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A Magnificent Fight:Marines in the Battle for Wake Islandby Robert I. Cressman
t is Monday, 8 Decem-ber 1941. On Wake Is-land, a tiny sprungpaper-clip in the Pacificbetween Hawaii and
Guam, Marines of the 1st DefenseBattalion are starting another day ofthe backbreaking war preparationsthat have gone on for weeks. Out inthe triangular lagoon formed by theislets of Peale, Wake, and Wilkes, thehuge silver Pan American AirwaysPhilippine Clipper flying boat roarsoff the water bound for Guam. Thetrans-Pacific flight will not be com-pleted.
Word of war comes around 0700.Captain Henry S. Wilson, Army Sig-nal Corps, on the island to supportthe flight ferry of B-17 Flying For-tresses from Hawaii to the Philip-pines, half runs, half walks towardthe tent of Major James P. S. De-vereux, commander of the battalion'sWake Detachment. Captain Wilsonreports that Hickam Field in Hawaiihas been raided.
Devereux immediately orders a"Call to Arms" He quickly assembleshis officers, tells them that war hascome, that the Japanese have at-tacked Oahu, and that Wake "couldexpect the same thing in a very shorttime:'
On the cover: In 1945, RAdm Shigemat-su Sakaibara, back to camera at right,surrenders his garrison to returningAmericans. (Department of Defense[USMCI Photo 133686)
At left: Col Walter L. I. Bayler, reputed-ly "the last Marine off Wake" in Decem-ber 1941, is the first to set foot on theisland in 1945. (Department of Defense[USMC] Photo 133688)
Meanwhile, the senior officer onthe atoll, Commander Winfred S.Cunningham, Officer in Charge,Naval Activities, Wake, learned ofthe Japanese surprise attack as hewas leaving the mess hall at the con-tractors' cantonment (Camp 2) on thenorthern leg of Wake. He ordered thedefense battalion to battle stations,but allowed the civilians to go onwith their work, figuring that theirduties at sites around the atollprovided good dispersion. He thencontacted John B. Cooke, PanAm'sairport manager and requested thathe recall the Philippine Clipper.Cooke sent the prearranged code tell-ing John H. Hamilton, the captain ofthe Martin 130 flying boat, of theoutbreak of war.
Marines from Camp 1, on thesouthern leg of Wake, were soon em-barked in trucks and moving to theirstations on Wake, Wilkes, and Pealeislets. Marine Gunner Harold C.Borth and Sergeant James W. Hall
ajor James P. S. Devereux,Commanding Officer of theWake Detachment of the 1st
Defense Battalion (seen here as a POWat Shanghai, circa January 1942), wasborn in Cuba and educated in the UnitedStates and in Switzerland. Devereux en-listed in the Marine Corps in 1923. Hesaw service at home (Norfolk, Philadel-phia, Washington, D.C., and Quantico,among other places) and abroad (Cuba,Nicaragua, and China). He was awardedthe Navy Cross for his leadership of theMarines at Wake. After his retirement,he served in the U.S. House of Represen-tatives.
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climbed to the top of the camps watertower and manned the observationpost there. In those early days radarwas new and not even set up onWake, so early warning was depen-dent on keen eyesight. Hearing mighthave contributed elsewhere, but onthe atoll the thunder of nearby surfmasked the sound of aircraft enginesuntil they were nearly overhead. Ma-rine Gunner John Hamas, the WakeDetachment's munitions officer, un-packed Browning automatic rifles,Springfield '03 rifles, and ammuni-tion for issue to the civilians who hadvolunteered for combat duty. Thattask completed, Hamas and a work-ing party picked up 75 cases of handgrenades for delivery around the is-lets. Soon thereafter, other civiliansattached themselves to Marine Fight-ing Squadron (VMF) 211, which hadbeen on Wake since 4 December.
Offshore, neither Triton (SS 201)nor Tambor (SS 198), submarines.that had been patrolling offshoresince 25 November, knew of develop-
A May 1941 photo taken from the northeast, from a NavyCatalina flying boat, reveals the Wake Island coral atoll inthe mid-Pacific beneath broken clouds. Wishbone-shaped
ments on Wake or Oahu. They bothhad been submerged when word waspassed and thus out of radio commu-nication with Pearl Harbor. The
n unshaven CommanderWinfield S. Cunningham, Of-ficer in Charge, Naval Activi-
ties, Wake Island, and commander of thedefense of Wake, was photographed asa POW on board the Japanese transportNitta Maru, at Yokohama, Japan, about18 January 1942. A member of the NavalAcademy Class of 1921 and an excellentpilot, he had flown fighters and flyingboats, and had been schooled in strate-gy and tactics. Contemporaries in theNavy regarded him as an intelligent,quick-witted officer who possessedmoral courage. His long and variedexperience in aviation duty had fittedhim well for his independent duty atWake. He would earn the Navy Crossfor his leadership of the defense ofWake.
