Navy Expeditionary Combat Command (NECC) held a Battle of Midway commemoration ceremony in the Expeditionary Warfare Training Group, Atlantic Midway Auditorium, June 3, marking the 74th anniversary of the U.S. Navy's most significant naval victory.

Yearly, commands around the Navy commemorate the anniversary of this poignant battle, which occurred June 4-7, as an opportunity to educate follow-on generations of Sailors about the naval victory in which our Navy demonstrated its superiority and our Sailors demonstrated their fighting power throughout the battle.

Dave Scott, assigned to NECC's N43 department, attended the ceremony and discussed the importance of the battle in naval history.

"This battle was seen as the turning point in the war," said Scott, an avid follower of naval history. "Our victory at Midway ensured our nation's sovereignty and we remained a free nation."

Scott added the battle was seen as a crushing defeat for the Japanese. With their aircraft carriers sunk, the Japanese had lost control of the air over their remaining surface forces, and could not continue the battle.

"Winning this decisive battle gave the United States a military advantage and edge to hold off the Japanese at their doorstep," added Scott.

Many factors contributed to the decisive victory from the hard work of code breaking, to the aggressive and innovative use of the aircraft carrier, and the bravery and resolve of the Sailors who were there. Instead of being the victims of an ambush, they had turned the tables on the Japanese navy and had ambushed them. The Battle of Midway permanently weakened the Japanese navy and allowed the United States to seize the initiative in the Pacific and go on the offensive.

"Not only did the U.S. Navy win this battle, it gave the fighting men and women a boost of morale that we needed at the time especially with the recent attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941," said Scott.

NECC is an enduring warfighting force providing sea-to-shore and inland operating environment capabilities across the full range of military operations that is focused on delivering combat effective expeditionary forces ready for worldwide operations now and into the future.

For more information, visit www.navy.mil, www.facebook.com/usnavy, or www.twitter.com/usnavy.

For more news from Navy Expeditionary Combat Command , visit www.navy.mil/.