Join the USS Hornet as we honor our Veterans who have given their lives in the service of this country. We will have a memorial ceremony at 11 am including Chaplain Whatley, a color guard, memorial wreath toss into the bay and special guest speakers. We will also have special exhibits from the Walking Ghosts of Black History and the Friends and Families of Nisei Veterans. 

We will have a special appearance (via Zoom) by Gene Millen (Fire Controlman 3rd Class), original USS-Hornet CV-12 crewmember.  

At 1 pm we will hear from authors Brendan Simms and Steve McGregor who will discuss their new book “The Silver Waterfall: How America Won the War in the Pacific at Midway” that takes an interesting perspective on the Battle of Midway. This will be followed by Q&A and a book signing. The USS Hornet (CV-8), our predecessor, was one of three Allied aircraft carriers in the battle of Midway.  

“In The Silver Waterfall, Brendan Simms and Steven McGregor show how the efforts of America’s peacetime navy combined with creative innovations made by designers and industrialists and the skill of our airmen were largely responsible for the victory. The Douglas Dauntless Dive Bomber, a uniquely conceived fighting weapon, delivered a brutally accurate attack the Japanese quickly came to dread.

Told through a vivid narrative, Simms and McGregor show how the course of the war in the Pacific was dramatically altered, emphasizing the crucial combination of a culture of innovation, a brilliant contribution from immigrants, and a vital intelligence coup that allowed the navy to orchestrate the devastating attack on the Japanese and dominate the Pacific for good.”

About the Authors: Brendan Simms is author of The Longest Afternoon, a dramatic description of the defense of the farm of La Haye Sainte during the battle of Waterloo. In 2019 he published the acclaimed biographies, Hitler and Hitler’s American Gamble: Pearl Harbor and Germany’s March to Global War. He received his PhD from Cambridge University with a doctoral dissertation on Anglo-Prussian Relations, 1804–1806: The Napoleonic Threat. He frequently lectures and leads seminars focused on international history since 1945. 

Steven McGregor is a U.S. Army veteran with a graduate degree in history from Cambridge University. 

Membership saves you money! If you attend 2 events per year with your family then you would save money by purchasing a membership! Please see our Membership page for more information: https://uss-hornet.org/support/membership