Two massive naval fleets engaged each other 56 years ago in a battle off the little-known island of Midway, which turned the tide of World War II in the Pacific.

Survivors of the battle gathered Saturday at a wreath laying at the Washington Naval Yard to swap stories, reflect on the events and remember those who didn't return.

In the months following the attack on Pearl Harbor the Japanese Imperial Navy ruled the Pacific Ocean. They continued advancing, occupying and fortifying islands and destroying everything the Allies could put in front of them. They appeared unstoppable.

The Japanese navy suffered its first setback in the Battle of Coral Sea in May 1942. During the Coral Sea battle U.S. Navy carrier-based planes turned back an amphibious assault at Port Moresby, New Guinea. It was the first naval battle in which the combatant surface ships never caught sight of each other. All damage was done by aircraft.

Japanese planes hit the U.S. Navy hard. They damaged the carrier USS Lexington to the extent that it had to be destroyed, and the USS Yorktown was damaged.

Japanese losses were also high, with the carrier Shoho destroyed, and the Shokaku damaged and forced to return to Japan for repairs. The other, carrier Zuikaku, while suffering no damage, was forced to return also because of heavy personnel and aircraft .

The Japanese high command then decided it was necessary to destroy the U.S. fleet in one large battle. They chose the island of Midway as the site at which to lure the fleet into battle.

They would attack the Aleutian Islands off Alaska and simultaneously invade Midway. If the U.S. fleet chose to defend the Aleutians, the Midway invasion would be made easier. If they chose to defend Midway, Japanese Adm. Isoroku Yamamoto reasoned, he would destroy the carrier fleet.

Outnumbered and outgunned, the U.S. Navy entered the battle facing odds of two to one personnel and aircraft -- three carriers against six. The odds were far greater in supporting vessels. In the battle, luck smiled on the U.S. forces.

Armed with a good intelligence picture, Adm. Chester W. Nimitz allowed his subordinate commanders, Rear Adm. Raymond A. Spruance, who replaced the hospitalized Vice Adm. William F. Halsey, and Rear Adm. Frank "Jack" Fletcher, to use their initiative to engage the Imperial Navy.

From June 3 through June 7, the two navies battled, their aircraft pounding away at each other's carriers and screening vessels. In the end, the U.S. sailors and Marine pilots triumphed. Although the USS Yorktown was sunk, the Japanese navy was dealt a crippling blow, losing four aircraft carriers, and scores of seasoned pilots, losses from which the Imperial Navy would not recover for the remainder of the war.

"It was an overwhelming American strategic victory," said Secretary of the Navy John H. Dalton at Saturday's ceremony. "Japan's loss of four carriers and many of Japan's best pilots was a crushing blow to the Imperial Navy ... Midway put an end to Japanese expansion to the east, and effectively removed the threat to Hawaii and the west coast of the U.S.," he said.

As a 23-year-old Marine aviator, flying an outdated Devastator glide bomber out of Midway, retired Maj. Douglas Rollow said he saw his friends shot down by the Japanese pilots during the battle. "Sixteen of us went up, eight made it through to the Japanese fleet, and only four came back," he said. "We aren't heroes ... they were all the heroes -- all the guys that didn't come back," he said.

Remembering those who fought and died in the battle is something Dalton said all Americans should do, to keep their spirit and memory alive.

"What the United States Navy did there was so important to the history of this country. Last year was the first year we had this ceremony, and we will continue to have it every year to keep their spirit alive," he said.