A Rare Glimpse of The Midway Mirror

M.B. was intentional about the documents he kept from World War II. Journals, flight logs, certificates, and photos- he had kept them all. And one can understand why he kept them- it was history in the making! 

But there was one object that left me questioning why he had kept it. In fact, I still question why he kept it. 

This fragile newspaper page was neatly folded and firmly tucked between the back pages of a worn photo album. 

Dated Thursday, October 26, 1944, this 7th Volume, 300th issue of The Midway Mirror was obviously special to M.B. 

But why? Why did he keep just this one? 

The Midway Mirror

The Midway Mirror was the official publication of the U.S. Naval Operating Base in the Midway Islands. Featuring an iconic gooney bird in the header along with the slogan "Sage of the Islands," The Midway Mirror was the primary news source for the men. 

In my research of the publication, I have learned it is incredibly rare to run across a copy. So, if you have a copy that is in great condition, you have something special! Just FYI for anyone who needs that information!

The headline on this issue reads, "U.S. Defeats, Damages, Routs Jap Navy". Of course, it is referencing the Battle of Leyte Gulf.

Now, I had not heard of the Battle of Leyte Gulf, and do not believe that M.B. was involved in it. But it was definitely an important victory for the U.S., and you can read more about it here. 

So, if M.B. wasn't involved in the Battle of Lyte Gulf, why did he keep this one issue of The Midway Mirror? 

Clues in The Midway Mirror

Perhaps M.B. wanted to keep the radio station schedule found on the back? I mean, who wouldn't love to tune into The Gracie Fields Show with Judy Garland or G.I. Jive?!

I have no clue what G.I. Jive was. 

Or, perhaps he kept it because of this next article. It is incredibly interesting, and I had no clue this was even possible! 

The Freak Dolphin vs. Airplane Accident

It reads:

"KETCHIKAN, Alaska- A freak accident in which a leaping school of startled dolphin sheared off the wing of a passenger plane, sweeping in for a landing at Ketchikan, Alaska, resulted in the death of Louis Riley, Alaskan engineer. The plane was coming in for a night landing in the bay when the huge fish leaped out of the water, tearing off the wing. Badly cut by flying glass, Pilot E.F. Coulter helped the passengers out of the plane into Coast Guard launches but Riley failed to respond to medical treatment."

I initially thought that the dolphin article was satire. But it wasn't. A search of Find A Grave did reveal that Louis Riley had passed on October 23, 1944 at the age of 51. There was no photo of Mr. Riley's headstone or any other photo on his memorial page. So, because I am a Find a Grave volunteer and because I love preserving legacies, I added the clip to Mr. Riley's Find a Grave profile. I also requested a Find a Grave volunteer in Ketchikan, Alaska, to see if they can snap a photo of his grave and upload it to his memorial. We will see if they do!

While that article is certainly fascinating, M.B. most likely kept this issue because of the article below.

The Carbine Match, A Shooting Competition

M.B. loved to shoot and frequently wrote to his mother about his shooting accomplishments. In fact, when he shot for record with his rifle, his score of 220 earned him an additional $3 of pay per month! Not only was the score high enough to earn him an additional wage, but it was only 4 points less than the score recorded for R.O. Marsh in this article. 

Winner, Winner!

The carbine match winner, R.O. Marsh, actually named Rollin O. Marsh, was a member of the 123rd U.S. Naval Construction Battalion. His Battalion was part of the group known as the "Seabees", and I have always loved their emblem- a cute little flying sailor bee riding a jackhammer-looking thing through the air. You can see it at this link. 

The 123rd was sent to Midway after the infamous Battle of Midway to build and rebuild infrastructure. R.O. Marsh worked in the blacksmith and welding shops there, where his team handled all of the heavy metal work for the Battalion. His team manufactured the special hardware required to complete the job (to avoid wasting time waiting for said hardware to ship from the U.S.) and was proficient at fixing just about any metal object. 

While the Seabees did train for combat and even rotated on guard duty in Midway, their primary role was constructing infrastructure. Maybe there was trash talk before the competition, a little razzing of the guy who spent his days blacksmithing. Imagine how he must've puffed his chest out when he walked away, having shown the ground guys how it was done!

M.B. And the Carbine Match

M.B. absolutely loved shooting and shot a lot of skeet while in Midway. The photo below, taken by M.B., shows pals Fox, Slaughter, Bradley, and McMillin shooting skeet along the beach at Midway. 

When I read the article above and consider M.B.'s love of shooting, I can't help but wonder if he competed in the carbine match. While I think he would have loved to have competed, my instinct is to think that he did not. In fact, I am not entirely certain that the match occurred in Midway and believe it may have occurred in Oahu, Hawaii. 

So, did M.B. compete? I don't think so. Perhaps the competition was in Oahu rather than in Midway. Or, perhaps, he was busy and simply couldn't compete. Whatever the case may be, he wanted to hang on to the scores for a reason- most likely to prove that he was a good enough shot to hang with the best!