Description
First edition of Sole Survivor: The Battle of Midway and its effects on his life, signed by Ensign George Gay.
Octavo, 320pp. Blue cloth, title stamped in gilt on spine. No additional printings mentioned. Internally clean. In the publisher’s dust jacket, price clipped, light foxing to verso, a bright example. Inscribed on the front free endpaper: “To _, All the good luck I had at Midway. George Gay. Keep America Strong.”
Ensign George H. Gay Jr. (1917-1994) fought at the Battle of Midway, as a member of Torpedo Squadron 8 (VT-8) aboard the USS Hornet. Ensign Gay was part of a group of airmen who launched a daring torpedo attack against the Japanese fleet. His squadron suffered heavy losses, with all but one aircraft shot down. Ensign Gay was the sole survivor of his squadron, shot down but managing to eject and witness the battle from the ocean, hiding under a seat cushion to avoid detection by enemy forces. After Midway, Gay took part in the Guadalcanal Campaign with Torpedo Squadron 11. In later life, he was a pilot for Trans World Airways and lectured about his experiences in the Pacific Theatre.
