Download or read book Facing Fearful Odds written by Gregory J. W. Urwin and published by U of Nebraska Press. This book was released on 2002-06-01 with total page 784 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Facing Fearful Odds is based on interviews and correspondence gathered from more than seventy of Wake's American defenders and on research in archival and printed sources. The book covers the planning and political struggles that began Wake Island's transformation into a naval air station and submarine base, the U.S. Navy's eleventh-hour efforts to garrison and fortify Wake, and the various air, sea, and land attacks that resulted in the atoll's capture by the Imperial Japanese Navy. This study attempts to correct the myths that shroud what happened on the atoll. - from preface.
Download or read book Wake Island 1941 written by Jim Moran and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2011-09-20 with total page 97 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An illustrated examination of the daring last stand by a collection of marines, sailors, and other service personnel on Wake Island in World War II - one of the legendary stories of American military history. On the same day that the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, they also launched air attacks on Wake Island, an American marine and naval base in the Pacific. Three days later a Japanese invasion force stormed the island, but were bloodily repulsed by the scratch force of marines, sailors and even service personnel who defended it. Despite US attempts to relieve the island, the Japanese launched a much greater invasion a few weeks later and, despite gallant resistance, eventually caused the US Forces to surrender. This book tells the complete story of the vicious fighting on Wake Island, featuring full-color maps and archive photography.
Download or read book The Story of Wake Island written by James Patrick Sinnott Devereux and published by . This book was released on 1947 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This account of the defense of Wake Island was written after five years without benefit of notes and records, which were destroyed by the Japanese or by us to prevent capture. This account is as accurate as the author could make it from his own recollection, available records and the recollection of other Wake Island veterans, both officers and men. The Navy Department is in no way responsible for any points of view expressed nor for the factual accuracy of statements made." --Page [6] Author's Note.
Download or read book Victory in Defeat written by Gregory Urwin and published by Naval Institute Press. This book was released on 2010-11-15 with total page 514 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Told here for the first time in vivid detail is the story of the defenders of Wake Island following their surrender to the Japanese on December 23, 1941. The highly regarded military historian Gregory Urwin spent decades researching what happened and now offers a revealing look at the U.S. Marines, sailors, soldiers, and civilian volunteers in captivity. In addition to exhaustive archival research, he interviewed dozens of POWs and even some of their Japanese captors. He also had access to diaries secretly kept by the prisoners. This information has allowed Urwin to provide a nuanced look at the Japanese guards and how the Americans survived three-and-a-half years in captivity and emerged with a much lower death rate than most other Allies captured in the Pacific. In part, Urwin says, the answer lies in the Wake Islanders’ establishment of life-saving communities that kept their dignity intact. Their mutual-help networks encouraged those who faltered under the physical and psychological torture, including what is today called water boarding. The book notes that the Japanese camp official responsible for that war crime was sentenced to life imprisonment by an American military tribunal. Most spent the war at a camp just outside Shanghai, one of the few places where Japanese authorities permitted the Red Cross to aid prisoners of war. The author also calls attention to the generosity of civilians in Shanghai, including Swiss diplomats and the American and British residents of the fabled International Settlement, who provided food and clothing to the prisoners. In addition, some of the guards proved to be less vicious than those stationed at other POW camps and occasionally went out of their way to aid the men. As the first historical work to fully explore the captivity of Wake Island’s defenders, the book offers information not found in other World War II historie
Download or read book The Battle of Wake Island written by United States. Navy Department. Library and published by . This book was released on 1992 with total page 16 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Battle of Wake Island written by and published by . This book was released on 1992 with total page 16 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Tactical Defeat Or Strategic Victory The Battle Of Wake Island 8 23 December 1941 written by Major Marlyn. R. Pierce and published by Pickle Partners Publishing. This book was released on 2015-11-06 with total page 109 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Given the constrained environment the US Armed Forces operate in would it be possible or even strategically feasible to relieve a cut-off force. This study investigates this scenario by using the historical example of Wake Island. Wake Island is an insignificant strip of coral located in the central Pacific. However, it gained strategic significance during pre-war planning. From its location, Wake Island could dominate the sea-lanes through the central Pacific. After the beginning of hostilities in 1941, the Japanese attacked Wake Island by air for three days before attempting an amphibious assault on 11 December. Miraculously, the defenders repulsed the Japanese. The only time during the Pacific War that an invasion attempt was defeated. Humiliated by the defeat, the Japanese returned on 23 December with a larger force. The defenders, again, put up a stubborn defense but eventually were overwhelmed. After the defenders defeated the Japanese on 11 December, the Navy’s senior leaders were forced to decide on the fate of the men on Wake Island. In the final analysis it was determined that the strategic loss of any of three aircraft carriers operating in the Pacific outweighed the tactical gain of relieving the beleaguered island.
