It was the first air-sea battle and a strategic victory for Allied forces.

An American sailor, Otis G. Kight, described the fighting:

“Up to the time of Coral Sea, I had only read in Hemingway’s novels about ‘the sweet smell of death.’ The area was a full disaster, and I realized what the ‘sweet smell of death’ really was. There were parts and particles; some ship, some shipmate.”

Charles McDermid contributed reporting.

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