured and spent years in POW camps. Yet the Enterprise’s Dauntless crews would be the first to strike an offensive blow against Japanese installations in the Marshall Islands, would be the first to sink a Japanese warship, and would shepherd the Doolittle Raiders’ bombing of Tokyo.Not until Midway, though, would Dauntless crews get the chance to settle the score…and change the course of World War II.Drawing on dozens of new interviews and oral histories, author Stephen L. Moore brings to life inspiring stories of individual sacrifice and bravery-and the sweeping saga of one of America’s greatest triumphs.INCLUDES PHOTOS