It's probably the only time in history that a case of psoriasis was a contributing factor in a naval battle.
As a Japanese armada of 80 ships -- including four carriers -- steamed toward Midway Island in early June 1942, Rear Adm. William F. "Bull" Halsey, Pacific commander, was forced to the sidelines because of a severe case of psoriasis that left him itching all over.
He turned to Adm. Raymond Ames Spruance, who had no previous combat experience, to command one of two carrier task forces that successfully thwarted Japan's plans of invading Hawaii and destroying what remained of the U.S. fleet.
Described by a fellow officer as a "cold-blooded fighting fool," Spruance was given the command of Task Force 16, which also included the carriers USS Enterprise and USS Hornet.
The Battle of Midway commenced early in the morning of June 4.
As he walked the bridge of his ship, Spruance ordered: "Attack at once."
By 10:30 a.m., ?.S. dive bombers had turned three of the Japanese carriers, Akagi, Kaga and Soryu, into flaming wrecks that later plunged to the bottom. A fourth carrier, Hiryu, met a similar fate.
The Japanese admiral, Isoroku Yamamoto, ordered his fleet to withdraw after issuing his famous order -- "The Midway Operation is canceled" -- while Spruance's aircraft kept pursuing the remnants of the fleeing enemy navy.
By the end of the three-day attack, the Mikuma, an enemy cruiser, had sunk, 275 aircraft were destroyed and 4,800 Japanese sailors were killed.
U.S. losses included the carrier USS Yorktown, a destroyer, the USS Hammann, 147 planes and 307 men.
Historians credit Spruance's coolness under fire and his tactical decision to launch all available aircraft against the enemy fleet with contributing to what has been described as the turning point of the war in the Pacific -- a naval engagement no less significant than Salamis, Lepanto or Trafalgar.
Samuel Eliot Morrison, the noted naval historian, wrote that Spruance emerged from the Battle of Midway as "one of the greatest fighting and thinking admirals in American naval history."
He added: "Power of decision and coolness of action were perhaps Spruance's leading characteristics."
"If there was going to be a fight with Japanese surface ships," Spruance once said, "it was my job to be there."
