Most of the time when I drop references into a poem, I don't explain them.
But here is one:
The Big Boys and Little Boys are the aircraft carriers and their escort destroyers and destroyer escorts off Leyte in 1944 when the Japense Fleet came over the horizon. DD and DE. DD means destoyer, and DE means Destroyer Escorts. The DDs are larger with 5 inch guns, the DEs have 3 inch guns.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Leyte_Gulf
They were there to provide air suppport for the infantry. They didn't have the equipment, nor training, to take on another fleet. The DDs and DEs were there to protect the air craftcarriers from submarines, and attacking aircraft.
Their valor convinced the Japanese Admiral in charge of that Japanese Fleet he had encountered Halsey's main fleet.
Oh, I called it 'dawn' instead of 'Dawn' because I felt I should understate my poem, and let the events speak for themselves.