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United States
Crew of the USS Enterprise
Richard "Dick" Best
Lieutenant Richard Halsey "Dick" Best
Portrayed by: Ed Skrein
In real life...
Executive Officer, then Commanding Officer, Bombing Squadron 6
- Ace Pilot: His Establishing Character Moment is him showing how skilled he is in the SBD Dauntless, when he manages to land the plane without power. In combat, he proves himself to be even better, when his bombing runs are always guaranteed hits, and he even shoots down a number of Zero fighters attempting to shoot him down.
- Action Dad: A father, and a very capable pilot who claims several Japanese fighters and two aircraft carriers.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: At one point, he outright says that he wish he could see his wife and daughter again for more than just a few days. He ends up getting his wish at the end, but at the cost of him coughing up blood, being unable to fly in the Navy again, and having to undergo treatment for Tuberculosis.
- Belly-Scraping Flight: A preferred tactic of his. In training missions, he does this in order to simulate battle damage or establish how skilled he is in handling the SBD. He almost always comes close to hitting the water's surface, both in take offs and landings. In combat, it's to ensure his bombs will always hit their targets, which they do, both against an enemy airfield as well as two of the Japanese carriers.
- Blood from the Mouth: After inhaling too much of a toxic oxygen mixture during the Battle of Midway, he begins to cough up blood every now and then. It's later revealed to be Tuberculosis, which ultimately ends up being a Career-Ending Injury for him.
- Captain Smooth and Sergeant Rough: Pretty much his dynamic with McClusky. In this case, he's the Sergeant Rough, teaching newer pilots and aircrew by drilling them the hard way.
- Career-Ending Injury: He inhales a batch of bad oxygen during the Battle of Midway, which gives him Tuberculosis. This sickness ultimately prevents him from ever flying again.
- Establishing Character Moment: His first scene, no less. Rather than land his SBD conventionally, he opts to simulate an engine and power failure, getting his plane into a Belly-Scraping Flight and then landing the plane from a steep angle. This shows that he's a Military Maverick, someone willing to get into the heat of battle, and, given that he really does have to try landing a damaged plane later, a practical realist.
- Happily Married: He has a wife and daughter back in Hawaii, and during his time together with the former, he's shown to be a loving husband.
- Headbutting Heroes: With Eugene Lindsey, commander of Torpedo 6. Best, with good reason, knows about the TBD's flaws as well as the problems shown with the Mark 13 torpedo, to which Lindsey denies these accusations.
- The Hero: He's the character with the most focus, showing his service from Pearl Harbor to Midway.
- Hot-Blooded: Amongst the pilots and crew of the planes based on Enterprise, Best stands out as the most eager to get back at the Japanese and the first one to go into the heat of battle.
- Incurable Cough of Death: Subverted. He starts coughing up blood following his strike on the Akagi. Following his run on the Hiryu, he begins coughing even more, to the point he's no longer able to stand properly. It's eventually revealed to be due to Tuberculosis, which ultimately gets him grounded for the rest of the war, but thankfully doesn't kill him.
- Military Maverick: As a pilot and officer, he's shown to be a rather hotheaded type, willing to charge into battle in order to exact revenge on the Japanese at first opportunity.
- My Greatest Failure: His is getting Willie West, a New Meat pilot and his newly appointed wingman, killed in a training mission.
- Post-Victory Collapse: Following his successful attack on the Hiryu and landing his plane in one piece, he ends up collapsing after getting out of his cockpit thanks to his earlier inhalation of bad oxygen mixture, coughing up blood in the process. He has to be carried over to the ship's sick bay as a result.
- Rank Up: He's promoted to Bombing Squadron 6's Commanding Officer just before the Battle of Midway by Admiral Halsey. By the end of the movie he's been promoted in substantive rank to Lieutenant Commander.
- You Are in Command Now: He takes de facto command of the Enterprise and Yorktown dive bomber squadrons after McClusky is badly wounded during their first attack.
C. Wade McClusky
Lieutenant Commander Clarence Wade McClusky, Jr.
Portrayed by: Luke Evans
"Men like Dick Best are the reason we're gonna win this war."
In real life...
Commander, Enterprise Air Group (CEAG), and Best's immediate superior.
- Awesomeness by Analysis: He may not have done so well in the fight itself, but he was the one to spot the Arashi and make the connection that it was trying to get back to the Japanese fleet, thus allowing the Enterprise's bombers to find their target in the first place.
- Captain Smooth and Sergeant Rough: He's the Captain Smooth to Best's Sergeant Rough, being the calm and collected commander.
- I Can Still Fight!: After getting shot by a Zero's machine gun and returning to the Enterprise, McClusky tells Adm. Spruance that he can still fly and lead Bombing 6. The Admiral, however, tells him instead to get his arm patched up, as he's in no condition to fly in his state.
- The Leader: Of Enterprise Air Group (Bombing 6, Scouting 6, Torpedo 6, and Fighting 6).
- Non-Action Guy: For most of the film, he's stuck onboard the Enterprise in a commanding position. The one time he does sortie, he misses his target and gets badly wounded.
- Only a Flesh Wound: Subverted. He gets shot in the arm and initially walks if off. Adm. Spruance, who realizes the severity of his wound, orders him to get patched up, as he's rightfully not in a condition to lead or fly.
- Put on a Bus: Thanks to his arm injury, he misses out the final strike on the Hiryu, with Best taking command of the dive bombers in his stead.
- Rank Scales with Asskicking: Subverted. When transferred to a dive bomber before the battle, he claims to Best that he can do as good a job when it comes to flying the SBD and bombing. But during the Battle of Midway he not only confuses both his and Best's squadrons into going after one carrier, he also misses his target and then gets shot in the shoulder during the flight back to the Enterprise. In reality, McClusky (as noted above) had only recently transferred from a fighter to a dive bomber, and the doubling-up upon the Kaga was due to simultaneous radio broadcasts confusing both units.
