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Magnificent Fight Marines in the Battle for Wake Island-Robert J. Cressman · First Offensive- The Marine Campaign for Guadalcanal

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Speaker 1: Chapter one, Part one of A Magnificent Fight Marines in
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Speaker 1: the Battle for Wake Island. This is a LibriVox recording.
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Speaker 1: All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more
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Speaker 1: information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. A
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Speaker 1: Magnificent Fight Marines in the Battle for Wake Island by
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Speaker 1: Robert J. Kressman. It is Monday, eight December nineteen forty
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Speaker 1: one on Wake Island, a tiny sprung paper clip in
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Speaker 1: the Pacific between Hawaii and Guam. Marines of the First
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Speaker 1: Defense Battalion are starting another day of the backbreaking war
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Speaker 1: preparations that have gone on for weeks. Out in the
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Speaker 1: triangular lagoon formed by the islets of Peel, Wake and Wilkes,
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Speaker 1: the huge silver Panamerican Airways Philippine Clipper flying boat roars
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Speaker 1: off the water bound for Guam. The trans Pacific flight
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Speaker 1: will not be completed. Word of war comes around zero
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Speaker 1: seven hundred. Captain Henry S. Wilson Army Signal Corps on
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Speaker 1: the island to support the flight ferry of B seventeen
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Speaker 1: flying fortresses from Hawaii to the Philippines. Half runs, half
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Speaker 1: walks towards the tent of Major James P. S. Devereaux,
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Speaker 1: commander of the battalion's Wake Detachment, Captain Wilson, reports that
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Speaker 1: Hickamfield in Hawaii has been raided. Devereaux immediately orders a
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Speaker 1: call to arms. He quickly assembles his officers, tells them
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Speaker 1: that war has come, that the Japanese have attacked Oahu,
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Speaker 1: and that Wake could expect the same thing in a
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Speaker 1: very short time. Meanwhile, the senior officer on the atoll,
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Speaker 1: Commander Winfrid S. Cunningham, officer in charge naval activities Wake,
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Speaker 1: learned of the Japanese surprise attack as he was leaving
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Speaker 1: the mess hall at the contractor's Kno Camp two on
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Speaker 1: the northern leg of Wake. He ordered the Defense battalion
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Speaker 1: to battle stations, but allowed the civilians to go on
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Speaker 1: with their work, figuring that their duties at sites around
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Speaker 1: the atoll provided good dispersion. He then contacted John B. Cook,
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Speaker 1: Panam's airport manager, and requested that he recall the Philippine clipper.
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Speaker 1: Cook set the pre arranged code, telling John H. Hamilton,
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Speaker 1: the captain of the Martin one thirty flying boat, of
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Speaker 1: the outbreak of war. Marines from Camp I on the
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Speaker 1: southern leg of Wake were soon embarked in trucks and
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Speaker 1: moving to their stations on Wake Wilkes and Peel Islets.
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Speaker 1: Marine Gunner Harold C. Borth and Sergeant James W. Hall
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Speaker 1: climbed to the top of the camp's water tower and
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Speaker 1: manned the observation posts there. In those early days, radar
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Speaker 1: was new and not even set up on Wake, so
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Speaker 1: early warning was to dependent on Keenai sight. Hearing might
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Speaker 1: have contributed elsewhere, but on the atoll, the thunder of
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Speaker 1: nearby surf masked the sound of aircraft engines until they
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Speaker 1: were nearly overhead. Marine Gunner John Hammis, the Wake detachment's
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Speaker 1: munitions officer, unpacked Browning automatic rifles, Springfield OH three rifles
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Speaker 1: and ammunition for issue to the civilians who had volunteered
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Speaker 1: for combat duty. The task completed, Hammus and a working
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Speaker 1: party picked up seventy five cases of hand grenades for
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Speaker 1: delivery around the islets. Soon thereafter, other civilians attached themselves
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Speaker 1: to Marine Fighting Squadron VMF two eleven, which had been
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Speaker 1: on Wake since four December. Offshore, neither Triton SS two
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Speaker 1: one nor Tambre SS one ninety eight submarines that had
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Speaker 1: been patrolling offshore since twenty five November knew of developments
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Speaker 1: on Wake or Oahu. They both had been submerged when
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Speaker 1: word was passed, and thus out of radio communication with
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Speaker 1: Pearl Harbor. The transport William Ward Burroughs AP six, which
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Speaker 1: had left to Wahoo bound for Wake on twenty seven November,
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Speaker 1: learned of the Japanese attack on Pearl while she was
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Speaker 1: still four hundred and twenty five miles from her destination.
