102-521: [REDACTED] Look up Wake or wake in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Wake or The Wake may refer to: Culture [ edit ] Wake (ceremony) , a ritual which takes place during some funeral ceremonies Wakes week , an English holiday tradition Parish Wake , another name of the Welsh gŵyl mabsant , the fairs held on
204-438: A Doctor Who related audio drama Literature [ edit ] Wake (McMann novel) , 2008 Wake (Sawyer novel) , 2009 Wake (comics) , a French comic created by Morvan and Buchet The Wake (novel) , 2014, by Paul Kingsnorth The Sandman: The Wake , a 1995 graphic novel Games [ edit ] Alan Wake , a 2010 video game Alan Wake 2 , the 2023 video game sequel. Crasher Wake ,
306-621: A gold-rich land in the South Pacific mentioned in Inca tradition. After visiting Tuvalu and the Solomon Islands , the expedition headed north and came upon Wake Island, "a low barren island, judged to be eight leagues in circumference". Since the date, October 2, was the eve of the feast of Saint Francis of Assisi , the captain named it St Francis Island ( Spanish : Isla San Francisco ) The ships were in need of water and
408-483: A lagoon encircled by a coral reef. The nearest inhabited island is Utirik Atoll in the Marshall Islands , located 592 miles (953 kilometers) to the southeast. The island may have been found by prehistoric Austronesian mariners before its first recorded discovery by Álvaro de Mendaña de Neira in 1568. Ships continued visiting the area in the following centuries, but the island remained undeveloped until
510-433: A Greek film The Wake (audio drama) , a Doctor Who related audio drama Literature [ edit ] Wake (McMann novel) , 2008 Wake (Sawyer novel) , 2009 Wake (comics) , a French comic created by Morvan and Buchet The Wake (novel) , 2014, by Paul Kingsnorth The Sandman: The Wake , a 1995 graphic novel Games [ edit ] Alan Wake , a 2010 video game Alan Wake 2 ,
612-964: A Gym Leader in the Pokémon video games Music [ edit ] Wake (opera) , a 2018 opera by Giorgio Battistelli The Wake (UK band) , a post-punk band The Wake (American band) , a gothic rock band Wake (Dead Can Dance album) , 2003 Wake (Floater album) , 2010 Wake (Mortal album) , 1994 Wake (Tara MacLean album) , 2008 Wake (Trio Töykeät album) , 2005 Wake (Lycia album) , 1989 Wake (For Today album) , 2015 The Wake (IQ album) , 1985 The Wake (Scott Kelly album) , 2008 The Wake (Voivod album) , 2018 Places and schools [ edit ] Wake, Okayama , Japan Wake, Virginia , U.S. Wake County, North Carolina , U.S. Wake Forest, North Carolina , U.S. Wake Forest University , Winston-Salem, North Carolina, U.S. Wake Forest Demon Deacons , this school's athletic program Wake Island , in
714-439: A base for surface vessels. Picking suggested clearing the channel to the lagoon for "loaded motor sailing launches" so that parties on shore could receive supplies from passing ships, and he strongly recommended that Wake be used as a base for aircraft. Picking stated, "If the long heralded trans-Pacific flight ever takes place, Wake Island should certainly be occupied and used as an intermediate resting and fueling port." In 1923,
816-439: A case of wine, some bread, and two buckets, but no drinking water. Since Wake Island appeared to have neither food nor water, the captain and his 12-man crew quickly departed, crafting a makeshift sail by attaching a blanket to an oar. With no water, each man was allotted a glass of wine daily until a heavy rain shower came on the sixth day. After 31 days of drifting westward in the longboat, they reached Kosrae (Strong's Island) in
918-816: A diplomatic note stating that the Japanese Government had "no claim whatever to make on the sovereignty of the island, but that if any subjects are found on the island the Imperial Government expects that they should be properly protected as long as they are engaged in peaceful occupations." Wake Island was now clearly a territory of the United States , but the island was only occasionally visited by passing American ships during this period. One notable visit occurred in December 1906, when U.S. Army General John J. Pershing , later famous as
1020-544: A dwindling water supply and no sign of rescue, the passengers and crew decided to leave Wake and attempt to sail to Guam (the center of the then Spanish colony of the Mariana Islands ) on the two remaining boats from Libelle . Twenty-two passengers and some of the crew sailed in the 22-foot (7 m) longboat under the command of First Mate Rudolf Kausch, and the remainder of the crew sailed with Captain Tobias in
1122-484: A good location for a telegraph cable station and coaling station for refueling warships of the rapidly expanding United States Navy and passing merchant and passenger steamships. On July 4, 1898, United States Army Brigadier General Francis V. Greene of the 2nd Brigade, Philippine Expeditionary Force , of the Eighth Army Corps, stopped at Wake Island and raised the United States flag while en route to
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#17327655825331224-1044: A joint expedition by the then Bureau of the Biological Survey (in the U.S. Department of Agriculture ), the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum and the United States Navy was organized to conduct a thorough biological survey of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands , then administered by the Biological Survey Bureau as the Hawaiian Islands Bird Reservation . On February 1, 1923, Secretary of Agriculture Henry C. Wallace contacted Secretary of Navy Edwin Denby to request Navy participation and recommended expanding