- Rank Up: Halsey promotes him to the Enterprise's air group commander just before the Battle of Midway. Postwar, at the end of his career, he's a Rear Admiral.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Best irritates him quite a bit, but he recognizes Best's value and knows when to cut him some slack and how to rein him in. In particular, he intervenes quickly to save Best from himself when Best is about to get himself in serious trouble fighting with Lindsey.
Clarence Earle Dickinson
Lieutenant Clarence Earle Dickinson
Portrayed by: Luke Kleintank
"Come on, Dickinson, do what you're paid to do!"
In real life...
A member of Scouting Squadron 6, and a close friend and Annapolis batchmate of Best and Pearce.
- Ace Pilot: He is the one responsible for hitting the Kaga, after all. Also, prior to the events of the film, he was the pilot on the Enterprise with the most notable achievements, surpassing Dick Best in a lot of regards.
- Born Lucky: He gets shot down by Zeroes near Oahu, but manages to survive with no lasting injuries. Later, he scores a devastating hit on the Kaga. And just as he runs out of fuel before he can make it to the Enterprise, he ends up ditching near a friendly destroyer, and coming back to the Enterprise in one piece.
- Captain Crash: In two of the three sorties he's shown doing, he ends up losing his plane in two of them. The first to Japanese fighters, the second due to running out of fuel.
- Disney Death: Following the attacks on three of the Japanese carriers, Dickinson's plane is among those not to return to the Enterprise, implying he was shot down, captured, and executed like Gaido and O'Flaherty. Late in the film, however, he's shown to have survived, having been picked up by a friendly ship offscreen.
- It's Probably Nothing: During the Attack on Pearl Harbor, Dickinson at first dismisses the massive flak barrage over the harbor as a training exercise. This soon changes once Japanese Zeroes start going after his flight.
- The Lancer: To Best during the raid on the Marshalls, and later, the Battle of Midway.
- Lead the Target: He lampshades this when the Enterprise's inexperienced anti-aircraft gunners are trying to shoot down Japanese bombers attacking the carrier.
- Oh, Crap!:
- He begins to lose his composure once Japanese Zeroes jump his SBD flight en route to Pearl Harbor.
- He pretty much loses his composure when he witnesses Ensign West take off without enough wind to lift his plane up.
- Sole Survivor: Of his flight of Dauntlesses during the Pearl Harbor attack. He's the only one able to bail out of his plane when Zeroes jump them en route to Pearl Harbor.
Eugene E. Lindsey
Lieutenant Commander Eugene Lindsey
Portrayed by: Darren Criss
"Torpedoes sink ships, not bombs."
In real life...
Commander of Torpedo Squadron 6.
- The Alleged Car: In stark contrast to the SBD Dauntless, the TBD Devastator is slow, sluggish, and very much vulnerable to enemy fighters and Anti-Air fire. Even its defensive armament is less than the one used on the SBD, having only a single Browning M1919 to defend itself instead of the faster-firing twin mounts used on the SBD.
- Determinator: Despite getting badly injured following a botched landing just before the Battle of Midway, he insists on commanding Torpedo 6 during the Battle of Midway.
- Face Death with Dignity: When his plane is shot up by a Japanese Zero beyond repair, he calmly awaits his inevitable demise shortly before his plane disintegrates.
- The Friend Nobody Likes: Best, Dickinson, and even McClusky are all shown to dislike Lindsey to differing degrees, thanks in no small part to being too stubborn to realize that the TBD Devastator and the Mark 13 torpedo are obsolete and unreliable, respectively. By the morning of the Midway battle, though, Best at least shows Lindsey a newfound respect after the latter insists on leading his squadron despite severe injuries.
- Headbutting Heroes: With Best regarding tactics and aircraft preference. Lindsey insists that the torpedo bombers can inflict devastating blows to the Japanese ships, while Best argues that Dive bombers are far more reliable.
- I Can Still Fight!: Unlike McClusky or Halsey, though, Lindsey manages to continue flying and commanding Torpedo 6 despite being badly injured only days prior to the Battle of Midway.
- Irony: Early in the film, he argues with Best, an SBD pilot, that it's torpedoes that sink enemy ships, not bombs. During the Battle of Midway, his torpedo bombers are cut to pieces by Japanese anti-aircraft fire and fighters, and worse, any torpedoes launched by the Devastators either miss or malfunction. Ultimately, it's the SBD Dauntlesses, Best's included, that sink the Japanese carriers.
- Reliably Unreliable Guns: The Mark 13 torpedoes used by the TBD Devastators turn out to be this. Even if they do successfully activate when hitting the water, they will refuse to detonate upon impacting an enemy ship, as shown early on during the raid on the Marshall Islands.
- The Rival: To Dick Best, believing that torpedo bombers can do more damage to enemy ships than dive bombers. Given Japan's own successes with torpedoes to this point he might have been right, except that American torpedoes prove to be duds with depressing frequency.
- Sitting Duck: His entire flight of TBD Devastators end up being unable to flee or defend themselves when Japanese flak and fighters open fire on them, resulting in all of them getting shot down.
James Murray
Chief Aviation Radioman James Murray
Portrayed by: Keean Johnson
"We got Zeroes on our tail!"
Best's radioman and gunner.
- Communications Officer: Aside from being Best's tail gunner, he's also responsible for operating their SBD's radio.
- Determinator: During the bombing run on the Hiryu, Murray gets burned in the hands when his machine gun locks position during the diving run. Despite suffering horrific burns, he manages to get the gun firing, shoot down a couple of Zeroes attempting to chase his and Best's plane, and save them from certain doom.