Download or read book The Defense of Wake written by United States. Marine Corps and published by . This book was released on 1947 with total page 92 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Given Up for Dead written by Bill Sloan and published by Bantam. This book was released on 2008-01-29 with total page 562 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A gripping narrative of unprecedented valor and personal courage, here is the story of the first American battle of World War II: the battle for Wake Island. Based on firsthand accounts from long-lost survivors who have emerged to tell about it, this stirring tale of the “Alamo of the Pacific” will reverberate for generations to come. On December 8, 1941, just five hours after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Japanese planes attacked a remote U.S. outpost in the westernmost reaches of the Pacific. It was the beginning of an incredible sixteen-day fight for Wake Island, a tiny but strategically valuable dot in the ocean. Unprepared for the stunning assault, the small battalion was dangerously outnumbered and outgunned. But they compensated with a surplus of bravery and perseverance, waging an extraordinary battle against all odds. When it was over, a few hundred American Marines, sailors, and soldiers, along with a small army of heroic civilian laborers, had repulsed enemy forces several thousand strong––but it was still not enough. Among the Marines was twenty-year-old PFC Wiley Sloman. By Christmas Day, he lay semiconscious in the sand, struck by enemy fire. Another day would pass before he was found—stripped of his rifle and his uniform. Shocked to realize he hadn’t awakened to victory, Sloman wondered: Had he been given up for dead—and had the Marines simply given up? In this riveting account, veteran journalist Bill Sloan re-creates this history-making battle, the crushing surrender, and the stories of the uncommonly gutsy men who fought it. From the civilians who served as gunmen, medics, and even preachers, to the daily grind of life on an isolated island—literally at the ends of the earth—to the agony of POW camps, here we meet our heroes and confront the enemy face-to-face, bayonet to bayonet.
Download or read book The Story of Wake Island written by James P. S. Devereux and published by . This book was released on 2018-10-04 with total page 162 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The courageous conduct of the officers and men who defended Wake Island will not be forgotten so long as gallantry and heroism are respected and honored." Citation of the President "Excellent" The New York Times On 8th December 1941, just hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor, thirty-six Japanese bombers attacked Wake Island and destroyed eight of its twelve aircraft. Two more raid shortly followed, further reducing the defensive possibilities for the men who were left to defend this small area of American soil in the center of the Pacific Ocean. Major James P. S. Devereux was the Commanding Officer of the 1st Marine Defense Battalion who faced Japanese onslaught. The first Japanese landing attempt on the morning of 11th December was repelled by a ferocious defense put forward by Devereux and his men. Yet although the Japanese had withdrawn without landing, they continued to bombard the island by air and sea, and there was little hope of resupply for the Americans. For fifteen days the American troops suffered endless bombardments until the second major Japanese offensive was launched on 23rd December. Against overwhelming forces the Marines and other troops that were stationed on the island fought valiantly, but after forty-nine men had lost their lives in the fight, the remaining American men and civilians were captured by the Japanese. James P. S. Deveraux's remarkable book The Story of Wake Island takes the reader to the heart of the action from the point of view of the commanding officer. It is a brilliant account of this tragic event that demonstrated the fighting spirit of the American soldier even in the face of unbeatable odds. "His special vantage point enriches his commentary not only on the ill-fated military operation but also on the state (and spirit) of the prewar preparations to defend the island." John J. Sbrega, The War Against Japan, 1941-1945 James P. S. Devereaux was a United States Marine Corps general, Navy Cross recipient, and Republican congressman. After the ferocious fifteen-day battle of Wake Island Devereux was interned for nearly four years in Japanese prison camps. His book The Story of Wake Island was first published in 1947 and he passed away in 1988.
Download or read book Tactical Defeat Or Strategic Victory written by U S Army Command and General Staff Coll and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2015-12-14 with total page 108 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Given the constrained environment the US Armed Forces operate in would it be possible or even strategically feasible to relieve a cutoff force. This book investigates this scenario by using the historical example of Wake Island. Wake Island is an insignificant strip of coral located in the central Pacific. However, it gained strategic significance during prewar planning. From its location, Wake Island could dominate the sea-lanes through the central Pacific. After the beginning of hostilities in 1941, the Japanese attacked Wake Island by air for three days before attempting an amphibious assault on 11 December. Miraculously, the defenders repulsed the Japanese. The only time during the Pacific War that an invasion attempt was defeated. Humiliated by the defeat, the Japanese returned on 23 December with a larger force. The defenders, again, put up a stubborn defense but eventually were overwhelmed. After the defenders defeated the Japanese on 11 December, the Navy's senior leaders were forced to decide on the fate of the men on Wake Island. In the final analysis it was determined that the strategic loss of any of three aircraft earners operating in the Pacific outweighed the tactical gain of relieving the beleaguered island.