1326-473: A military base on the atoll. On August 19, the first permanent military garrison, elements of the U.S. Marine Corps' First Marine Defense Battalion , totaling 449 officers and men, were stationed on the island, commanded by Navy Cmdr. Winfield Scott Cunningham . Also on the island were 68 U.S. Naval personnel and about 1,221 civilian workers from the American firm Morrison-Knudsen Corp. The base plan
1428-417: A mix of tropical trees, scrub, and grasses that have adapted to the limited rainfall. Thousands of hermit crabs and rats live on Wake, and in the past, cats were introduced to help control the rat population, which at one time was estimated at 2 million. The Wake Island rail , a small flightless bird, once lived on the atoll but went extinct during World War II. Many seabird species also visit Wake, although
1530-518: A naval assault was attempted but rebuffed on December 11, 1941. The island continued to be bombed, and the Japanese amassed a larger invasion fleet. There was a 50-plane air raid on December 21, 1941. The Japanese returned on December 23, 1941, with a much larger amphibious force and captured the island. The Japanese occupied it until September 1945. On December 8, 1941 (December 7 in Hawaii, the day of
1632-627: A signal that activates a device via a telephone connection Wake turbulence , the air turbulence that forms around and behind an aircraft Wake, a group of vultures Other uses [ edit ] WAKE (AM) , radio station in Indiana, United States Wake (sculpture) , a 2004 weathering steel sculpture by Richard Serra Wake (surname) USS Wake , the only U.S. ship to surrender in World War II. See also [ edit ] Awaken (disambiguation) Topics referred to by
1734-511: A signal that activates a device via a telephone connection Wake turbulence , the air turbulence that forms around and behind an aircraft Wake, a group of vultures Other uses [ edit ] WAKE (AM) , radio station in Indiana, United States Wake (sculpture) , a 2004 weathering steel sculpture by Richard Serra Wake (surname) USS Wake , the only U.S. ship to surrender in World War II. See also [ edit ] Awaken (disambiguation) Topics referred to by
1836-400: A submarine blockade instead of an amphibious invasion of Wake Island. The Japanese-occupied island (called Ōtorishima (大鳥島) or Big Bird Island by them for its birdlike shape) was bombed several times by American aircraft; one of these raids was the first mission for future United States President George H. W. Bush . The island was also bombed with leaflets and even small rubber rafts, with
1938-482: Is an atoll , with a group comprising three islands with a central lagoon. Wetmore named the southwest island for Charles Wilkes , who had led the original pioneering United States Exploring Expedition to Wake in 1841. The northwest island was named for Titian Peale , the chief naturalist of that 1841 expedition. Juan Trippe , president of the world's then-largest airline, Pan American Airways (PAA), wanted to expand globally by offering passenger air service between
2040-826: Is claimed by the Marshall Islands but is administered by the United States as an unorganized and unincorporated territory and comprises part of the United States Minor Outlying Islands . The island is administered by the Department of the Interior and managed by the United States Air Force. While there are no permanent residents, approximately 300 people are on the island at any given time, primarily military personnel and contractors. The natural areas of Wake are
2142-476: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Wake [REDACTED] Look up Wake or wake in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Wake or The Wake may refer to: Culture [ edit ] Wake (ceremony) , a ritual which takes place during some funeral ceremonies Wakes week , an English holiday tradition Parish Wake , another name of
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#17327655825332244-531: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Wake Island Wake Island ( Marshallese : Ānen Kio , lit. 'island of the kio flower '), also known as Wake Atoll , is a coral atoll in the Micronesia subregion of the Pacific Ocean . The atoll is composed of three islets – Wake, Wilkes, and Peale Islands – surrounding
2346-495: Is noted as the first time a U.S. submarine launched its torpedoes in the Pacific war. The Japanese are known to have lost one of the submarines they sent as part of the operation. Still, it was because two of their submarines accidentally collided with one another on December 17, sinking one. Japanese submarine Ro-66 was on the surface 25 nautical miles (46 km; 29 mi) southwest of Wake Island – bearing 252 degrees from
2448-581: Is reported to have discovered the atoll from the Prince William Henry in 1792. Peale Island is named for the naturalist Titian Peale , who visited the island in 1841, and Wilkes Island is named for U.S. Naval officer Charles Wilkes , who led the U.S. expedition to Wake Atoll in 1841. The presence of the Polynesian rat on the island suggests that Wake was likely visited by Polynesian or Micronesian voyagers at an early date. In
2550-530: The Nita Maru (later renamed Chūyō) . Many of those who stayed were those who were too badly wounded, and some were civilian contractors who knew how to operate the machinery on the island. A significant source of the prisoner war experience on Wake were the accounts in the commanding officer logs for Wilcox and Russel. In September 1942, another 265 were taken off Wake including Wilcox and Russel; not including those that had died or been executed, that left 98 on
2652-576: The Philippine Clipper (NC14715). On October 25, the Hawaii Clipper (NC14714) landed at Wake with the first paying airline passengers ever to cross the Pacific. In 1937, Wake Island became a regular stop for PAA's international trans-Pacific passenger and airmail service, with two scheduled flights per week, one westbound from Midway and one eastbound from Guam. Pan Am also flew Boeing 314 Clipper flying boats, in addition,