- Guy in Back: He serves as Best's radioman and rear gunner, saving the former's life more than once during strikes on both the Marshall Islands and Midway.
- Heroic BSoD: He briefly goes into one following the attack on the Akagi, and initially refuses to accompany Best again. Thankfully, Best snaps him out of it.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: Serves as a level-headed and sober counterpart to Best's wilder nature. While it leads to his temporary Heroic BSoD outlined above after one close scrape too many, Best shows that he values this aspect of Murray's character.
- 10-Minute Retirement: Following the strike on the Akagi, Murray becomes reluctant to fly with Best one more time. Best, thankfully, snaps him out of this, and Murray later saves himself and Best from being shot down during the bombing run on the Hiryu.
Bruno Gaido
Aviation Machinist's Mate Bruno Gaido
Portrayed by: Nick Jonas
"Come on! Come on!"
In real life...
An SBD gunner based aboard the Enterprise who saves the ship during a Japanese air raid.
- Badass Bystander: During the Japanese bombing attack in the Marshall Islands, one of the G3M "Nell" bombers attacking the Enterprise decides to go on a Suicide Attack, having been mortally wounded by the ship's Anti-Air fire. Gaido, who had been observing said attack alongside Best and Murray, decides to hop into an unmanned SBD, man the rear machine gun, and shoot the bomber's remaining engine out.
- Cement Shoes: His fate upon being captured by the Japanese upon refusing to divulge any information is to be tied to an anchor and dropped into the ocean.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: The Japanese destroyer crew who capture him decide to tie him to an anchor and drown him when he refuses to give any information.
- Defiant to the End: Rather than give any information to the Japanese, he tells the Japanese to go fuck themselves before being killed.
- Face Death with Dignity: Moments before slipping beneath the waves, his expression is him calmly accepting his fate.
- Guy in Back: He serves as the rear gunner for Clarence Dickinson during the raid on the Marshall Islands. During the Battle of Midway, he serves as one for Frank O'Flaherty.
- Historical Badass Upgrade: A rather tragic example regarding his death. While the film version goes out like a champ, the real Guido was gruesomely tortured until he cracked and told the Japanese everything he knew; and he begged for his life as they tied him down with weights and prepared to toss him overboard.
- Make an Example of Them: The Japanese destroyer captain who captures him and O'Flaherty decides to execute him via Cement Shoes, in order to prove to O'Flaherty he isn't messing around.
- One Last Smoke: Immediately following his capture, he asks his Japanese captors for a cigarette, knowing they'll just kill him anyway whether he gives them vital information or not.
- Rank Up: He gets promoted by Adm. Halsey after helping to save the Enterprise from a potentially devastating hit.
- We All Die Someday: ...so why worry about it? This belief is the source of his courage. To illustrate his point, he tells the story of his uncle, who worked construction on the Empire State Building without safety equipment and without fear...and then died in a car accident while walking home from church.
Willie West
Ensign Willie West
Portrayed by: Jake Manley
"Tell me. What's your secret? How do you do it?"
A replacement pilot assigned to Bombing Squadron 6, whom Best appoints his new wingman.
- Alliterative Name: His first and last name both start with a "W".
- New Meat: He's a replacement straight out of flight school, so this is to be expected.
- Red Shirt: He's just one of an entire batch of new pilots on the Enterprise. And he dies in his 3rd scene during a training accident.
- Sacrificial Lamb: He ends up dying on a training mission, thanks to his lack of experience and lack of confidence. His death also establishes how even normal flight operations on aircraft carriers are still dangerous.
- Wingman: To Best until he's killed on his first patrol.
Frank Woodrow O'Flaherty
Ensign Frank Woodrow O'Flaherty
Portrayed by: Russell Dennis Lewis
"We're going in!"
An SBD pilot from Scouting Squadron 6, whom Bruno Gaido is assigned with.
- Cement Shoes: Like Gaido, the Japanese toss him into the sea tied to an anchor once he's no longer of any use to them.
- Killed Offscreen: While not shown in the film, the Japanese destroyer crew drop him into the sea following Gaido's own execution.
- Oh, Crap!: His expression when the Japanese destroyer captain begins interrogating him.
- Red Shirt: Ultimately his role in the film. He doesn't get much focus in the story proper and he dies in his 3rd scene.
Edwin Kroeger
Lieutenant Junior Grade Edwin Kroeger
Portrayed by: James Hicks
"Feel a little lonely, sir? You should have brought more planes to the party."
A pilot in Bombing Squadron 6, who serves as one of Best's wingmen.
- Coming in Hot: Following the attack on the Hiryu, Kroeger ends up crash-landing his SBD on the Enterprise, and is shortly revealed thereafter to be wounded in the head.
- Wingman: To Best during the attack on the Marshall Islands, and later, during the Battle of Midway.
William "Bull" Halsey
Vice Admiral William Frederick Halsey Jr., Commander, Carrier Division Two
Portrayed by: Dennis Quaid
"That's the bravest damn thing I think I've ever seen."
In real life...
Commander of Carrier Division Two and McClusky's superior.
- Attack! Attack! Attack!: His commanding style and combat philosophy revolves around launching retaliatory strikes against Japanese air and naval bases, in order to force the Japanese to expend valuable resources into defending these outposts.
- Frontline General: Unlike his superior Nimitz, he commands operations onboard the fighting ships. During the attack on the Marshall Islands, he's just as much in the line of fire as the other men onboard the Enterprise.
- Hot-Blooded: After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Halsey becomes itching to get some payback at the Japanese.
- I Can Still Fight!: When the Enterprise docks in Pearl Harbor just before the Battle of Midway, he tells Nimitz, his superior, that he can continue commanding from the Enterprise despite his increasingly worse sickness. Nimitz has none of it, and has to order him to take sick leave for 6 weeks.
