PORTLAND, Ore. -- The Battle of Midway, June 3 - 7, 1942 is regarded as an “incredible victory” for the United States against the forces of Imperial Japan. Paired with the outcome of the Battle of the Coral Sea the previous month, these two epic carrier battles stemmed the tide of Imperial Japan’s advances in the Pacific.
Midway was predominantly a U.S. Navy show, and it’s worth noting that the 142nd Wing has a couple of “family” connections to the epic battle, including a naval one. The brother of Lt. Col. John W. Leonard, the commander of the 371st Fighter Group’s 405th Fighter Squadron (the Idaho ANG’s 190th Fighter Squadron today) in World War II, was the younger brother of Navy fighter ace Rear Admiral William N. Leonard, who flew in the Battle of Midway, as well as at battles at the Coral Sea and later in the Solomon Islands and achieved six aerial victories. Read more about this in “A Redhawk Midway Connection,” here.
The U.S. Army Air Forces also played an important role at Midway, and the wing has another family connection here. Staff Sgt. James P. Muri, an F-15 Eagle avionics technician assigned to the 142nd AMXS Squadron, is the great grandson named after his great-grandfather James P. Muri, the pilot of the Martin B-26 Marauder medium bomber named “Susie-Q” flown with distinction in the battle.
James P. Muri
James Perry Muri was born in 1918, the second oldest of nine children, and joined the Army Air Corps after graduating high school in 1936. He trained for two years as an aircraft mechanic, and was then assigned to March Field in California. He attended city college there and when his enlistment ended in 1940, he re-upped as a pilot candidate. Muri graduated pilot training in Class 41D and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant at Kelly Field in Texas and was then assigned to Langley Field, Virginia. He married Alice A. Moyer, born in Roseburg, Oregon, in 1941 - even though her name was Alice, Lt. Muri nicknamed her Susie-Q, perhaps after a dance and song by that name from the 1936 timeframe.
Lt. Muri and his crew were assigned to the 18th Reconnaissance Squadron of the 22nd Bomb Group, the first group to equip with the brand-new Martin B-26 Marauder medium bomber. Of note, seven of the nine Muri family siblings, including two sisters, served our nation in uniform, four in WWII and three afterwards.
After the Japanese attack on Hawaii, the group deployed from Langley Field, Virginia to the west coast for some weeks of coastal patrol before the unit, personnel and aircraft were shipped to Hawaii in late January/early February, 1942.
By mid-February, the air echelon and aircraft arrived in Hawaii while the ground echelon continued on to Australia. The 50-plus B-26 bombers of the group were reassembled in Hawaii, test flown, and then in mid-March began to fly an island-hopping route to Australia, three aircraft at a time.
On April 22 the 18th Recon Squadron, then mostly based in Australia, was redesignated as the 408th Bombardment Squadron, though the 18th Recon Squadron designation still lingered in various documents and minds for a while after the transition. By late May most of the group’s aircraft had left Hawaii, but two aircraft and crews of the 408th Bomb/18th Recon Squadron, and two other B-26 bombers and crews from the 69th Bomb Squadron of the 38th Bomb Group, yet in Hawaii, and the four Marauders and crews were rushed up to Midway Island to prepare for battle.
Lt. Muri piloted Martin B-26 Marauder serial number 40-1391, with these other six Airmen in his crew:
Co-pilot Lt. Pren L. Moore
Navigator Lt. William W. Moore
Bombardier Lt. Russell Johnson
Gunner S/SGT. John J. Gogoj
Gunner CPL. Frank L. Melo, Jr.
Gunner PFC. Earl D. Ashley, 1st
Battle of Midway
The Marauder crews didn’t wait long. When the alarm was raised early on June 4 about enemy aircraft approaching Midway, four USAAF B-26 Marauders, two each from the 18th and 69th Bombardment Squadrons (Medium), took off from Midway along with other Navy and Marine attack aircraft. The speedy Marauders and six Navy TBF Avenger torpedo bombers reached the Japanese carriers first and attacked at 0710. About thirty Japanese Zero fighters on combat air patrol duty (CAP) over their force sought to stop them as they approached, with the torpedo-carrying Marauders aiming for carrier Akagi (赤城,”Red Castle,” named after the famous Mt. Akagi in Japan), the Japanese flagship of Vice-Admiral Chuichi Nagumo, commander of the Japanese carrier striking force, whilst the Avengers aimed for carrier Hiryu (飛龍, “Flying Dragon” in Japanese).
Without fighter escort, the 10 torpedo bombers absorbed the full attention of the enemy’s CAP and the gunners aboard the ships, a formation with four aircraft carriers, two battleships, three cruisers and 11 destroyers. Two of the Marauders were shot down, though they brought down a Zero fighter in return.
