Flying Jacket
Flying Jacket
Usage conditions apply
- Description
- Physical Description
- Khaki jacket.
- Specific History
- This khaki flying jacket was worn by George Gay at the Battle of Midway, June 4-7, 1942.
- General History
- On June 7, 1942 the crippled carrier USS Yorktown rolled over and sank off Midway Island. Its crew members, watching from escorting destroyers, broke down in tears. All ships lowered flags to half staff. "The Old York's going down," a chief said over and over. As the carrier sliped beneath the waves, the Battle of Midway finally ended.
- Earlier that day the Japanese tried to get closer to the American ships. Fifteen TBD-1 "Devastators" of Lieutenant Commander John C. Waldron's Torpedo Squadron Eight (VT-8), from USS Hornet, bravely pressed their attack against a swarm of nimble and deadly Japanese "Zero" fighters. All were shot down. One man pulled out of the ocean was Ensign George Gay, the sole survivor of Torpedo Squadron Eight. At the time of Gay’s death in 1996, his ashes were scattered over the grid reference off Midway where his shipmates fell, forever reuniting Torpedo Squadron Eight's aviators.
- Object Name
- jacket
- Other Terms
- jacket; Man; Navy; Air; Flight; Summer
- associated date
- 1941 - 1945
- user
- Gay, George H.
- used in
- Asia
- Physical Description
- cotton (overall material)
- metal (overall material)
- plastic (overall material)
- Measurements
- overall: 25 1/2 in x 15 1/2 in; 64.77 cm x 39.37 cm
- ID Number
- AF.59193-N
- catalog number
- 59193-N
- accession number
- 253618
- Credit Line
- George H. Gay
- Battle of Midway
- World War II
- The Great Depression and World War II
- See more items in
- Political and Military History: Armed Forces History, Military
- Military
- ThinkFinity
- Exhibition
- Price of Freedom
- Exhibition Location
- National Museum of American History
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
Nominate this object for photography.
Our collection database is a work in progress. We may update this record based on further research and review. Learn more about our approach to sharing our collection online.
If you would like to know how you can use content on this page, see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use. If you need to request an image for publication or other use, please visit Rights and Reproductions.