2754-707: The Allied Powers in the First World War ) which included the already Japanese-held Micronesia islands north of the equator that were part of the former colony of German New Guinea of the German Empire ; these include the modern nation/states of Palau , The Federated States of Micronesia , The Northern Mariana Islands and The Marshall Islands . In the 1920s and 1930s, Japan restricted access to its mandated territory and began to develop harbors and airfields throughout Micronesia in defiance of
2856-759: The Caroline Islands . Captain Vandervord attributed the loss of Dashing Wave to the erroneous way Wake Island "is laid down in the charts. It is very low, and not easily seen even on a clear night." With the annexation of Hawaii in 1898 and the acquisition of Guam and the Philippines resulting from the conclusion of the Spanish–American War that same year, the United States began to consider unclaimed and uninhabited Wake Island, located approximately halfway between Honolulu and Manila , as
2958-471: The Royal Navy 's whaling ship HMS Bellona , visited an island at 19°15′00″N 166°32′00″E / 19.25000°N 166.53333°E / 19.25000; 166.53333 , which he judged to be 20–25 miles (32–40 kilometers) long. The island was "covered with wood, having a very green and rural appearance". This report is considered to be another sighting of Wake Island. On December 20, 1841,
3060-575: The Secretary of the Navy , requesting a five-year lease on Wake Island with an option for four renewals. Given the potential military value of PAA's base development, on November 13, Chief of Naval Operations Admiral William H. Standley ordered a survey of Wake by USS Nitro and on December 29 President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 6935, which placed Wake Island and also Johnston , Sand Island at Midway and Kingman Reef under
3162-562: The United States Exploring Expedition , commanded by US Navy Lieutenant Charles Wilkes , arrived at Wake on USS Vincennes and sent several boats to survey the island. Wilkes described the atoll as "a low coral one, of triangular form and eight feet [2.4 m] above the surface. It has a large lagoon in the centre, which was well filled with fish of a variety of species among these were some fine mullet ." He also noted that Wake had no fresh water but
Wake - Misplaced Pages Continue
3264-582: The Washington Naval Treaty of 1922, which prohibited both the United States and Japan from expanding military fortifications in the Pacific islands. With Trippe's planned Pan American Airways aviation route passing through Wake and Midway, the U.S. Navy and the State Department saw an opportunity to project American air power across the Pacific under the guise of a commercial aviation enterprise. On October 3, 1934, Trippe wrote to
3366-491: The atoll , made extensive zoological and botanical observations, and gathered specimens for the Bishop Museum while the naval vessel under the command of Lt. Cmdr. Samuel Wilder King conducted a sounding survey offshore. Other achievements at Wake included examinations of three abandoned Japanese feather poaching camps, scientific observations of the now extinct Wake Island rail , and confirmation that Wake Island
3468-573: The attack on Pearl Harbor ), at least 27 Japanese Mitsubishi G3M "Nell" medium bombers flown from bases on Kwajalein in the Marshall Islands attacked Wake Island, destroying eight of the 12 Grumman F4F Wildcat fighter aircraft belonging to USMC Fighter Squadron 211 on the ground. The Marine garrison's defensive emplacements were left intact by the raid, which primarily targeted the aircraft. On December 9 and 10, there were more air attacks, and two Japanese bombers were shot down. However, the bombing of Wilkes Island detonated an ammunition dump,
3570-513: The merchantman Prince William Henry also came upon Wake Island, naming the atoll for himself. Soon thereafter, the 80-ton fur trading merchant brig Halcyon arrived at Wake and Master Charles William Barkley , unaware of Captain Wake's visit and other prior European contact, named the atoll Halcyon Island in honor of his ship. In 1823, Captain Edward Gardner , while in command of
3672-498: The 13th Independent Mixed Regiment (1,939 men) under the command of Col. Shigeji Chikamori. Fearing an imminent invasion, the Japanese reinforced Wake Island with more formidable defenses. The American captives were ordered to build a series of bunkers and fortifications on Wake. The Japanese brought in an 8-inch (200 mm) naval gun which is often incorrectly reported as having been captured in Singapore. The U.S. Navy established
3774-582: The 20 survivors and transport them to Yokohama . In his 1921 book Sea-Power in the Pacific: A Study of the American-Japanese Naval Problem , Hector C. Bywater recommended establishing a well-defended fueling station at Wake Island to provide coal and oil for United States Navy ships engaged in future operations against Japan. On June 19, 1922, the submarine tender USS Beaver landed an investigating party to determine
3876-601: The 20-foot (6 m) gig . On April 8, 1866, the longboat reached Guam after 13 days of frequent squalls , short rations, and tropical sun. The gig, commanded by the captain, was lost at sea. The Spanish governor of the Mariana Islands, Francisco Moscoso y Lara, welcomed and aided the Libelle shipwreck survivors on Guam. He also ordered the schooner Ana , owned and commanded by his son-in-law George H. Johnston, to be dispatched with first mate Kausch to search for