National Archives Photo 80-G-451195
Wake proper lies at left, as yet unmarked by construction ofthe airfield there. The upper portion of the photo showsWilkes; at right is Peale, joined to Wake by a causeway.
she was still 425 miles from her des-tination. She was rerouted to John-
Major Paul A. Putnam, VMF-211'scommanding officer, and SecondLieutenant Henry G. Webb had con-ducted the dawn aerial patrol andlanded by the time the squadron'sradiomen, over at Wake's airfield,had picked up word of an attack onPearl Harbor. Putnam immediatelysent a runner to tell his executiveofficer, Captain Henry T. Elrod, todisperse planes and men and keep allaircraft ready for flight.
Meanwhile, work began on dug-out plane shelters. Putnam placedVMF-211 on a war footing immedi-ately; two two-plane sections thentook off on patrol. Captain Elrod andSecond Lieutenant Carl R. Davidsonflew north, Second Lieutenant JohnF. Kinney and Technical SergeantWilliam J. Hamilton flew to thesouth-southwest at 13,000 feet. Both
transport William Ward Burrows(AP 6), which had left Oahu boundfor Wake on 27 November, learnedof the Japanese attack on Pearl while
ston Island.
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)8II DEC
HEEL POINT
A(51
PEACOCK POINT
MAP I
DEFENSE INSTALLATIONS ON WAKE8-23 DECEM8ER 1941
' 3'or 5gun't4j..
Seorcttlght•-nr- 50 caliber antioirc,oft machine gun
Active .30 calIber machine gun sactian
Unmanned .30 caliber machine gun section
0 Reinforced underground nhelter
p Command past
f' Aid station
lava loon
nc sost
sections were to remain in the im- minutes earlier. Cunningham im- patrol flight and a flight to Midway.mediate vicinity of the island. mediately requested Captain Hamil- Cunningham, an experienced aviator,
The Philippine Clipper, mean- ton to carry out a scouting flight. The laid out a plan, giving the flying boatwhile, had wheeled about upon Clipper was unloaded and refueled a two-plane escort. Hamilton thenreceipt of word of war and returned with sufficient gasoline in addition telephoned Putnam and concludedto the lagoon it had departed 20 to the standard reserve for both the the arrangements for the search.
ajor Paul A. Putnam, a 1941 at Ewa, after having served as ex-"model of strong nerves and ecutive officer. Designated a naval avia-the will to fight;' is pictured tor in 1929, he had flown almost every
at right in the autumn of 1941. One of type of Marine plane from a Ford Tn-his men, Second Lieutenant David motor to a Grumman F4F-3. He had dis-Kliewer, praised Putnam's "cool judg- tinguished himself in Nicaragua in 1931.ment, his courage, and his consideration One officer who had flown with himfor everyone [that] forged an aviation there considered him "calm, quiet, sof t-unit that fought behind him to the end:' spoken ... a determined sort of fellow:'Putnam had become commanding He was awarded a Navy Cross for hisofficer of VMF-211 on 17 November heroism at Wake.
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A't right, in the firing position, is an Army patternM3 '3-inch antiaircraft gun of the type that the 1stDefense Battalion had at Wake Already obsoles
cent at the outbreak of World War II, this weapon was themainstay of tHe defense battalions in the firSt months ofthe war. Twelve of these guns were emplaced at Wake.
As early as 1915, the u.s. Army, recognizing the needfor a high-angIe firing antiaircraft gun anQl'esolving tobuild one from existing stocks, chose the Ml903 seacoastdefense gun and redesignated it the M1917. Soon afterAm~rica's en,t'iiinto World W~r t However, the requirement'£or a motrUe,meunt (one with less recoll)campelledthe selectiol)of~e Jess powerful M18~8 ~alo!st g\!n forconversion tn tHe N11918. Dev:eIopmeht o£oath guns andmounts c~ntffiued throughout tHe i~terw~iyears, leadingultimately to the standardization of the gun'as the M3 onthe M2 wheeled mount. •
On the eve of World War II, each of the seven Marinedefense battalions then activated had 12 3-inch guns in threefour-gun batteries. Each mount weighed a little over sixtons. The normal crew of eight coUld fire 2S U.87-poundhigh-explosive shells per minute. The guns had an effective ceiling of nearly 30,000 feet and an effective horizon-tal range of 14,780 yards. .
Take-off time was 1300.Shortly after receiving word of
hostilities, Battery B's First LieutenantWoodrow W. Kessler and his menhad loaded a truck with equipmentand small arms ammunition andmoved out to their 5-inch guns. At0710, Kessler began distributing gear,and soon thereafter established a sentry post on Toki Point at the northernmost tip of Peale. Thirty 5-inchrounds went into the ready-use boxes near the guns. At 0800, he reported his battery ready for action.
General quarters called CaptainBryghte D. "Dan" Godbold's men ofBattery D to their stations down thecoast from Battery B at 0700, andthey moved out to their position bytruck, reporting "manned and ready"within a half hour. The lack of men,however, prevented Godbold fromhaving more than three of his 3-inchguns in operation. Within anotherhour and a half, each gun had 50rounds ready for firing. At 1000,Godbold received orders to keep one
gun, the director, the heightfinder(the only one at Wake Island for thethree batteries), and the power plantmanned at all times. After makingthose arrangements, Godbold put theremainder of his men to work improving the battery position.