- Put on a Bus: Adm. Nimitz sends Halsey on six weeks leave to de-stress and treat his shingles, causing him to be absent for the Battle of Midway. He returns briefly at the end when Nimitz phones him about the victory, and is visibly happy about it.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The Red Oni to To Adm. Raymond Spruance's Blue Oni, his successor. Unlike Spruance, who is very cautious when leading the US Task Force, Halsey takes the opportunity to attack the Japanese whenever possible, despite the risk of his carrier getting attacked.
Raymond A. Spruance
Rear Admiral Raymond Ames Spruance, Commander, Carrier Division Two
Portrayed by: Jack Weber
"Yorktown's hit."
In real life...
William Halsey's replacement as commander of Carrier Division Two and commander of forces at the Battle of Midway.
- Frontline General: Like Halsey, he leads from the fighting ships, serving aboard the Enterprise and directing flight operations.
- Know When to Fold 'Em: Once the Hiryu is taken out of action, Spruance wisely decides to get the fleet out of dodge, knowing the rest of the Japanese fleet will come looking for them.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The Blue Oni to Adm. Halsey's Red Oni, his predecessor. While Halsey is an aggressive commander whose priority is to strike back at the Japanese, Spruance is far more cautious, pulling out his ships once the battle is won.
- The Stoic: In contrast to Admiral Halsey, Spruance is far more calm and collected when commanding his ships. Even as the Yorktown receives devastating hits on her flight deck, he just calmly asks how many planes are left.
Miles Browning
Captain Miles Rutherford Browning
Portrayed by: Eric Davis
"What do we tell Doolittle?"
Admiral Halsey's Chief-of-Staff.
- Number Two: To Admiral Halsey, being his Chief-of-Staff.
- Satellite Character: To Admiral Halsey, with all but one of his scenes being shared with his direct superior.
US Navy staff
Chester W. Nimitz
Admiral Chester William Nimitz Sr., Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet and Commander in Chief, Pacific Ocean Areas
Portrayed by: Woody Harrelson
"I trust Layton and his team. Make your plans accordingly."
In real life...
Commander in chief of Allied forces in the Pacific and Halsey's commanding officer.
- Armchair Military: Averted; while he spends the entire film in his headquarters at Pearl Harbor planning and then receiving updates about the battle, this is exactly how he is supposed to serve as Commander-in-Chief of America's Pacific Fleet, and he is far from clueless about the risks or potential consequences of the upcoming battle.
- Big Good: Serves as this to the main cast on the USS Enterprise as commander of the Second World War in the Pacific (though he also shares authority with General Douglas Macarthur in the Philippines), replacing the disgraced Admiral Kimmel. He is subordinate to the even bigger goods Admiral Ernest King (chief of the navy) and President Roosevelt.
- Rank Up: Nimitz is promoted to full Admiral to replace Kimmel as Commander in Chief of the Pacific Fleet after the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. Later in 1944, Nimitz was promoted to the five-star rank of Fleet Admiral, he along with three others would be the only officers to ever receive the rank. The aftermath of the war also sees him appointed Chief of Naval Operations, succeeding Fleet Admiral Ernest King.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: All of his scenes show him as a rather coolheaded figure, seeing Best's remarks about wanting payback on the Japanese as something positive. He also takes Layton's intelligence seriously, and doesn't reprimand Rochefort despite violating dress code.
- You Are in Command Now: Adm. King tells him this when he's called to Washington, once Nimitz himself asks who's commanding the forces in the Pacific following Kimmel's removal.
Husband E. Kimmel
Admiral Husband Edward Kimmel, former Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet
Portrayed by: David Hewlett
"If it's any satisfaction to you, Layton, you were right."
In real life...
Commander in chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet in 1941 and overall commander of operations at Pearl Harbor.
- General Failure: Is regarded as this for the failure to foresee or at least prepare for a Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour though it's implied he may have been made a scapegoat by higher-ranking officers.
- Oh, Crap!: His face says it all during the Attack on Pearl Harbor.
- Put on a Bus: He gets relieved of his command offscreen, and is replaced by Nimitz in all subsequent scenes.
Edwin T. Layton
Lieutenant Commander Edwin Thomas Layton
Portrayed by: Patrick Wilson
"Pearl Harbor is the greatest intelligence failure in American history."
In real life...
A US Navy intelligence officer, formerly a Naval Attache to Japan. He's also a close friend of Dick Best.
- Cassandra Truth: He's been telling his superiors prior to the Japanese attack that Pearl Harbor would be a likely target for the Japanese. Kimmel only starts believing him once the bombs begin falling. Averted when Nimitz takes command of the US Pacific Fleet, as he now has good reason to believe Layton's intelligence.
- Decoy Protagonist: During the prologue, he's the main focus, showing him as the US Naval attache to Japan before the War in the Pacific. Once the film proper begins, however, it's Best that the film focuses mostly on.
- Deuteragonist: Ultimately, while not the main focus of the film, he is arguably the second most important viewpoint character, showing how the Americans were able to decipher upcoming Japanese plans.
- Ignored Expert: Just prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor, Layton warned Admiral Kimmel of the danger posed by the Japanese carriers, which were in an "unknown location" in the days leading to the attack. Kimmel, of course, refuses to listen until it's too late.
- Non-Action Guy: Unlike Best, Dickinson, and McClusky, he's an intelligence officer, not a pilot, and so he spends all of his screentime back in Hawaii, gathering important intelligence on the Japanese.
- Oh, Crap!: His reaction upon first hearing of the Japanese attacking Pearl Harbor. He gets an even bigger one once he gets to see the attack itself, complete with a silent gasp.
