In the movie “Midway,” Lieutenant Commander Richard “Dick” Best (played by Ed Skrein) dives his SBD Dauntless bomber toward two Japanese aircraft carriers and drops his bombs, scoring hits on both—on the same day! Anyone watching the movie might think this heroic act was the stuff of Hollywood dramatic license, but it was not.
Best really did fly the two missions on June 4, 1942, and successfully hit the carriers Akagi and Hiryu, knocking them out of the war. A 1932 U.S. Naval Academy graduate from Bayonne, New Jersey, Best commanded U.S. Navy Bombing Squadron 6, flying off the American carrier USS Enterprise. His successful mission, unfortunately, cost him his flying career when he inhaled a toxic mix from his oxygen canister, burning his respiratory tract, an accident also portrayed in the movie.
The Battle of Midway, one of the most decisive battles on World War II, cost the Japanese four aircraft carriers, compared to one for the U.S. Navy. It stopped Japanese expansion in the Pacific and shifted the balance of power to the Allies. For his actions at Midway, Best earned both the Navy Cross and the Distinguished Service Cross. The citation for his Navy Cross reads: “Defying extreme danger from concentrated anti-aircraft barrage and powerful fighter opposition, Lieutenant Commander Best, with bold determination and courageous zeal, led his squadron in dive-bombing assaults against Japanese naval units. Flying at a distance from his own forces which rendered return unlikely because of probable fuel exhaustion, he pressed home his attacks with extreme disregard for his own personal safety.”
Before Best’s death in 2001, Admiral Thomas Moorer and Vice Admiral William Houser spearheaded an unsuccessful effort to get Best the Medal of Honor. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery’s Section 54.
On October 28, 2019, during events surrounding the movie’s premiere, actor Ed Skrein visited Best’s grave, accompanied by fellow star Luke Kleintank and handful of studio employees. Skrein wanted to pay his respects to the man he had studied and portrayed in the movie, the real-life hero of Midway.
Author: Kevin Hymel, Historian