Download or read book Building for War written by Bonita Gilbert and published by Casemate. This book was released on 2012-12-07 with total page 345 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The story of the Americans who came under attack five hours after Pearl Harbor was hit: “Intriguing, informative, gripping, and at times very moving” (Naval Historical Foundation). This intimately researched work tells the story of the thousand-plus Depression-era civilian contractors who came to Wake Island, a remote Pacific atoll, in 1941 to build an air station for the US Navy—charting the contractors’ hard-won progress as they scramble to build the naval base, as well as runways for US Army Air Corps B-17 Flying Fortresses, while war clouds gather over the Pacific. Five hours after their attack on Pearl Harbor, the Japanese struck Wake Island, which was now isolated from assistance. The undermanned Marine Corps garrison, augmented by civilian-contractor volunteers, fought back against repeated enemy attacks, at one point thwarting a massive landing assault. The atoll was under siege for two weeks as its defenders continued to hope for the US Navy to come to their rescue. Finally succumbing to an overwhelming amphibious attack, the surviving Americans, military and civilian, were taken prisoner. While most were shipped off to Japanese POW camps for slave labor, a number of the civilians were retained as workers on occupied Wake. Later in the war, the last ninety-eight Americans were brutally massacred by their captors. The civilian contractors who had risked distance and danger for well-paying jobs ended up paying a steep price: their freedom and, for many, their lives. Written by the daughter and granddaughter of civilians who served on Wake Island, Building for War sheds new light on why the United States was taken by surprise in December 1941, and shines a spotlight on the little-known, virtually forgotten story of a group of civilian workers and their families whose lives were forever changed by the events on this tiny atoll.
Download or read book The Story of Wake Island Illustrated Edition written by James P. S. Devereux Colonel U.S.M.C. and published by Pickle Partners Publishing. This book was released on 2014-08-15 with total page 287 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Includes 11 photos and 5 maps/diagrams of the Defence of Wake Island “It is Monday, 8 December 1941. On Wake Island, a tiny sprung paper-clip in the Pacific between Hawaii and Guam, Marines of the 1st Defense Battalion are starting another day of the backbreaking war preparations that have gone on for weeks. Out in the triangular lagoon formed by the islets of Peale, Wake, and Wilkes, the huge silver Pan American Airways Philippine Clipper flying boat roars off the water bound for Guam. The trans-Pacific flight will not be completed. “Word of war comes around 0700. Captain Henry S. Wilson, Army Signal Corps, on the island to support the flight ferry of B-17 Flying Fortresses from Hawaii to the Philippines, half runs, half walks toward the tent of Major James P.S. Devereux, commander of the battalion's Wake Detachment. Captain Wilson reports that Hickam Field in Hawaii has been raided. “Devereux immediately orders a "Call to Arms." He quickly assembles his officers, tells them that war has come, that the Japanese have attacked Oahu, and that Wake "could expect the same thing in a very short time” Robert Cressman. So began the epic 14 day siege of Wake Island in 1941, on one side the overwhelming numbers and firepower of the invading Japanese on the other Major Devereux and a handful of Marines aided by civilian contractors and miscellaneous personnel. In this memoir Devereux recounts how he and his men put up a resistance that stunned their Japanese foes, and provided their American countrymen with a potent positive rallying point after the attack at Pearl Habor.
Download or read book Wake And Reunion written by Stanford D. Carman and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on 2011-01-14 with total page 247 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Wake And Reunion revolves around the Battle of Wake Island from Dec.8-23,1941. While many of the US Defenders are mentioned the book includes the Individual bio's of 17 Wake Island Defenders, and their return to United States after 1350 days as POWs of the Japanese until the surrender of the Japanese ending WWII in September 1945. The chapter Vindication and Aftermath, deals with United States actions against Japanese held Wake Island and the official report of the surrender of Wake Island by the Japanese back to the United States, September 1945. The book also contains the complete roster of all men on Wake Island when it fell to the Japanese Dec.23, 1941. Wake And Reunion is richly illustrated with over 100 photographs, letters, and diagrams, some of which date back to the 1930's. Also included are photos of what was to be the Wake Island Defenders last organized reunion in October 2005.
Download or read book Tactical Defeat Or Strategic Victory written by and published by . This book was released on 2015-05-16 with total page 108 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Given the constrained environment the US Armed Forces operate in would it be possible or even strategically feasible to relieve a cutoff force. This study investigates this scenario by using the historical example of Wake Island. Wake Island is an insignificant strip of coral located in the central Pacific. However, it gained strategic significance during prewar planning. From its location, Wake Island could dominate the sea-lanes through the central Pacific. After the beginning of hostilities in 1941, the Japanese attacked Wake Island by air for three days before attempting an amphibious assault on 11 December. Miraculously, the defenders repulsed the Japanese. The only time during the Pacific War that an invasion attempt was defeated. Humiliated by the defeat, the Japanese returned on 23 December with a larger force. The defenders, again, put up a stubborn defense but eventually were overwhelmed. After the defenders defeated the Japanese on 11 December, the Navy's senior leaders were forced to decide on the fate of the men on Wake Island. In the final analysis it was determined that the strategic loss of any of three aircraft earners operating in the Pacific outweighed the tactical gain of relieving the beleaguered island.
Download or read book Wake Island Command written by Winfield Scott Cunningham and published by . This book was released on 1961 with total page 342 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Commanding officer at Wake Island tells the story of its defense and surrender in 1941 and what later happened to its defenders.
Download or read book A Magnificent Fight written by Robert Cressman and published by . This book was released on 1992 with total page 42 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