3978-958: The 2023 video game sequel. Crasher Wake , a Gym Leader in the Pokémon video games Music [ edit ] Wake (opera) , a 2018 opera by Giorgio Battistelli The Wake (UK band) , a post-punk band The Wake (American band) , a gothic rock band Wake (Dead Can Dance album) , 2003 Wake (Floater album) , 2010 Wake (Mortal album) , 1994 Wake (Tara MacLean album) , 2008 Wake (Trio Töykeät album) , 2005 Wake (Lycia album) , 1989 Wake (For Today album) , 2015 The Wake (IQ album) , 1985 The Wake (Scott Kelly album) , 2008 The Wake (Voivod album) , 2018 Places and schools [ edit ] Wake, Okayama , Japan Wake, Virginia , U.S. Wake County, North Carolina , U.S. Wake Forest, North Carolina , U.S. Wake Forest University , Winston-Salem, North Carolina, U.S. Wake Forest Demon Deacons , this school's athletic program Wake Island , in
4080-473: The Japanese began an assault on Wake Island. At the time, there were about 500 Marines, 1100 civilian contractors, and dozens of Pan-Am airline employees and passengers. Shortly after a bombing raid that killed dozens, the Pan Am Flying Boat took off with the passengers and many employees. Three days later, the Japanese began a multi-ship amphibious invasion led by a cruiser, which was turned away at
4182-613: The Japanese presence at Wake Island. He also learned that USAT Sheridan had a similar encounter at Wake with the Japanese. The incident was brought to the attention of Assistant Secretary of the Navy Charles Darling , who at once informed the State Department and suggested that an explanation from the Japanese Government was needed. In August 1902, Japanese Minister Takahira Kogorō provided
Wake - Misplaced Pages Continue
4284-549: The Marshallese oral tradition, stories tell of Ānen Kio, or "island of the orange flower ," where men would collect albatross bones for tattooing rituals. Dwight Heine speculated that the Marshall Islanders treated Ānen Kio similar to a game preserve for hunting and gathering food and that no one permanently lived there, similar to land usage practices on Bokak Atoll and Bikar Atoll . He also speculated that
4386-471: The Martin M130. Wake Island is credited with being one of the early successes of hydroponics , which enabled Pan American Airways to grow vegetables for its passengers, as it was costly to airlift in fresh vegetables and the island lacked natural soil. Pan Am remained in operation up to the day of the first Japanese air raid in December 1941, forcing the U.S. into World War II . The last flight out
4488-532: The Navy Claude A. Swanson formally granted Pan American Airways permission to construct facilities at Wake Island. To construct bases in the Pacific, PAA chartered the 6,700-ton freighter SS North Haven , which arrived at Wake Island on May 9, 1935, with construction workers and the necessary materials and equipment to start to build Pan American facilities and to clear the lagoon for a flying boat landing area. The atoll's encircling coral reef prevented
4590-575: The Pacific Ocean Bade Airport , the airport in Papua, Indonesia, assigned ICAO code WAKE Science [ edit ] WAKE (cipher) , a stream cipher Wake (physics) , the region of recirculating flow immediately behind a moving solid body Wake low , a meteorological phenomenon which can cause high winds Wake-on-LAN , a signal that activates a device via a network connection Wake-on-ring , or Wake-on-Modem (WOM),
4692-443: The Pacific Ocean Bade Airport , the airport in Papua, Indonesia, assigned ICAO code WAKE Science [ edit ] WAKE (cipher) , a stream cipher Wake (physics) , the region of recirculating flow immediately behind a moving solid body Wake low , a meteorological phenomenon which can cause high winds Wake-on-LAN , a signal that activates a device via a network connection Wake-on-ring , or Wake-on-Modem (WOM),
4794-491: The Philippines on the steamship liner SS China . On January 17, 1899, under orders from President William McKinley , Commander Edward D. Taussig of USS Bennington landed on Wake and formally took possession of the island for the United States. After a 21-gun salute , the flag was raised, and a brass plate was affixed to the flagstaff with the following inscription: Although the proposed Wake Island route for
4896-723: The United States and China. To cross the Pacific Ocean, his planes would need to island-hop, stopping at various points for refueling and maintenance. He first tried to plot the route on his globe , but it showed only open sea between Midway and Guam . Next, he went to the New York Public Library to study 19th-century clipper ship logs and charts and he "discovered" a little-known coral atoll , Wake Island. To proceed with his plans at Wake and Midway, Trippe would need to be granted access to each island and approval to construct and operate facilities; however,
4998-467: The United States claimed it in 1899. Significant development of the island didn't begin until 1935 when Pan American Airways constructed an airfield and hotel, establishing Wake Island as a stopover for trans-Pacific flying boat routes. In December 1941 at the opening of the Pacific Theatre of World War II Japan seized the island where it remained under Japanese occupation until the end of
5100-543: The Wake hospital was destroyed, and many other buildings were damaged. Meanwhile, the Japanese naval landing force was on its way from Roi in the Japanese-held Marshall Islands and would arrive at Wake on December 11, 1941. On the night of December 10, the US submarine USS Triton engaged an enemy destroyer near Wake while on patrol; it fired torpedoes, but in the battle neither vessel was sunk. This
5202-435: The Welsh gŵyl mabsant , the fairs held on the local parish's patron saint's annual feast Entertainment [ edit ] Film, television, and audio [ edit ] Wake (2009 film) , an independent film Wake (cancelled film) , a cancelled American action thriller film "Wake" ( The Secret Circle ) , a television episode The Wake (1986 film) , a Canadian drama film The Wake (2005 film) ,
