Lieutenant Commander Ernest L. Blake Quotes in Midway (1976)

Captain Garth: Admiral, Commander Rochefort has something he would like to tell you.

Commander Rochefort: It's about objective AF, sir, the meaning of AF. Now, our listening posts have been picking up alot of traffic between Yamamoto's staff commanders.

Captain Garth: There has been a heavy volume of traffic, sir, with the recurring references to Objective AF and... what was the other one?

Commander Rochefort: AO. Now, AO is still a mystery, Admiral, maybe a diverson, but I think we've identified Objective AF as Midway. Now, it really had us stymied there, until one of my men remembered an enemy intercept we decoded last March. Now, a Jap reconnaissance pilot radioed his base that he was passing close to AF. Now we plotted every possible course this plane might have taken, and the only appreciable land mass he could have overflown at the time was Midway.

Captain Garth: Joe...

Commander Rochefort: Look, I know it's thin...

Admiral Nimitz: Thin? Damn near invisible.

Commander Rochefort: But I found a way to confirm it, sir.

[Takes out a message and passes it to Nimitz]

Commander Rochefort: If you will have this flown to Midway. It's a fake message, sir, reporting that Midway's fresh water condenser has broken down. Now, it should be transmitted in the clear, so there's no question of Japanese operators getting every word of it.

Admiral Nimitz: [Smiles and nods, passing it over to Blake] Instruct Midway to include that in their housekeeping traffic tomorrow.

Lieutenant Commander Ernest L. Blake: Aye, sir.

Captain Vinton Maddox: Admiral, these enemy radio intercepts that your intelligence unit has been accumulating...

Admiral Nimitz: Very detailed, aren't they?

Captain Vinton Maddox: Too damned detailed, Admiral. Do you remember what happened just before December 7th?

Admiral Nimitz: The Japanese flooded the airwaves with fake messages.

Captain Vinton Maddox: Yes. These could be carbon copies. Washington's convinced that Yamamoto's feeding this stuff to you in order to cover his real intentions.

Admiral Nimitz: Very definite possibility.

Captain Vinton Maddox: Well then, sir, how can you still insist...

Admiral Nimitz: Because it is my judgement that this information is factual. I'm convinced Yamamoto's target is Midway.

Captain Vinton Maddox: If you're wrong, Admiral, if you send our carriers into a Japanese ambush, the entire west coast and Hawaiian islands will be wide open for invasion.

Admiral Nimitz: I'm fully aware of that, Captain. You're saying the safe play is to defend the home folks first.

Captain Vinton Maddox: With respects, Admiral, it's the smart play.

Admiral Nimitz: Captain, if we surprise the enemy, catch him where he doesn't think we'll be, we can drive him back 3000 miles. And keep him pinned 'til we're ready to take him on his own front yard.

Captain Vinton Maddox: Sir, my instructions were to convey Washington's deep concern for the safety of the west coast and the Hawaiian islands. That is, if...

Admiral Nimitz: Captain Maddox, is Washington ordering me to defend against an attack here or the west coast?

Captain Vinton Maddox: No, sir. My orders were simply to consult. No, sir, I have no such orders for you.

Admiral Nimitz: Commander Blake, declare a state of fleet-opposed invasion. Target... Midway Island. Issue the order immediately.

Lieutenant Commander Ernest L. Blake: Aye, aye, sir.