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Author: Gregory J. W. Urwin
Publisher: Naval Inst Press
Published: 2010
Total Pages: 478
ISBN-13: 9781591148999
DOWNLOAD EBOOKIn a book that draws on interviews with American POWs, as well as their Japanese captors, and diaries secretly kept by prison-camp inmates, the author of Facing Fearful Odds: The Siege of Wake Island offers a moving history of the incarceration of the American defenders of Wake Island after their surrender to the Japanese during World War II.
Author: James Patrick Sinnott Devereux
Publisher:
Published: 1947
Total Pages: 272
ISBN-13:
DOWNLOAD EBOOK"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.
Author: Bill Sloan
Publisher: Bantam
Published: 2008-01-29
Total Pages: 562
ISBN-13: 0553585673
DOWNLOAD EBOOKA 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.
Author: United States. Navy Department. Library
Publisher:
Published: 1992
Total Pages: 16
ISBN-13:
DOWNLOAD EBOOKAuthor: Gregory J. W. Urwin
Publisher: U of Nebraska Press
Published: 2002-06-01
Total Pages: 784
ISBN-13: 9780803295629
DOWNLOAD EBOOKFacing 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.
Author: Jim Moran
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 2011-09-20
Total Pages: 97
ISBN-13: 1849086044
DOWNLOAD EBOOKAn 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.
Author: Major Marlyn. R. Pierce
Publisher: Pickle Partners Publishing
Published: 2015-11-06
Total Pages: 109
ISBN-13: 1786253216
DOWNLOAD EBOOKGiven 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.
Author: James P. S. Devereux
Publisher:
Published: 2018-10-04
Total Pages: 162
ISBN-13: 9781726724494
DOWNLOAD EBOOK"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.
Author: United States. Marine Corps
Publisher:
Published: 1947
Total Pages: 92
ISBN-13:
DOWNLOAD EBOOKAuthor: John Wukovits
Publisher: Penguin
Published: 2004-07-06
Total Pages: 322
ISBN-13: 1101658185
DOWNLOAD EBOOKIt happened in the shadow of Pearl Harbor—mere hours after the first attack on the day that would “live in infamy.” But few know the full story of Wake Island. Now a prominent military historian, breaking new ground on the assault, relates the compelling events of that day and the heroic struggle that followed. Thanks to the brave Marines stationed there-and the civilian construction workers who selflessly put their lives on the line to defend the island-what was supposed to be an easy victory became a protracted and costly battle for Imperial Japan. This is the story of that battle, from survivors on both sides, and with a gallery of historic photos.