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#17327655825335304-417: The air. It flew to Midway, then Pearl Harbor, then back to the US. The flight with passengers and 26 Pan-Am employees left in such a hurry that 1 passenger, 1 employee, and 35 Guam staff were left behind. It departed about two hours after the air raid. Except for one other Marine that a PBY flew out on the December 21, these were the last to leave Wake island before the Japanese capture on the 23rd. The US plan
5406-487: The atoll – to recharge her batteries in a heavy squall in the predawn darkness of December 17, 1941, when her lookouts suddenly sighted Ro-62 , also on the surface and recharging batteries. Both submarines attempted to back off, but it was too late to avoid a collision, and Ro-62 rammed Ro-66 at 20:20 Japan Standard Time . Ro-66 sank at 19°10′N 166°28′E / 19.167°N 166.467°E / 19.167; 166.467 ( Ro-66 ) with
5508-564: The beach as it passed closely by Wake Island. Soon thereafter, the Japanese launched the boat on the island and sailed out to meet the transport. The Japanese told Captain Croskey that they had been put on the island by a schooner from Yokohama in Japan and that they were gathering guano and drying fish . The captain suspected they were also engaged in pearl hunting . The Japanese revealed that one of their parties needed medical attention, and
5610-473: The captain determined from their descriptions of the symptoms that the illness was most likely beriberi . They informed Captain Croskey that they did not need any provisions or water and expected the Japanese schooner to return in a month or so. The Japanese declined an offer to be taken on the transport to Manila and were given some medical supplies for the sick man, some tobacco, and a few incidentals. After USAT Buford reached Manila, Captain Croskey reported
5712-581: The commander of the American Expeditionary Forces in western Europe during World War I , stopped at Wake on USAT Thomas and hoisted a 45-star U.S. flag that was improvised out of sail canvas . With limited freshwater resources, no harbor, and no plans for development, Wake Island remained a remote uninhabited Pacific island in the early 20th century. However, a large seabird population attracted Japanese feather collecting. The global demand for feathers and plumage
5814-476: The control of the Department of the Navy. Rear Admiral Harry E. Yarnell designated Wake Island as a bird sanctuary to disguise the Navy's military intentions. USS Nitro arrived at Wake Island on March 8, 1935, and conducted a two-day ground, marine, and aerial survey, providing the Navy with strategic observations and complete photographic coverage of the atoll . Four days later, on March 12, Secretary of
5916-478: The crew of the submarine tender USS Beaver in 1922 and USS Tanager in 1923. Although feather collecting and plumage exploitation had been outlawed in the territorial United States, there is no record of any enforcement actions at Wake Island. In January 1908, the Japanese ship Toyoshima Maru , en route from Tateyama , Japan, to the South Pacific , encountered a heavy storm that disabled
6018-553: The crew was suffering from scurvy , but after circling the island it was determined that Wake was waterless and had "not a cocoanut nor a pandanus " and "there was nothing on it but sea-birds , and sandy places covered with bushes." (It was while attempting to relocate Wake according to Mendaña's description of its coordinates that James Cook first reached the Hawaiian Islands .) In 1796, Captain Samuel Wake of
6120-634: The end of the war, the Japanese garrison surrendered and said the POWs had been killed in a bombing attack; however, that story broke down when some of the officers wrote notes explaining the true story, and Sakaibara confessed to the mass execution. The island's Japanese garrison was composed of the IJN 65th Guard Unit (2,000 men), Japan Navy Captain Shigematsu Sakaibara and the IJA units, which became
6222-470: The expedition to Johnston , Midway and Wake, all islands not administered by the Department of Agriculture. On July 27, 1923, USS Tanager , a World War I minesweeper , brought the Tanager Expedition to Wake Island under the leadership of ornithologist Alexander Wetmore , and a tent camp was established on the eastern end of Wilkes. From July 27 to August 5, the expedition charted
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#17327655825336324-475: The expedition. Wilkes also reported that "from appearances, the island must be at times submerged, or the sea makes a complete breach over it". Wake Island first received international attention with the wreck of the barque Libelle . On the night of March 4, 1866, the 650-ton iron-hulled Libelle , of Bremen , struck the eastern reef of Wake Island during a gale . Commanded by Captain Anton Tobias,
6426-430: The extreme high-water marks and the three-mile marine boundaries surrounding Wake. "Wake Island Naval Airspace Reservation" was also established to restrict access to the airspace over the naval defense sea area. Only U.S. government ships and aircraft were permitted to enter the naval defense areas at Wake Island unless authorized by the Secretary of the Navy . In January 1941, the United States Navy began constructing
6528-560: The first aircraft landing at Wake Island occurred when a PAA flying boat landed in the lagoon on a survey flight of the route between Midway and Wake. The second expedition of North Haven arrived at Wake Island on February 5, 1936, to complete the construction of the PAA facilities. A five-ton diesel locomotive for the Wilkes Island Railroad was offloaded, and the railway track was extended to run from dock to dock. Across