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Speaker 1: She was re routed to Johnston Island. Major Paul A.
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Speaker 1: Putnam VMF two eleven's commanding officer and Second Lieutenant Henry G.
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Speaker 1: Webb had conducted the dawn aerial patrol and landed. By
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Speaker 1: the time the squadron's radiomen over at Wake's airfield had
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Speaker 1: picked up word of an attack on Pearl Harbor. Putnam
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Speaker 1: immediately sent a runner to tell his executive officer, Captain
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Speaker 1: Henry T. L. Rod, to disperse planes and men and
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Speaker 1: keep all aircraft ready for flight. Meanwhile, work began on
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Speaker 1: dugout plane shelters. Putnam placed VMF two eleven on a
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Speaker 1: war footing immediately two two plane sections then took off
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Speaker 1: on patrol. Captain Elrod and Second Lieutenant Carl R. Davidson
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Speaker 1: flew north. Second Lieutenant John F. Kinney and technical Sergeant
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Speaker 1: William J. Hamilton flew to the south southwest at thirteen
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Speaker 1: thousand feet. Both sections were to remain in the immediate
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Speaker 1: vicinity of the island. The Philippine Clipper, meanwhile, had wheeled
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Speaker 1: about upon receipt of word of war and returned to
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Speaker 1: the lagoon it had departed twenty minutes earlier. Cunningham immediately
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Speaker 1: requested Captain Hamilton to carry out a scouting flight. The
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Speaker 1: Clipper was unloaded and refueled with sufficient gasoline in addition
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Speaker 1: to the standard reserve for both the patrol flight and
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Speaker 1: a flight to Midway. Cunningham, an experienced aviator, laid out
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Speaker 1: a plan giving the flying boat a two plane escort.
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Speaker 1: Hamilton then telephoned Putnam and concluded the arrangements for the search.
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Speaker 1: Takeoff time was thirteen hundred. Shortly after receiving word of hostilities,
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Speaker 1: Battery b's first Lieutenant Woodrow W. Kessler and his men
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Speaker 1: had loaded a truck with equipment and small arms ammunition
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Speaker 1: and moved out to their five inch guns at zero
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Speaker 1: seven ten. Kessler began distributing gear and soon thereafter established
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Speaker 1: a century post on Tokey Point at the northernmost tip
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Speaker 1: of Peel. Thirty five inch rounds went into the ready
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Speaker 1: use boxes near the guns. At zero eight hundred, he
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Speaker 1: reported his battery ready for action. General Quarters called Captain
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Speaker 1: Bright D. Dan Godbold's men of Battery d to their
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Speaker 1: stations down the coast from Battery B at zero seven hundred,
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Speaker 1: and they moved out to their position by truck, reporting
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Speaker 1: manned in ready within a half hour. The lack of men, however,
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Speaker 1: prevented Godbold from having more than three of his three
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Speaker 1: inch guns in operation. Within another hour and a half,
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Speaker 1: each gun had fifty rounds ready for firing. At ten hundred,
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Speaker 1: Godbold received orders to keep one gun, the director, the heightfinder,
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Speaker 1: the only one at Wake Island, for the three batteries,
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Speaker 1: and the power plant manned at all times. After making
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Speaker 1: those arrangements, Godbold put the remainder of his men to
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Speaker 1: work improving the battery position while the atoll's defenders prepared
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Speaker 1: for war. Japanese bombers drone toward them at zero seven
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Speaker 1: ten on eight December thirty four, Mitsubishi G three M
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Speaker 1: two type ninety six land attack planes knells of the
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Speaker 1: Chitos Air Group had lifted off from the airstrip at
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Speaker 1: Roy in the Marshals shortly before noon. Those thirty four
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Speaker 1: Neells came in on Wake at thirteen thousand feet. Clouds
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Speaker 1: cloaked their approach, and the pounding surf drowned out the
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Speaker 1: noise of their engines as they dropped down to fifteen
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Speaker 1: hundred feet and roared in from the sea. Lookouts sounded
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Speaker 1: the alarms as they spotted the twin engined, twin tailed
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Speaker 1: bombers a few hundred yards off the atoll south shore,
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Speaker 1: emerging from a dense bank of clouds. At Battery E.