- Reading The Enemy's Mail: Through Rochefort and his codebreaking team, he's able to analyze the Japanese transmission codes, giving him an idea of their next moves.
- The Smart Guy: Being a former naval attache who has been to Japan and met Admiral Yamamoto in person, he's practically this for the American side, having vital knowledge and intel that most of the American command does not.
- Workaholic: Even after arriving home late at night, he continues to analyze mountain of classified intelligence. Justified because, following the Pearl Harbor attack, Layton is one of the few people who knows how the Japanese high command works.
Joseph Rochefort
Commander Joseph John Rochefort
Portrayed by: Brennan Brown
"Sorry, Admiral. It, uh, gets cold here down in the dungeon."
In real life...
An eccentric US Navy codebreaker recommended by Layton to Nimitz.
- Bunny-Ears Lawyer: He wears pajamas on-duty and employs former band members of other ships as codebreakers, but his methods ultimately prove to be key in deciphering upcoming Japanese plans.
- Casting Gag: Brennan Brown's previous role was as Japan-fetishing, reluctant resistance-collaborator Robert Childan in The Man in the High Castle.
- Reading The Enemy's Mail: Pretty much his job in a nutshell, where he and his team spend all of their time intercepting Japanese transmissions in order to find out where their next target in the Pacific is.
- Small Role, Big Impact: He has less screentime than Layton and Nimitz, but his codebreaking method is what helps tip the Americans off to Japanese plans at Midway.
Ernest King
Admiral Ernest Joseph King, Chief of Naval Operations
Portrayed by: Mark Rolston
"The situation in the Pacific is far worse than has been reported. We have three carriers. The Japs have ten. We have zero functional battleships, they have nine."
In real life...
Chief of Naval Operations of the United States Armed Forces and Nimitz's superior.
- Big Good: The highest ranking officer shown on the American side, and the man who appoints Nimitz to replace the now-disgraced Adm. Kimmel.
- Small Role, Big Impact: His appointment of Nimitz as the new Commander in Chief of US forces in the Pacific helps to drive the events leading up to the Battle of Midway.
United States Other
Roy Pearce
Lieutenant Roy Pearce
Portrayed by: Alexander Ludwig
"Get the wounded below deck. Everyone else, battle stations!"
An officer serving aboard the USS Arizona, and fellow Annapolis batchmate and close friend of both Best and Dickinson.
- Abandon Ship: Orders Sulley and the other surviving sailors aboard the sinking Arizona to get to the neighboring supply ship before the battleship goes down.
- Body Horror: When Best finds his corpse following the attack, it's badly burnt, with all of his skin charred, indicating he burned to death when the ship went down.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Seeing his men getting cut down by the Japanese, he elects to stay behind and man a 20mm Anti-Air gun and cover the survivors.
- Oh, Crap!: Pretty much his expression when he sees the Japanese attacking the ships around him, including his own. He gets an even bigger one when an armor-piercing bomb punches through an unprotected portion of the Arizona's deck.
- Red Alert: Once the Japanese begin attacking, Pearce immediately orders his men to battlestations.
- Sacrificial Lion: He's the first named casualty of the film, and his death helps to motivate Best and Dickinson's actions later down the line.
- Take Cover!: He orders the men around him to do this when he sees a Japanese armor-piercing bomb punch through an unprotected area of the Arizona's deck. This saves his, Sulley's, and most of the other men's lives for the time being.
Jimmy Doolittle
Lieutenant Colonel James Harold Doolittle
Portrayed by: Aaron Eckhart
"We'll be the first enemy in Japan's history to hit their home territory."
In real life...
Commander of a top-secret mission to bomb Japan, which is to be launched from the deck of the USS Hornet.
- Abandon Ship: When his B-25 runs out of fuel over the Chinese coast, he and his crew immediately bail out of their doomed plane.
- Ace Pilot: He's stated by Adm. Halsey to be the best pilot in the world, and proves it when he leads his flight of sixteen B-25 Mitchells into the air.
- Advertised Extra: While he appears in the movie's poster and receives lots of promotional advertisments featuring him, Doolittle himself only has a few minutes worth of screentime in the film proper.
- Airstrike Impossible: His mission in a nutshell: to deliver a blow to the Japanese mainland and then fly a One-Way Trip to China, avoiding Japanese-occupied territory along the way.
- Small Role, Big Impact: He only has a few minutes of screentime, but the raid he leads on Tokyo has a major psychological impact on the Japanese. Fearing more bombing raids, the Japanese high command elect to divert precious resources into defending the home islands, while also stepping up their invasion plans, the latter of which ultimately lead to the Battle of Midway.
- Trapped Behind Enemy Lines: Ends up bailing out over Japanese-occupied territory in China. Thankfully, he's found by Chinese resistance fighters who are all too willing to help him get to Nationalist-occupied China when they find out he bombed Japan.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom:
- After witnessing a Japanese bombing raid on a Chinese village he's currently, hiding in, Doolittle slowly realizes that he and his raiders have unwittingly caused the Chinese civilians in the area to be targeted now that the Japanese know that Doolittle and his raiders have crashed in the surrounding countryside.
- On a more personal note, him handing his personal lighter to Zhu Xuesan ends up potentially dooming the latter to torture and execution by the Japanese Army, when one of their officers discovers the lighter in Zhu's house.
George Gay
Ensign George Henry Gay Jr.
Portrayed by: Brandon Sklenar
"When they see us, we'll know."
A TBD Devastator pilot in Torpedo Squadron 8, based on the USS Hornet.
- The Alleged Car: Like Lindsey, he flies the TBD Devastator, a slow, sluggish to respond, and ungainly aircraft by 1942.