While the atoll's defenders prepared for war, Japanese bombersdroned toward them. At 0710 on 8December, 34 Mitsubishi G3M2 Type96 land attack planes (Neils) of theChitose Air Group had lifted offfrom the airstrip at Roi in the Marshalls. Shortly before noon, those 34NeIls came in on Wake at 13,000 feet.Clouds cloaked their approach andthe pounding surf drowned out thenoise of their engines as theydropped down to 1,500 feet androared in from the sea. Lookoutssounded the alarms as they spottedthe twin-engined, twin-tailed bombers a few hundred yards off theatoll's south shore, emerging from adense bank of clouds. At Battery E,First Lieutenant Lewis telephoned
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Major Devereux's command post toinform him of the approachingplanes.
Although Putnam was rushingwork on the six bunkers being builtalong the seaward side of the runway,he knew none of them would beready before 1400. He also knew thatmoving the eight F4F Wildcats fromtheir parking area would risk damageto the planes and obstruction of therunway if the planes were in factdamaged. Since any damage mighthave meant the loss of a planeWake possessed virtually no spareparts - Putnam decided to delaymoving the Wildcats and the materieluntil suitable places existed to protect them.
No foxholes had been dug near thefield, but the rough ground nearbyoffered natural cover to those whoreached it. Putnam hoped that hismen would obtain good cover if anattack came. The movement of gasoline, bombs, and ammunition; the installation of electrical lines and
generators; and the relocation of ra-dio facilities kept all hands busilyengaged.
The attack found Second Lieu-tenant Robert 7' Conderman andFirst Lieutenant George A. Graves inthe ready tent, going over last minuteinstructions concerning their escortof the Philippine Clipper. When thealarm sounded, both pilots, alreadyin flight gear, sprinted for their Wild-cats. Graves managed to reach oneF4F, but a direct hit demolished it ina ball of flame as he was climbinginto the cockpit, killing him instant-ly. Strafers' bullets cut down Conder-man as he tried to reach his plane,and as he lay on the ground a bombhit the waiting Wildcat and blew itup, pinning him beneath the wreck-age. He called to Corporal Robert E.L. Page to help him, but stoppedwhen he heard another man cryingfor help. He directed Page to help theother man first. Strafing attackskilled Second Lieutenant Frank J.Holden as he raced for cover. Bulletsand. fragments wounded SecondLieutenant Webb.
Marine Gunner Hamas, who stillhad 50 cases of hand grenades in histruck, having just delivered 25 toKuku Point, saw the red sun insig-nia on the planes as they roared lowoverhead. Immediately, he orderedthe vehicle stopped and instructed hismen to head for cover.
Confident that his airborne planeswould be able to provide sufficientwarning of an incoming raid, Com-mander Cunningham was working inhis office at Camp 2, when he heardthe "crump" of bombs around 1155.The explosions rattled windows else-where in the camp, prompting manymen to conclude that work crewswere blasting coral heads in thelagoon.
Guns 1 and 2 of Battery D openedup on the attackers, collectively fir-ing 40 rounds during the raid. Thelow visibility and the altitude atwhich the Mitsubishis flew, however,prevented the 3-inch guns from fir-
ing effectively. No bombs fell nearthe battery but the guns' own con-cussions caved in the sandbag em-placements, Marine antiaircraft firedamaged eight Nells and killed a pet-ty officer in one of them. ReturningJapanese aircrews claimed to have setfire to all of the aircraft on theground, and reported sighting onlythree airborne American planes.
On Peacock Point, First LieutenantLewis' Battery E had been standing-to, ready to fire. Like Godbold, Lewisdid not have enough men for all fourof his guns. Lewis manned two of the3-inchers, along with the M-4 direc-tor, while the rest of his men busily
5
completed sandbag emplacements.After telephoning Devereux's .com-mand post when he saw the falling.bombs, Lewis quickly estimated thealtitude and ordered his gunners toopen fire. Again, however, the heightat which the attackers came renderedthe fire ineffective.
In about seven minutes, Japanesebombs and bullets totally wreckedPanAm's facilities. Bombing andstrafing set fire to a hotel — in whichfive Chamorro employees died — andalso to a stock room, fuel tanks, andmany other buildings, •anddemolished a radio transmitter. Nineof PanAm's 66-man staff lay dead.
itt•:
TABLE OF DISTANCIS FROM WAKE
IN NAUTICAL MILES
"0
Minds
Goam
Hen
PnIiakk AtOll
HwajaArn Atoll
Rci
Mature
Wottal4Marcuo
Sarpao
TruA
ICifI' A"
2626
302
034
2004
304
660
620
$40
600
$14
160
1260
1120
.Mc,.
'V
..,,.
MARS AN AS
'0,,,.
IsOs
N:.A
A".4 '"•
0 0 05 •
SOLOMON ISLANDS
PADS NIX .00,',.,ISLANDS.
Ce..,—
t,.TA
I 51 A N OSsr_a. C.
310505