6630-423: The idea that someone could escape from the island by sea. In February 1942, there was a raid attack on Wake, which included naval bombardment and bombing by aircraft. On the first day of the attack on February 23, several targets on the island were struck, and in the waters nearby, two Japanese patrol boats were sunk, and four Japanese seamen recovered. The next day (February 24) a Japanese 4-engine patrol aircraft
6732-809: The island on December 23 before this could take place. American and Japanese dead from the fighting between December 8 and 23 were buried on the island. The U.S. Navy attempted to provide support from Hawaii but suffered great losses at Pearl Harbor. The relief fleet they managed to organize was delayed by bad weather. The isolated U.S. garrison was overwhelmed by a reinforced and greatly superior Japanese invasion force on December 23. American casualties numbered 52 military personnel (Navy and Marine) and approximately 70 civilians killed. Japanese losses exceeded 700 dead, with some estimates ranging as high as 1,000. Wake's defenders sank two Japanese fast transports ( P32 and P33 ) and one submarine and shot down 24 Japanese aircraft. The US relief fleet, en route, on hearing of
6834-535: The island's loss, turned back. In the aftermath of the battle, most of the captured civilians and military personnel were sent to POW camps in Asia. However, the Japanese enslaved some of the civilian laborers and tasked them with improving the island's defenses. At the end of the battle on December 23, 1,603 people, of whom 1,150 were civilians, were taken prisoner. Three weeks later, all but roughly 350–360 were taken to Japanese prisoner-of-war camps in Asia aboard
6936-496: The island. With the departure of the officers, their logs of daily prisoners of life on Wake ended. Still, additional facts are known, including a new commanding officer of the island in December 1942. In July 1943, a prisoner of war was executed for stealing food, as ordered by Sakaibara; however, the identity of this POW is unknown. On October 7, 1943, the prisoners of war were executed on order of Sakaibara; they were marched into an anti-tank ditch and executed by machine gun fire. At
7038-556: The island. All but 100 of the POWs were sent away; the ones that remained were executed in 1943 after a U.S. bombing raid. In June 1945, the Allies allowed a Japanese hospital ship to evacuate about 1000 soldiers from Wake. The island was bombed many times by the Allies throughout the war but never invaded; it was surrendered to the U.S. in September 1945. The battle started with air attacks beginning on December 8, 1941. After three days,
7140-639: The islanders may have stopped traveling to Wake Atoll in the mid-1800s, around the time the first missionaries arrived in the Marshalls. However, the atoll's remoteness and lack of fresh water may have prevented permanent pre-modern human habitation, and no ancient artifacts have been discovered. The first recorded discovery of Wake Island was on October 2, 1568, by Spanish explorer and navigator Álvaro de Mendaña de Neira . In 1567, Mendaña and his crew had set off on two ships, Los Reyes and Todos los Santos , from Callao , Peru , on an expedition to search for
7242-709: The islands were not under the jurisdiction of any specific U.S. government entity. Meanwhile, U.S. Navy military planners and the State Department were increasingly alarmed by the Empire of Japan 's expansionist attitude and growing belligerence in the Western Pacific . Following World War I , the Council of the League of Nations had granted the South Seas Mandate ("Nanyo") to Japan (which had joined
7344-506: The lagoon on Peale, workers assembled the Pan American Hotel, a prefabricated structure with 48 rooms and wide porches and verandas . The hotel consisted of two wings built out from a central lobby , with each room having a bathroom with a hot-water shower. The PAA facilities staff included a group of Chamorro men from Guam who were employed as kitchen helpers, hotel service attendants, and laborers. The village on Peale
7446-402: The lagoon to Peale Island. Someone had earlier loaded railroad track rails onto North Haven by inspiration, so the men built a narrow-gauge railway to make it easier to haul the supplies across Wilkes to the lagoon. The line used a flatbed car pulled by a tractor. On June 12, North Haven departed for Guam, leaving behind various PAA technicians and a construction crew. Out in the middle of
7548-486: The lagoon, Bill Mullahey , a swimmer and free diver from Columbia University , was tasked with placing dynamite charges to blast hundreds of coral heads from a 1 mile (1,600 m) long, 300 yards (270 m) wide, 6 feet (2 m) deep landing area for the flying boats. In total some 5 short tons (4.5 metric tons) of dynamite were used over three months on the coral heads in the Wake Atoll lagoon. On August 17,
7650-430: The local parish's patron saint's annual feast Entertainment [ edit ] Film, television, and audio [ edit ] Wake (2009 film) , an independent film Wake (cancelled film) , a cancelled American action thriller film "Wake" ( The Secret Circle ) , a television episode The Wake (1986 film) , a Canadian drama film The Wake (2005 film) , a Greek film The Wake (audio drama) ,
7752-425: The loss of 63 lives, including that of the commander of Submarine Division 27. Ro-62 rescued her three survivors, who had been thrown overboard from her bridge by the collision. The American garrison, supplemented by civilian construction workers employed by Morrison-Knudsen Corp., repelled several Japanese landing attempts. An American journalist reported that after the initial Japanese amphibious assault