- Mauve Shirt: He's the only one in his squadron given a name and focus. He's also the only one to survive the onslaught of Japanese Anti-Air fire and fighters.
- Sitting Duck: Like Lindsey before him, he and the rest of his flight of TBD Devastators get cut to pieces by Japanese flak and fighters.
- Sole Survivor: He ends up being the only one in his squadron to survive the attack runs on the Japanese carriers.
Hank Potter
2nd Lieutenant Hank Potter
Portrayed by: Jacob Blair
"I keep recalculating, but with this steady tailwind..."
A USAAF flight navigator, who serves as part of Lt. Col. Doolittle's crew during the Doolittle Raid.
- Abandon Ship: Alongside Col. Doolittle and the rest of his crew, he bails out of his B-25 once the plane runs out of fuel.
- Guy in Back: Rather than being a rear gunner like the other American aircrew listed here, he's a navigator, being tasked with finding the way to China following the raid on Tokyo.
- Put on a Bus: He bails out along with Lt. Col. Doolittle over Japanese-occupied China. Thanks to this, he gets separated from the Colonel and the rest of his crew.
- Satellite Character: He's always shown alongside Lt. Col. Doolittle and the other Doolittle raiders.
- Trapped Behind Enemy Lines: Like his superior, he ends up bailing out over Japanese occupied-territory.
William Brockman
Lieutenant Commander William Herman Brockman Jr.
Portrayed by: James Carpinello
"Evening gents."
Captain of the USS Nautilus (SS-168).
- The Captain: Of the USS Nautilus.
- Red Alert: He orders general quarters once a Japanese destroyer begins to depth charge their sub. This forces him and his crew to stay below periscope depth for a good chunk of time.
- Small Role, Big Impact: He has only 3 short scenes alongside the rest of his crew, but his attempts to torpedo the Japanese carriers at Midway lead to McClusky's and Best's SBD crews to trail the Japanese destroyer that had been depth-charging his submarine back to the rest of the Japanese fleet, and consequently, the Japanese carriers.
- Spanner in the Works: His failed attack on the Japanese fleet may not have done much in and of itself, but it did give the SBD pilots a clue to where the Japanese carrier fleet would be after the Japanese destroyer that had been chasing the Nautilus is ordered to head back.
John Ford
Commander John Ford
Portrayed by: Geoffrey Blake
"I'm gonna shoot the damn picture."
In real life...
A famous Hollywood director, who goes to Midway island in order to film combat footage.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: He wished to film combat footage. He does get what he wants when the Japanese begin bombing Midway, at the cost of receiving a piece of shrapnel in his arm, bleeding heavily, and lying in pain.
- Cool Shades: Notably the only character in the film to be shown wearing sunglasses.
- Determinator: Even after getting hit by shrapnel, Ford insists on continuing to film the ongoing Japanese air attack.
- Honor Before Reason: He's a filmmaker at a place where history is being made, and by God he's going to get the shot.
- Non-Action Guy: He's a filmmaker, not a combatant, but nevertheless risks his life during the Japanese air raid at Midway in order to get the combat footage he needs.
- Perma-Stubble: Notably the only character to be shown with one. And, despite being a Non-Action Guy, he immediately goes into the line of fire just to get the combat footage he so desperately wished for.
Empire of Japan
Imperial Japanese Navy
Tamon Yamaguchi
Rear Admiral Tamon Yamaguchi, Commander, 2nd Carrier Division
Portrayed by: Tadanobu Asano
"Brave men. We are fortunate they have such bad planes."
In real life...
Commander of the Japanese 2nd Carrier Division, and one of the architects of the Midway operation.
- Co-Dragons: With Nagumo to Yamamoto, being the more junior of the two and commanding half of the Japanese carriers involved in the Midway operation. He's also the more active of the two in dealing with the American carriers, thanks to the Hiryu being the only Japanese carrier not to get hit during the initial attack on the rest of the Kido Butai.
- Face Death with Dignity: Just before the Hiryu is blown to smithereens, Yamaguchi can be seen calmly accepting his inevitable demise.
- Frontline General: He commands directly from the Hiryu, and as a result is also in the line of fire alongside the rest of the ship's officers and crew.
- Going Down with the Ship: He and Tomeo Kaku, the Hiryu's captain, choose to go down with the aircraft carrier, in order to take responsibility for their failures.
- Honor Before Reason: Played with:
- Even after the loss of the other three carriers, Yamamoto commands Yamaguchi to press on with his remaining carrier and salvage the battle. Yamaguchi considers this action pointless now, but carries out his orders.
- Rather than Abandon Ship like Admiral Nagumo, Yamaguchi elects to stay on the Hiryu to the end, despite being one of Japan's most competent flag officers. This would prove to be detrimental in the long run, as someone like him would have been a thorn to the Allies in later carrier battles.
- Hypercompetent Sidekick: To both Yamamoto and Nagumo, his superiors. Both before and during the Battle of Midway, he can be seen planning and executing a huge portion of Japanese naval and air operations, of which several prove to be devastating against the Americans. Most notable among these is the devastating attack on the USS Yorktown, despite having only a handful of planes and pilots left under his command.
- Ignored Expert: During the Pearl Harbor attack, he was among those vouching for a 3rd strike, in order to sink the American carriers as well as target the oil storage facilities and submarine bases. Nagumo, fearing an American counterattack, does not listen to Yamaguchi's pleas, and orders the carriers back to Japan. Unsurprisingly, Yamaguchi's reasons prove to be sound, when the Americans begin using those same carriers and submarines during the Battle of Midway.
- Nerves of Steel: During the first wave of bombing attacks, a blast kicks up a large wave near the Hiryu and everyone on the command tower ducks for cover except for Yamaguchi.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Him choosing to Going Down with the Ship rather than Abandon Ship and live to fight another day would have serious consequences for the Japanese Naval High Command later in the war, when someone with Yamaguchi's talents would be sorely needed.
