Mission Beyond Darkness

When the pilots flew from the carriers of the Task Force 58 they knew they had little hope of returning to their ships.

Given that there was only seventy-five minutes of daylight left, they had little fuel, and they were flying into the middle of the world’s biggest ocean to attack the damaged but still dangerous Japanese fleet, it is little wonder that many of them were pessimistic about their chances.

Yet this is exactly what sixty-four men did in the twilight hours of June 19th, 1944.

Not one of the pilots or their crew hesitated as they got into their planes.

“They did what their commanders and their country told them to do. They carried out a ‘mission beyond darkness.’” Robert M. Citino, Navy Times

Mission Beyond Darkness by Lt. Commander J. Bryan III records in fascinating detail one of the most remarkable missions that place during the war in the Pacific.

Rather relying on second-hand accounts Bryan explains this his work is completely authentic as it “is derived wholly from narratives by the survivors, from statements by officers and men of the Lexington’s company”.

“A story of tight going and tricky work that provided aerial miracles in a landing stampede of planes and pilots; the responsibilities of those aboard the carriers; the rescue work of destroyers and escort ships; foul ups and rogue ships; obstacles of dwindling fuel, misunderstood signals … Top among aviation books.” Kirkus Reviews

“The thrilling story of the closing phase of the First Battle of the Philippines, in which Air Group 16 from the Lexington successfully attacked a number of fleeing Japanese battleships and carriers.” Foreign Affairs

Lieutenant Commander J. Bryan III, USNR, served as a lieutenant commander assigned to naval air combat intelligence in the Pacific during World War Two. In civilian life he was a journalist and writer who was born into the influential Bryan family of newspaper publishers and industrialists. He passed away in 1993. Mission Beyond Darkness was first published in 1945.