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Speaker 1: First Lieutenant Lewis telephoned Major Devereux's command post to inform
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Speaker 1: him of the approaching planes. Although Putnam was rushing work
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Speaker 1: on the six bunkers being built along the seaward side
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Speaker 1: of the runway, he knew none of them would be
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Speaker 1: ready before fourteen hundred. He also knew that moving the
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Speaker 1: eight fr F Wildcats from their parking area would risk
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Speaker 1: damage to the planes and obstruction of the runway if
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Speaker 1: the planes were in fact damaged. Since any damage might
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Speaker 1: have meant the loss of a plane, Wake possessed virtually
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Speaker 1: no spare parts. Putnam decided to delay moving the wildcats
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Speaker 1: and the material until suitable places existed to protect them.
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Speaker 1: No foxholes had been dug near the field, but the
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Speaker 1: rough ground nearby offered natural cover to those who reached it.
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Speaker 1: Putnam hoped that his men would obtain good cover if
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Speaker 1: an attack came. The movement of gasoline, bombs and ammunition,
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Speaker 1: the installation of electrical lines and generators, and the relocation
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Speaker 1: of radio facilities kept all hands busily engaged. The attack
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Speaker 1: found Second Lieutenant Robert J. Conderman and First Lieutenant George A.
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Speaker 1: Graves in the ready tent, going over last minute instructions
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Speaker 1: concerning their escort of the Philippine Clipper. When the alarm sounded,
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Speaker 1: both pilots, already in flight gear, sprinted for their wildcats.
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Speaker 1: Graves managed to reach one F four F, but a
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Speaker 1: direct hit demolished it in a ball of flame as
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Speaker 1: he was climbing into the cockpit, killing him instantly. Strayfer's
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Speaker 1: bullets cut down Conderman as he tried to reach his plane,
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Speaker 1: and as he lay on the ground, a bomb hit
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Speaker 1: the waiting wildcat and blew it up, pinning him beneath
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Speaker 1: the wreckage. He called to Corporal Robert E. L. Page
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Speaker 1: to help him, but stopped when he heard another man
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Speaker 1: crying for help. He directed Page to help the other man.
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Speaker 1: First strayfan attacks killed Second Lieutenant Frank J. Holden as
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Speaker 1: he raced for cover. Bullets and fragments wounded Second Lieutenant Webb.
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Speaker 1: Marine gunner Hammis, who still had fifty cases of hand
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Speaker 1: grenades in his truck, having just delivered twenty five to
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Speaker 1: Cuckoo Point, saw the red Son insignia on the planes
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Speaker 1: as they roared low overhead. Immediately, he ordered the vehicle
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Speaker 1: stopped and instructed his men to head for cover, confident
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Speaker 1: that his airborne planes were would be able to provide
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Speaker 1: sufficient warning of an incoming raid. Commander Cunningham was working
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Speaker 1: in his office at Camp two when he heard the
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Speaker 1: crump of bombs around eleven fifty five. The explosions rattled
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Speaker 1: windows elsewhere in the camp, prompting many men to conclude
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Speaker 1: that work crews were blasting coral heads in the lagoon.
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Speaker 1: Guns one and two of Battery D opened up on
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Speaker 1: the attackers, collectively firing forty rounds during the raid. The
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Speaker 1: low visibility and the altitude at which the mitsubishies flew however,
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Speaker 1: prevented the three inch guns from firing effectively. No bombs
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Speaker 1: fell near the battery, but the gun's own concussions caved
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Speaker 1: in the sandbag emplacements. Marine anti aircraft fire damaged eight
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Speaker 1: knels and killed a petty officer in one of them.
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Speaker 1: Returning Japanese aircrews claimed to have set fire to all
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Speaker 1: the aircraft on the ground and reported citing only three
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Speaker 1: airborne American planes on Peacock Point. First Lieutenant Lewis's battery
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Speaker 1: E had been standing two ready to fire. Like Godbold,
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Speaker 1: Lewis did not have enough men for all four of
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Speaker 1: his guns. Lewis manned two of the three inchers, along
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Speaker 1: with the M four director, while the rest of his
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Speaker 1: men busily completed sandbag emplacements. After telephoning Devereux's command posts
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Speaker 1: when he saw the falling bombs, Lewis quickly estimated the
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Speaker 1: altitude and ordered his gunners to open fire again. However,
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Speaker 1: the height at which the attackers came rendered the fire ineffective.
