THE FIRST KEY SEA BATTLE OF WORLD WAR II WAS FOUGHT IN THE CORAL SEA

  The Seabourn Odyssey left Cairns and is headed for New Caledonia.

The Battle of the Coral Sea occurred between 4 and 8 of May 1942, five months after Pearl Harbor.  

• Japan vs the USA and Australia.  
• First aircraft carrier battle ever fought.
• All the fighting, however, were carried out by airplanes from those ships.
• This was the first time in WWII that Japan experienced failure in a major battle.
• This was the victory that saved Australia, for Japan was advancing towards Australia.

The U.S. knew more than the Japanese suspected, for America had broken the Japanese secret naval codes.  The strategy was to sink carriers, for that would destroy the plane runway.  The problem was that each was protected by a screen of cruisers and destroyers.

The Japanese were led by Admiral Shigeyoshi Inoue, with Admiral Frank Fletcher in American command.

The final truth is that this was actually a tactical victory for Japan, as the American USS Lexington carrier was scuttled and USS Yorktown damaged.  The Japanese lost a light carrier.  Both sides had similar plane losses.  But the overriding reality was that the U.S. and Australia won a strategic victory, for the ultimate consequence was that this stalemate influenced Japan to pause, leading to the Battle of Midway (TBoM, located 1300 miles from Hawaii) the following month.

TBoM  was led by Admiral Chester Nimitz, defeating an attacking Japanese fleet under Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto.  

• 
  Earlier in April General Doolittle had air raided Tokyo.
• The Japanese lured the 3 American carriers (but they knew that Yorktown had been crippled) to the site with 4 carriers and double the number of planes.  The plan was to destroy the American naval fleet, allowing them to invade Fiji, Samoa and Hawaii.  I did not realize we were one battle away from this. Of course, I was only a year old, but the possible consequences are frightening.  Where would I be today if....
• Cryptographers, though, were able to keep the Americans alerted to instead ambush the Japanese. 

• 
  The key intelligence through this info was keeping supporting American ships in a nearby area when those of the Japanese were dispersed elsewhere.  That was the difference.
• All four Japanese carriers (they were the ones that attacked Pearl Harbor) were sunk.
• Only that same Yorktown from the Coral Sea was lost...the USS Enterprise and USS Hornet survived intact.
• This was the most stunning and decisive blow in the history of naval warfare, the turning point of World War II in the Pacific.

• 
  There were two Battle of Midway films, first Midway in 1976, then in 2019.  The first got 47/71 Rotten Tomato reviews, while the second had a Rotten Tomato rating of 42% by reviewers, but 92% by the audience.
• Of course there was also Battle of the Coral Sea movie, in 1959, with Cliff Robertson.  However, got an embarrassing Rotten Tomatoes rating of /22.

All that to say that I again did nothing much on my cruise today.  But what a night,  Not much for breakfast, but a good lunch.

Two fish servings, with soup and risotto, plus baklava for dessert.

Not much the rest of the afternoon except for a long walk all over the ship.  Dinner was special because we had arranged for some maguro sashimi and miso soup to start the meal.

A welcomed improvement of anything Japanese, especially the sashimi.  The miso soup remains a project being perfected.  Then miso salmon for supper.  Superb.  Followed by a soufflé and petit fours.

New Chef Eric Batema, who just boarded the ship in Cairns, came by for a chat.  Then went to The Grand Salon to be entertained by Wil Martin, publicized as THE VOICE YOU MUST HEAR TO BELIEVE.

He was, indeed, fabulous.  On the way back to our cabin we stopped by The Observation Bar to have a drink.  Bruce and Carlo from Australia, who I sat next to at the Sommelier's Wine lunch, sat with us.  We were entertained by The Trio.

Very unusual for us, but near midnight we thought, one final drink at what has in the past been a disco-type setting in The Club.  Nikki and her band was just finishing up.  So that was it.  I had a cognac anyway, and closed the bar with, of all the person, Wil, and his friends.

Note that we are the only two left.  Even the bar was closed.  Did not get to sleep until 2AM.  What a day.  Even the 5301 steps showed that this was an active day at sea.

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