Battle Of The Coral Sea

The Battle of the Coral Sea, fought in May of 1942, was the first naval engagement contested without visual contact between the opposing forces, and set the strategy for the remainder of the sea war in the Pacific.

When Commander Weldon Hamilton, leading one of the USS Lexington's Dauntless squadrons, spotted the Shóhó on the morning of 4 May 1942, the Japanese carrier's fate was sealed. Within minutes she was hit by the full force of the Lexington's dive bombers and torpedo aircraft, aided by the Yorktown's attack group. Smothered by a dozen bomb and seven torpedo hits, she was sunk in 30 minutes, bringing about the memorable radio transmission "Scratch one flat top".

Signed by:

Harold Buell
Ben Preston
Joe Riley
Arthur Schultz
Lawrence Traynor