Matt leads the attack against "Hiryu", which succeeds in destroying the final Japanese carrier and dealing a fatal blow to the invasion. The American planes return to "Enterprise" and "Hornet" but Matt, his plane badly damaged, is killed during landing. At sea, Yamamoto's main force receives news of the loss of their carriers. The admiral orders a general withdrawal as he contemplates how he will apologise for the failure to the Emperor. Back at Pearl Harbor, Nimitz reflects that Yamamoto "had everything going for him", asking "Were we better than the Japanese, or just luckier?"