One of the B-26s lost appeared to try and crash into the Japanese flagship, nearly hitting the bridge of Akagi as Admiral Nagumo and his staff watched fatefully and ducked as it sped past over them and crashed close on the other side of the ship. It was one of the factors affecting the Admiral’s thinking about the need to strike Midway Island again, as would be another Marauder’s run.
The two surviving Marauders, flown by the flight leader Capt. Jim Collins and the number four ship, “Susie-Q” flown by Lt. Muri, made their attack run and dropped their torpedoes which either missed or malfunctioned. Early World War II American aerial and submarine torpedoes were notorious for malfunctions. And these B-26 crews, enroute to the Southwest Pacific and diverted in transit at Hawaii, had not trained for torpedo attack prior to Midway with such weapons and their restricted airspeed and altitude launch parameters. They only received an informal briefing on “how to” from some naval aviators before they were hastily committed to the battle. None of the crew members had ever fired the guns in combat before.
The two surviving Marauders descended to 200 feet above the waves. Flight leader Capt. Collins dropped his “tin fish” into the water 800 yards from Akagi. Muri descended to 150 feet, and could hear “...the shells coming into the side of the fuselage and near the turret.” Muri’s wounded turret gunner, CPL. Frank L. Melo, Jr., went to the cockpit and saw Lt. Muri with “beads of sweat” on his forehead, an unlit cigarette in his mouth bitten in two, with half dangling from his lips as he concentrated on his torpedo run. Muri flew even closer, dropping his Mk. XIII torpedo some 450-500 yards from Akagi. Unfortunately, both torpedoes missed as the target took evasive action.
Without the 2,000-lb. torpedo weight and drag, Muri then pulled his aircraft around toward Akagi’s bow and daringly flew it low, directly above the length of the carrier’s flight deck from stem to stern in order to escape the cauldron. The speedy plane made the not-quite 300-yard dash in but three seconds, “thus missing most of his antiaircraft fire.” His nose gunner strafed the ship as they sped down the flight deck, hitting an anti-aircraft gun mount, killing two sailors and wounding three others.
Although the B-26 and TBF torpedo attacks inflicted no significant damage on Japanese forces, the enemy was forced to respond to them, and that response consumed time and effort which helped divert and sap the strength of the CAP. These attacks also forced the Japanese ship formation into disarray as the target vessels maneuvered to dodge the torpedoes and thus helped set the stage for the decisive dive-bomber attacks which followed.
Collins flew his B-26 back to Midway, hydraulics shot out, with nearly 200 holes in it. Muri landed with more than 500 holes in “Susie-Q” - each main fuel tank was holed about 25 times, though the self-sealing feature prevented catastrophe. The top turret was struck by cannon shells and machine gun bullets. All eight propeller blades were damaged and the left main landing gear tire was destroyed. And three of Muri’s enlisted crew aft of the cockpit, John J. Gogoj, Melo and Earl D. Ashley, were wounded during the mission. His co-pilot, Lt. Pren L. Moore, manned the tail gun at one point in the fracas.
Both aircraft were written off as beyond economical repair and pushed off to the side of the airfield as scrap, reportedly being loaded onto a barge and dumped into the Midway lagoon at some point. Muri and Collins were flown back the next day to Hawaii for debriefing of their part in the battle. The surviving crew not in the hospital, left behind a few days before returning to Hawaii, was able to tear off and retrieve the fuselage skin with the “Susie-Q” moniker. The ultimate fate of this souvenir, however, is unknown.
After the Battle
For their action in the battle, Lt. Muri, his crew and the other Marauder crews, surviving and missing in action, were awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. The DSC is the Army’s second highest military decoration for soldiers who display extraordinary heroism in combat with an armed enemy force. Lt. Muri’s award citation reads as follows:
“The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to First Lieutenant (Air Corps) James Perry Muri (ASN: 0-417052), United States Army Air Forces, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy while serving as Pilot of a B-26 Medium Bomber of the 18th Reconnaissance Squadron, 22d Bombardment Group (M), FAR EAST Air Force (Detached), in aerial action against enemy forces on 4 June 1942, during an engagement near Midway Island. Lieutenant Muri participated in an extremely hazardous and difficult torpedo-bombing mission against the Japanese Navy. He displayed extraordinary heroism and courageousness in maneuvering his airplane to secure the maximum effectiveness of his torpedo in the face of superior enemy fighter and anti-aircraft opposition, and was highly instrumental in the success of the first torpedo attack ever carried out by the Army Air Forces. The personal courage and zealous devotion to duty displayed by First Lieutenant Muri on this occasion have upheld the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, the Far East Air Force, and the United States Army Air Forces.”
