In one of the most decisive victories in the history of naval warfare the US Navy engaged and defeated the seemingly invincible Imperial Japanese fleet at the Battle of Midway. The US Navy delivered a crushing blow to the Japanese Navy from which they would not recover. Here is an excerpt from www.history.com describing the American victory.
“At the Battle of Midway, Japan lost four carriers, a cruiser, and 292 aircraft, and suffered 2,500 casualties. The U.S. lost the Yorktown, the destroyer USS Hammann, 145 aircraft, and suffered 307 casualties. Japan’s losses hobbled its naval might–bringing Japanese and American sea power to approximate parity–and marked the turning point in the Pacific theater of World War II. In August 1942, the great U.S. counteroffensive began at Guadalcanal and did not cease until Japan’s surrender three years later.”
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/battle-of-midway-ends
sickunclesam 