Admiral Smith commanded the escort screen for the aircraft carrier Yorktown during the battle at Midway. Although his account isn’t the U.S. Navy’s official version of the story, it is probably very close to version the officers in charge that day would want told. “U.S. flag officers at sea for the engagement were rear admirals, and we know what to expect of each other. We were and still are friends.”

As such, there isn’t much that’s surprising or controversial in Smith’s telling. He outlines the battle, and its leadup engagement in the Coral Sea, in a strightforward way. He generally voices agreement with the strategic and tactical decisions made by his fellow officers. He (along with many others) offers a strong critique of several elements of the weaponry the Americans brought to Midway, espcially the unreliable Mark 13 torpedos and the torpedo bombers and fighters that were no match for the Japanese Zero. Otherwise, however, he offers no real critical vantage point.

His orthodoxy allows him to chart a clear narrative path, with only some mild digressions concerning the personal and profession backgrounds of his fellow officers. It’s a shame, however, that he is unable to use the entirety of his full career in naval warfare to dissect the battle more critically. Writing only a couple decades after the war, he undoubtedly had many friendships at stake. Forty years later, however, his account offers a clear story, but little insight.