Mr. Joshua Muri, President of the B-26 Marauder Historical Society, compiled this list of the Marauder Men missing in action on June 4, whom we also remember on this anniversary of the battle.
Crew of B-26 Serial # 40-1424, 18th Recon Squadron (aircraft nickname “Satan's Playmate”):
Pilot 1st Lt Herbert C. Mayes, O-406421 (MIA / KIA) CA
Co-Pilot 2nd Lt. Garrett H. McCallister, O-388997 (MIA / KIA) OK
Navigator 2nd Lt. William D. Hargis Jr., O-429474 (MIA / KIA) OK
Bombardier 2nd Lt. Gerald J. Barnicle, O-432965 (MIA / KIA) MA
Nose Gunner S/SGT. Salvatore Battaglia, 6976250 (MIA / KIA) NY
Engineer / Top Turret Gunner PVT. Benjamin F. Huffstickler, 14021810 (MIA / KIA) NC
Tail Gunner PVT. Roy W. Walters, 12029059 (MIA / KIA) PA
Crew of B-26B Serial # 41-17570, 69th Bomb Squadron (No known noseart/nickname):
Pilot 1st Lt. William S. Watson, O-424590 (MIA / KIA) IL
Co-Pilot 2nd Lt. Leonard H. Whittington, O-427074 (MIA / KIA) TX
Navigator 2nd Lt. John P. Schuman, O-437472 (MIA / KIA) CO
Bombardier SGT. James E. Via, 6296877 (MIA / KIA) TX
Nose Gunner S/SGT. Richard C. Decker, 17017220 (MIA / KIA) IA
Engineer / Top Turret Gunner CPL. Albert E. Owen, 17012203 (MIA / KIA) NE
Tail Gunner CPL. Bernard C. Seitz, 32027847 (MIA / KIA) NY
After the battle, 1st Lt. Muri was reassigned to Eglin Field in Florida by Lieutenant General Henry H. “Hap” Arnold, Commanding General, Army Air Forces where he trained other B-26 crews in torpedo attack. He was mustered out of the Army Air Forces after the war ended, but returned to service after a two-year hiatus with creation of the Air Force in 1947. He served into the 1950s including the Korean War, and was promoted to Lt. Col. before he retired in 1962 after serving in uniform for 24 years.
In the years since, Lt. Muri’s epic flight over Akagi is remembered in various ways. In 1976, famous Montana radio host and singer Mr. Lonnie Bell commemorated the battle and the flight of Muri’s ship, # 1391 in his song “Midway.” Lt. Col. Muri was awarded the Air Force Historical Foundation’s General James H. “Jimmy” Doolittle Award in 2003 for his Midway Marauder mission. Lt. Col. James P. Muri, reportedly the last survivor of the Midway B-26 crews, flew west in 2013 at the age of 94 and was buried at the Eastern Montana State Veterans Cemetery in Miles City, MT.
Military service became a Muri family tradition, with Lt Col Muri’s son James R. Muri son serving in the Army in the Vietnam War, his grandson Joshua in the USAF in the 1990s and his great grandson Staff Sgt. James P. Muri in the Oregon ANG since 2017.
Fast Forward to 2026
In February this year, Staff Sgt. Muri, accompanied by his father Joshua Muri, himself a USAF Non-commissioned officer veteran F-16 avionics technician with prior service at Edwards AFB, CA, Osan AB, Korea and Luke AFB, AZ, traveled to the Land of the Morning Calm, the Republic of Korea; one on vacation and the other on business. They met up one day at Osan Air Base to participate in a Headquarters (HQ), Seventh Air Force memorial dedication to 1st Lt. Muri.
The Seventh Air Force Historian, Mr. Michael Stephen commissioned the build of a scale model of a B-26 Marauder with a torpedo for a new World War II-era display at the HQ. At the time of the Battle of Midway, Seventh Air Force was based in Hawaii and was the force provider for USAAF aircraft involved in the battle. Read about the Osan event in “Seventh Air Force dedicates B-26 model” here.
Eighty-four years on, the legacy of Midway continues to draw attention, including the epic flight by B-26 Marauder pilot James P. Muri and his crew. Their service and sacrifice in World War II inspired this father and son to serve in the military, which their grandfather/great-grandfather can be proud of. From generation to generation, we are most fortunate to have citizens who choose to serve community, state and nation.
Special thanks to Mrs. Sylvia Saadati, daughter of Lt. Col. James P. Muri, Mr. Joshua Muri, grandson of Lt. Col. Muri and Staff Sgt. James P. Muri, great-grandson and namesake of Lt. Col. Muri, for their kind assistance in the writing and illustration of this article.