7854-434: The loss of two destroyers by Wake's artillery. This action was widely reported as the first American battlefield success of the war. Meanwhile, the U.S. Navy began a plan to resupply the island and evacuate the contractors; however, before this could happen, a much larger amphibious invasion took place on the island on December 23, 1941, losing two more ships and additional casualties. The Japanese stationed about 4,000 troops on
7956-410: The message. On December 12, in the early morning, a four-engined flying boat bombed Wake, but a Wildcat fighter aircraft was able to intercept and shoot it down. Later in the day, they were bombed again by 26 Nell aircraft (G3M twin-engine bombers), one of which was shot down by anti-aircraft fire. An F4F Wildcat on patrol late in the day sank a Japanese submarine that was near Wake. The next air raid
8058-583: The missing gig and then sail on to Wake Island to confirm the shipwreck story and recover the buried treasure . Ana departed Guam on April 10 and, after two days at Wake Island, found and salvaged the buried coins, precious stones, and a small quantity of the quicksilver. On July 29, 1870, the British tea clipper Dashing Wave , under the command of Captain Henry Vandervord, sailed out of Fuzhou en route to Sydney . On August 31, "the weather
8160-493: The practicality and feasibility of establishing a naval fueling station on Wake Island. Lt. Cmdr. Sherwood Picking reported that from "a strategic point of view, Wake Island could not be better located, dividing as it does with Midway, the passage from Honolulu to Guam into almost exact thirds." He observed that the boat channel was choked with coral heads and that the lagoon was very shallow and not over 15 feet (5 m) in depth, and therefore Wake would not be able to serve as
8262-489: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Wake . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wake&oldid=1233020178 " Categories : Disambiguation pages Place name disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Articles containing Welsh-language text Short description
8364-489: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Wake . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wake&oldid=1233020178 " Categories : Disambiguation pages Place name disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Articles containing Welsh-language text Short description
8466-537: The sea. It is only a few feet above the level of the ocean, and if a cable station were established there, costly work would be required; besides, it has no harbor, while the Midway Islands are perfectly habitable and have a fair harbor for vessels of 18 feet (5 m) draught." On June 23, 1902, USAT Buford , commanded by Captain Alfred Croskey and bound for Manila , spotted a ship's boat on
8568-594: The ship and swept the captain and five of the crew overboard. The 36 remaining crew members landed on Wake Island, enduring five months of great hardship, disease, and starvation . In May 1908, the Brazilian Navy training ship Benjamin Constant , while on a voyage around the world, passed by the island and spotted a tattered red distress flag . Unable to land a boat, the crew executed a challenging three-day rescue operation using rope and cable to bring on board
8670-567: The ship from entering and anchoring in the shallow lagoon. The only suitable location for ferrying supplies and workers ashore was at nearby Wilkes Island; however, the chief engineer of the expedition, Charles R. Russell, determined that Wilkes was too low and, at times, flooded and that Peale Island was the best site for the Pan American facilities. To offload the ship, cargo was lightered (barged) from ship to shore, carried across Wilkes, and then transferred to another barge and towed across
8772-406: The ship was en route from San Francisco to Hong Kong with a cargo of mercury (quicksilver). After three days of searching and digging on the island for water, the crew recovered a 200 US gallons (760 L) water tank from the wrecked ship. Valuable cargo was also recovered and buried on the island, including some of the 1,000 flasks of mercury, coins, and precious stones. After three weeks with
8874-577: The start of hostilities, the waters around Wake were patrolled by two USN submarines, the USS Triton and the USS Tambor . Before the start of the war one of the USS Triton crew members became sick and was dropped off at Wake Island on December 1, 1941. He became a prisoner of war and survived WWII. The Triton was radioed about the start of the war when it surfaced to recharge its batteries and
8976-509: The submarine cable would have been shorter by 137 miles (220 km), the Midway Islands and not Wake Island was chosen as the location for the telegraph cable station between Honolulu and Guam. Rear Admiral Royal Bird Bradford, chief of the U.S. Navy's Bureau of Equipment, stated before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce on January 17, 1902, that "Wake Island seems at times to be swept by
9078-673: The thick vegetation has caused most birds to nest in a designated bird sanctuary on Wilkes Island . The submerged and emergent lands at Wake Island comprise a unit of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument . Wake Island derives its name from British sea captain Samuel Wake, who rediscovered the atoll in 1796 while in command of the Prince William Henry . The name is sometimes attributed to Captain William Wake, who also
9180-543: The war in September 1945. In 1972, Pan American Airways ceased using the island for trans-Pacific layovers due to the adoption of the Boeing 747 into their fleet. With the withdrawal of Pan American Airways, the island's administration was taken over by the United States Air Force , which later used the atoll as a processing location for Vietnamese refugees during Operation New Life in 1975. Wake Island