- Tempting Fate: Tells Captain Kaku that it's fortunate that the American planes, in this case the TBD Devastators attacking them, aren't good. And then come the SBDs, which are a far better aircraft with more reliable ordnance...
- Worthy Opponent: Unlike Nagumo, Yamaguchi actually respects the American's resolve when they attack the Japanese carriers despite insurmountable odds.
- You Are in Command Now: With the Akagi pretty much beyond repair and Nagumo being forced to Abandon Ship, Yamamoto orders Yamaguchi to take over the remaining planes and pilots of the Kido Butai.
Chūichi Nagumo
Vice Admiral Chūichi Nagumo, Commander, 1st Air Fleet
Portrayed by: Jun Kunimura
"Americans aren't that brave."
In real life...
Commander of both the 1st Carrier Division and the Kido Butai.
- Abandon Ship: He eventually abandons ship with the rest of the Akagi's officers, after some convincing by Genda.
- Co-Dragons: With Yamaguchi to Yamamoto. He's the more senior in rank, making him Yamaguchi's direct superior, and commands the entire armada of Japanese carriers.
- The Friend Nobody Likes: Both Yamamoto and Yamaguchi clearly dislike his leadership and methods in the wake of the Pearl Harbor attack, but choose to keep it to themselves in order to make the Naval High Command look like a united effort against the Army High Command.
- Frontline General: He commands directly from the Akagi, and as a result is in the line of fire alongside the rest of his staff and the ship's crew.
- Killed Offscreen: He dies after the events of the film, on Saipan in July 1944 just as US Marines and Army soldiers are about to overrun his headquarters on the island.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: His indecision on whether to attack Midway's airstrip or the American aircraft carriers cost the Japanese valuable time, and also cause the hangars of his own carriers to be filled to the brim with exposed fuel, ammunition, and explosives.
- Oh, Crap!: He has a silent one when he sees Best's flight of SBD Dauntlesses line up for an attack on the Akagi. Before that, he has one upon hearing the droning of the Enterprise Dauntless dive bombers and realizes the Zero CAP is not anywhere nearby to defend the carriers since they were still dealing with the Devastator torpedo bombers at the time.
- Put on a Bus: He eventually abandons ship, and consequently, the battle, when the Akagi's battle damage is too severe, leaving Yamaguchi to command the remaining pilots of the Japanese strike force.
- Underestimating Badassery: He constantly looks down the Americans, and thinks that they aren't brave enough to do things like perform a Suicide Attack. He later pays for this once the Akagi and 3 of the other Japanese carriers are hit.
Isoroku Yamamoto
Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, Commander in Chief, Combined Fleet
Portrayed by: Etsushi Toyokawa
"We have awakened a sleeping giant, and filled him with terrible resolve."
In real life...
Commander in chief of the combined Japanese fleet during World War II and the architect behind the attack on Pearl Harbor.
- Big Bad: Commands the Imperial Japanese Navy, the most immediate threat to the Carrier Division Two and the main opposing force at the Battle of Midway.
- Don't Make Me Destroy You: During his farewell dinner with Layton in the prologue, he outright tells Layton that the Japanese High Command, Yamamoto's superiors, will be forced to take drastic action should the American government decide to cut off Japan's oil supplies.
- Handicapped Badass: A downplayed example, but sharp-eyed viewers would note his two missing fingers on his left hand, which is actually historically accurate.
- Ignored Expert: Personally familiar with the United States (a rarity among Japan's senior military commanders), having studied at Harvard University, served as naval attaché in Washington, and extensively traveled through America, he had been expressing for years that he believed going to war against the U.S. would be folly and that Japan might likely pay a heavy price.
- Killed Offscreen: As revealed in the end credits, Yamamoto is killed when his plane is shot down over the island of Bougainville, American intelligence having traced his aerial routes. He was honoured with a promotion to Marshal Admiral.
- Lured into a Trap: He lampshades this once he finds out that 3 of his carriers have been bombed.
- Non-Action Big Bad: All of his scenes show him commanding from the rear, usually onboard the Battleship Yamato.
Minoru Genda
Captain Minoru Genda
Portrayed by: Peter Shinkoda
"It's the captain's duty to save the ship. Your duty is to lead."
In real life...
Air Operations Officer of the 1st Air Fleet, who works directly under Adm. Nagumo.
- Abandon Ship: He and Adm. Nagumo, after some convincing by Genda, eventually abandon the Akagi once its realized the damage is too extensive to continue flight operations.
- Number Two: To Nagumo, helping the Admiral direct carrier operations during the Battle of Midway.
- Put on a Bus: Like Nagumo, Genda ends up abandoning ship, and consequently, the battle, leaving Yamaguchi and Kaku to command the remaining aircrews.
- Satellite Character: All of his scenes are of him accompanying Admiral Nagumo, and he never leaves the Admiral's side.
Tomeo Kaku
Captain Tomeo Kaku
Portrayed by: Nobuya Shimamoto
"I wish to stay with you."
In real life...
Captain of the Japanese aircraft carrier Hiryu, who serves directly under Adm. Yamaguchi.
- Abandon Ship: He orders his crew to do this once it's realized that the Hiryu is damaged beyond repair, and is now at the risk of being captured by the Americans.
- The Captain: Of the Japanese aircraft carrier Hiryu.
- Face Death with Dignity: Just before the Hiryu goes up in flames, he and Yamaguchi can be seen calmly accepting their inevitable demises.
- Going Down with the Ship: He volunteers to go down with the Hiryu alongside his direct superior Yamaguchi, feeling partially responsible for failing to save the ship.
