Combat· World War II
Wake Island Defense
Wake Island was a small American outpost in the central Pacific, valuable as an air base and an early-warning post against Japan.
When the war began, the Japanese moved quickly to seize it, hitting the atoll with repeated air raids and then sending a naval force to land troops and capture it. The Marine garrison fought back hard despite being heavily outnumbered. The defenders manned coastal guns, antiaircraft guns, and a handful of fighter planes, and they beat back the first Japanese landing attempt, sinking and damaging enemy warships in the process. When a stronger force returned with carrier air support, the Marines fought on the beaches as infantry, holding isolated strongpoints for hours before the island was finally surrendered. Their stubborn defense cost the enemy dearly and became a lasting symbol of Marine courage early in the war.
Podcast episodes on World War II
Record no. 103