{"id":29026,"date":"2025-03-19T00:01:37","date_gmt":"2025-03-19T07:01:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/?p=29026"},"modified":"2025-03-19T04:53:00","modified_gmt":"2025-03-19T11:53:00","slug":"the-uss-midway-museum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/index.php\/2025\/03\/19\/the-uss-midway-museum\/","title":{"rendered":"The USS Midway Museum"},"content":{"rendered":"
By Joe Berk<\/h6>\n

San Diego, Calilfornia.\u00a0 I love that town.\u00a0 One of its best attractions is the USS Midway Museum.\u00a0 I’ve been there three times.\u00a0 The first was a few years ago with Susie, and that visit resulted in a Destinations piece in Motorcycle Classics magazine and a CSC Motorcycles blog article.\u00a0 Another time was when I attended the International Association of Chiefs of Police convention in San Diego with good buddy Mike.\u00a0 The IACP had their big evening party on the Midway’s flight deck, and the keynote speaker was James Comey (the FBI Director; we heard his speech literally days before President Trump fired him).<\/p>\n

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Bring a camera when you visit the Midway. The photo ops are impressive.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Most recently, I returned to the Midway for a visit with Susie and my sister Eileen.\u00a0 You could say I’m a big fan of the Midway and all she represents, and you’d be 100% correct.\u00a0 If you ever find yourself in San Diego, the USS Midway is a \u201cmust see\u201d visit.<\/p>\n

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In the hangar deck, one deck down. The ship is immense.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Susie on the Midway’s 4-acre flight deck.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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On the flight deck, looking back at the San Diego skyline.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The Midway has an impressive collection of Navy helicopters on display.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Battle of Midway was a turning point in World War II in our fight against the Japanese.\u00a0 Movies have been made about it; one of the best is currently streaming on Netflix.\u00a0 Woody Harrelson portrayed Admiral Nimitz and he did a wonderful job.\u00a0 The two men even resemble each other.<\/p>\n

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Chester Nimitz and Woody Harrelson. Harrelson is a superb actor; he played the role well.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Construction started on the USS Midway during World War II, but the war ended before the ship was commissioned.\u00a0 The Midway went on to serve in Korea, Vietnam, and the Persian Gulf wars.\u00a0 You may remember new stories about our departure from Vietnam and the helicopters being shoved off the flight deck and into the sea to make room for more refugees.\u00a0 Those film clips were on the Midway.\u00a0 I was in the Army and I didn’t have really anything to do with the Navy (other than later working in companies that designed and manufactured products for the Navy), but if I had been in the Navy, I think I would have liked to have served on a carrier.\u00a0 There’s just something magnificent about these ships.\u00a0 You may recall my piece on Admiral Gordon Smith<\/a>, one of my best bosses ever.\u00a0 Gordon was a carrier pilot.\u00a0 I admire and miss him greatly.<\/p>\n

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Aircraft on the Midway flight deck.\u00a0 That’s San Diego in the background.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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A glorious day, the USS Midway, and a 12-24 wide angle lens with a polarizer…it doesn’t get much better than this!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Another view from the fight deck.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The Island…we climbed up top to see where air and navigation ops were conducted.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The docents at the USS Midway Museum are all prior service people.\u00a0 They are friendly and gave great talks.\u00a0 When Susie and I were on the flight deck, one of the docents told the two of us about a jet and described it as “my airplane.”\u00a0 Susie said, “Oh, you flew one like this?”<\/p>\n

“No,” he answered.\u00a0 “I flew this<\/span> aircraft.”\u00a0 It just doesn’t get any better than that.\u00a0\u00a0Well, maybe it does.\u00a0 When we bought our tickets on our most recent visit, the lady behind the counter asked if any us were former service members.\u00a0 As usual, my mind was in neutral.\u00a0 I kind of just stood there and Susie quickly explained that I had served in the Army.\u00a0 That provided a steep discount and a sticker to put on my pocket designating me as a prior service guy.\u00a0 Every one of the docents asked me about my service as we made our way through the museum.\u00a0 It’s been so long ago (almost 50 years) that I had to stop and think with every question.\u00a0 It was fun.\u00a0 The folks on the Midway made me feel special.\u00a0 You can’t put a price on that.<\/p>\n

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Up in the island, where the Air Boss and his assistants did their jobs.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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A view from the Air Boss’s area, looking over the flight deck.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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An enormous flight deck…we were near the front of the ship for this shot.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Back on the dock, looking out under the USS Midway deck across the harbor.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There’s just so much to see and enjoy in San Diego.\u00a0 If you are lucky enough to visit this wonderful town, you might want to stop for dinner or a late lunch after seeing the Midway.\u00a0 One of the best restaurants in town is The Brigantine, just up the road from the Midway along the Embarcadero.\u00a0 The Brigantine’s fish and chips dish is one of the best I’ve ever had.\u00a0 If you like family-run Italian restaurants (they’re at the top of the list for me), try Volare’s (at 3528 Barnett Avenue in San Diego).<\/p>\n

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On our first visit to the USS Midway, Susie and I drove across to Coronado Island after visiting the Museum.\u00a0 After a fine dinner in Coronado, we took in the San Deigo skyline across the bay at night.\u00a0 It’s one of my favorite photos.<\/p>\n

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