- Honor Before Reason: Like Yamaguchi, he feels responsible for dooming the Midway operation, and so decides to join Yamaguchi in going down with their carrier.
- Number Two: To Yamaguchi, being the one actually in charge of the Hiryu.
- Satellite Character: To Admiral Yamaguchi. All of his scenes show him directing the Hiryu's operations alongside his direct superior, as well as taking orders from him.
- Undying Loyalty: To Yamaguchi, which is the other reason he chooses to join his superior officer in Going Down with the Ship.
Isamu Fujita
Commander Isamu Fujita
Portrayed by: Hiro Kanagawa
Captain of the Japanese destroyer Makigumo.
- All There in the Manual: His name is never revealed in the film itself, but instead during the end credits.
- The Captain: Of the Makigumo.
- Death Glare: He takes his time to glare threateningly at both Gaido and O'Flaherty after picking them up from the water.
- Make an Example of Them: On the giving end of this trope when he orders Gaido to be executed, in order to show O'Flaherty that he isn't messing around.
- The Quiet One: He only speaks one line, in Japanese. The rest of the time, he's simply glaring at his captives.
Takashi Moroishi
Lieutenant Takashi Moroishi
Portrayed by: Ken Takikawa
"You! Tell us your ship. Or we throw you overboard."
Torpedo officer of the Japanese destroyer Makigumo.
- All There in the Manual: Like his direct superior, his name is only revealed in the end credits.
- Death Glare: Like his commanding officer, he takes his time to glare at their two American captives.
- Number Two: To Commander Fujita.
- Satellite Character: His only scene is of him accompanying his commander officer at all times, and carrying out the latter's direct orders.
- Translator Buddy: Fujita doesn't speak English, so Moroishi translates for his superior when interrogating Gaido and O'Flaherty.
Japanese Government
Emperor Hirohito
Hirohito, Emperor of Japan
Portrayed by: Hiroaki Shintani
In real life...
Also known as the Showa Emperor, he is the then-current Emperor of Japan when War in the Pacific breaks out.
- The Cameo: He only appears for a few seconds inside the Imperial Palace during Col. Doolittle's bombing of Tokyo, before being escorted by his bodyguards to an air raid shelter.
- The Quiet One: He never speaks out loud during his only scene.
Hideki Tojo
General Hideki Tojo, Prime Minister of Japan
Portrayed by: Hiromoto Ida
"Our priority must be to seize the resources that we need."
In real life...
The Prime Minister of Japan just before and during the outbreak of war in the Pacific.
- The Cameo: He only appears in one scene, engaging in a meeting with several high-ranking Japanese Admirals, including Yamaguchi and Yamamoto.
- Four Eyes, Zero Soul: Wears glasses, is the leader of a brutal, military dictatorship, and drags the Japanese Navy into a war against the United States.
- Greater-Scope Villain: Yamamoto and Yamaguchi are pressured by him and the rest of the Japanese Army's high command into going to war with the United States and its allies.
- Interservice Rivalry: He makes it clear during his meeting with Yamamoto and Yamaguchi that he doesn't think highly of the Japanese Navy, seeing them only as a means for the Army's troops to get around the Pacific.
Civilians
Anne Best
Anne Best
Portrayed by: Mandy Moore
"Well get good at something else. You have the rest of your life to figure it out."
Dick Best's wife.
- Happily Married: In the scenes where she's with her husband, it's clear that they both enjoy each other's company.
- Oh, Crap!: This is her expression when the Japanese begin attacking Battleship Row, and worse, her daughter is out in the open just as the bombs are falling.
Dagne Layton
Dagne Layton
Portrayed by: Rachael Perrell Fosket
"Does America winning the war really depend on Edwin Layton working himself to death?"
Edwin Layton's wife.
- Happily Married: Despite her husband's long work hours, it's clear that they still enjoy being together, to the point that she helps him pull all-nighters by preparing him midnight snacks.
- Satellite Character: All of her scenes are of her with her husband.
Jack MacKenzie
Jack MacKenzie
Portrayed by: Dean Schaller
"Are you okay sir?"
John Ford's cameraman, who accompanies the famous director all the way to Midway island.
- Satellite Character: To Ford, being the one responsible for capturing all the combat footage when the Japanese bomb Midway island.
Millicent McClusky
Millicent McClusky
Portrayed by: Christie Brooke
"There's a big battle. And one of our carriers is sinking."
Wade McClusky's wife.
- All There in the Manual: Her name and identity is never revealed in the film proper, instead appearing during the end credits.
- Bearer of Bad News: Her only scene has her informing Anne Best of the events of the Battle of Midway, of which includes rumors of heavy casualties among the US Navy's pilots.
Zhu Xuesan
Zhu Xuesan
Portrayed by: Kenny Leu
"He say...you lie."
A Chinese schoolteacher whom Jimmy Doolittle meets once he lands in China.
- Cold-Blooded Torture: A victim of this offscreen by the Japanese Army, in addition to being starved and held in solitary captivity.
- Killed Offscreen: Given the captions following his last scene, it's very heavily implied that the Japanese executed him shortly afterward.
- Non-Action Guy: He's a schoolteacher, not a fighter, and so decides to go back to help his family after helping Doolittle get out of Japanese-occupied territory.
- Translator Buddy: Briefly serves as this for Col. Doolittle, as the Chinese resistance members save for their leader cannot speak English.
- Uncertain Doom: He is last seen in Japanese Army captivity, with an officer coming across the lighter that Doolittle had given Zhu earlier in the film. Given the circumstances and the narration card, it's very likely Zhu was among the 250,000 Chinese executed for helping the Doolittle Raiders.
- You No Take Candle: While he understands English well, he cannot speak it that well, thanks in part to it being his second language.