9282-565: Was Martin M-130, which had just taken off on the flight to Guam when it was called on the radio about Pearl Harbor and the outbreak of World War II, so it returned to Wake. It was fueled up and was going to do a maritime patrol to search for the Japanese, when the Japanese bombing raid attacked and the aircraft took some light damage during the raid, but two of the air crew were wounded. It was stripped of seats and spare weight and filled with 40 people to evacuate. After three take-off attempts, it got in
9384-485: Was beaten back with heavy losses on December 11, the American commander was asked by his superiors if he needed anything. Popular legend has it that Major James Devereux sent back the message, "Send us more Japs!" – a reply that became famous. After the war, when Major Devereux learned that he had been credited with sending such a message, he pointed out that he had not been the commander on Wake Island and denied sending it. "As far as I know, it wasn't sent at all. None of us
9486-430: Was covered with shrubs, "the most abundant of which was the tournefortia ." The expedition's naturalist , Titian Peale , noted that "the only remarkable part in the formation of this island is the enormous blocks of coral which have been thrown up by the violence of the sea". Peale collected an egg from a short-tailed albatross and added other specimens, including a Polynesian rat , to the natural history collections of
9588-726: Was driven by the millinery industry and popular European fashion designs for hats, while other demand came from pillow and bedspread manufacturers. Japanese poachers set up camps to harvest feathers on many remote islands in the Central Pacific. The feather trade was primarily focused on Laysan albatross , black-footed albatross , masked booby , lesser frigatebird , great frigatebird , sooty tern and other species of tern. On February 6, 1904, Rear Admiral Robley D. Evans arrived at Wake Island on USS Adams and observed Japanese collecting feathers and catching sharks for their fins. Abandoned feather poaching camps were seen by
9690-507: Was nicknamed "PAAville" and was the first "permanent" human settlement on Wake. By October 1936, Pan American Airways was ready to transport passengers across the Pacific on its small fleet of three Martin M-130 "Flying Clippers". On October 11, the China Clipper landed at Wake on a press flight with ten journalists on board. A week later, on October 18, PAA President Juan Trippe and a group of VIP passengers arrived at Wake on
9792-458: Was not complete at the time the war started, and work continued even during the battle of Wake. One shortcoming was that the hangars and bunkers were incomplete, so repairing damaged aircraft during the battle was hard. In November 1941, VMF-211 embarked 12 of its 24 F4F-3 Wildcats and 13 of its 29 pilots aboard USS Enterprise for movement to Wake Island launching from the carrier and arriving at Wake on December 3. On December 8, 1941,
9894-438: Was on December 14, which included a bombing raid by several 4-engined flying boats, and later in the day, 30 Nells (G3M) struck the atoll, destroying a Wildcat that was under repair. The island was bombed again on December 15, killing one civilian worker. Wake was bombed again on December 16 by 33 Nells (G3M), and again on the 19th, though in that attack one was shot down by anti-aircraft fire and several more damaged. Before and at
9996-401: Was sent away on orders because he was required on Midway, thus Lt. Colonel Bayler became the last person to leave Wake Island before its loss. On December 21, 49 aircraft attacked Wake, striking from a Japanese carrier group. During this time, there was a US Naval force on the way that was going to resupply Wake on December 24, but it did not work as planned as the Japanese 2nd wave took
10098-433: Was that much of a damn fool. We already had more Japs than we could handle." In reality, Commander Winfield S. Cunningham , USN, was in charge of Wake Island, not Devereux. Cunningham ordered that coded messages be sent during operations. A junior officer had added "send us" and "more Japs" to the beginning and end of a message to confuse Japanese code breakers . This was put together at Pearl Harbor and passed on as part of
10200-399: Was to resupply Wake with a naval force and evacuate civilians, but the island fell to the Japanese while it was still en route. On February 14, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 8682 to create naval defense areas in the central Pacific territories. The proclamation established the "Wake Island Naval Defensive Sea Area", encompassing the territorial waters between
10302-440: Was very thick, and it was blowing a heavy gale from the eastward, attended with violent squalls, and a tremendous sea." At 10:30 pm, breakers were seen, and the ship struck the reef at Wake Island. The vessel began to break up overnight, and at 10:00 am, the crew launched the longboat over the leeward side . In the chaos of the evacuation, the captain secured a chart and nautical instruments but no compass. The crew loaded
10404-621: Was warned to stay away from the atoll, lest Wake's gunners target it. On December 10, the USS Triton had one engagement with a Japanese destroyer and fired the first US torpedoes of the Pacific War, though it did not sink. It escaped unscathed and went on to serve in the Pacific theater (it was later sunk in 1943). The submarine USS Tambor had to return to its home port in Hawaii in mid-December due to mechanical difficulties and had no engagements. A PBY Catalina flying boat arrived with mail delivery on December 20, 1941. When it left, one marine
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