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Speaker 1: In about seven minutes, Japanese bombs and bullets totally wrecked
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Speaker 1: Panam's facilities, bombing and strafing set fire to a hotel
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Speaker 1: in which five Chamorro employees died, and also to a
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Speaker 1: stock room, fuel tanks, and many other buildings, and demolished
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Speaker 1: a radio transmitter. Nine of Panam's six sixty six man
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Speaker 1: staff lay dead. Two of the Philippine clippers crew were wounded.
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Speaker 1: Almost miraculously, though the twenty six ton clipper, empty of
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Speaker 1: both passengers and cargo but full of fuel, rode easily
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Speaker 1: at her moorings. At the end of the dock, a
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Speaker 1: bomb had splashed one hundred feet ahead of her without
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Speaker 1: damaging her, and she received twenty three bullet holes from
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Speaker 1: the strafing attack. None had hit her large fuel tanks.
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Speaker 1: Captain Hamilton courageously proposed evacuating the passengers and PanAm staff,
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Speaker 1: and Commander Cunningham assented. Stripped of all superfluous equipment, and
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Speaker 1: having embarked all the passengers and the Caucasian PanAm employees
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Speaker 1: save one who had been driving the atoll's only ambulance
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Speaker 1: and thus had not heard the call to report for
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Speaker 1: the plane's departure, the flying boat took off for Midway
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Speaker 1: at thirteen thirty. Although he had received a bullet wound
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Speaker 1: in his left shoulder. Major Putnam immediately took over the
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Speaker 1: terrible task of seeing to the many injured people at
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Speaker 1: the field. His dedication to duties seemed to establish the
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Speaker 1: precedent for many other instances of selflessness which occurred amidst
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Speaker 1: the wreckage of the VMF two eleven camp Sadly, the
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Speaker 1: attack left five pilots and ten enlisted men of VMF
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Speaker 1: two eleven wounded in eighteen more dead, including most of
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Speaker 1: the mechanics assigned to the squadron. On the material side,
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Speaker 1: the squadron's tents were shot up and virtually no supplies tools,
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Speaker 1: spark plugs, tires, and sparse spare parts escaped destruction. Both
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Speaker 1: of the twenty five thousand gallon gasoline storage tanks had
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Speaker 1: been demolished. Additionally, twenty five civilian workmen had been killed.
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Speaker 1: As the bombers departed, Gunnar hammis called his men back
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Speaker 1: from the bush and set out to resume delivery of
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Speaker 1: hand grenades. As he neared the airfield, though he stopped
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Speaker 1: to help wounded men board a truck that had escaped destruction.
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Speaker 1: Then he continued his journey and finally returned to Camp I,
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Speaker 1: where he found more civilian employees arriving to join the
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Speaker 1: military effort. Earlier as they had returned to the vicinity
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Speaker 1: of Wake at about noon. Kenny and Hamilton had been
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Speaker 1: descending through the broken clouds about three miles from the
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Speaker 1: atoll when the former spotted two formations of planes at
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Speaker 1: an elevation of about fifteen hundred feet. He and Hamilton
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Speaker 1: attempted unsuccessfully to catch the formations as they retired to
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Speaker 1: the west through the overcast. Kenny and Hamilton remained aloft
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Speaker 1: until after twelve thirty, when they landed to find the
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Speaker 1: destruction that defied description. Neither el Rod nor Davidson had
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Speaker 1: seen the enemy. In the wake of the terrible devastation
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Speaker 1: wreaked upon his squadron, Putnam deemed it critical to the
15:59
Speaker 1: squad reorganization to keep the remaining planes operational. Since his
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Speaker 1: engineering officer Graves had been killed, Putnam appointed Kenney to
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Speaker 1: take his place. We have four planes left, Putnam told him.
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Speaker 1: If you can keep them flying, I'll see that you
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Speaker 1: get a medal as big as a pie. Okay, Sir
16:20
Speaker 1: Kenney responded, if it's delivered in San Francisco, Putnam established
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Speaker 1: VMF two eleven's command posts near the operations area. His
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Speaker 1: men doug fox Holes amidst brush and all of the
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Speaker 1: physically capable officers and men stayed at the field. Putnam
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Speaker 1: ordered that pistols, Thompson submachine guns, gas masks, and steel
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Speaker 1: helmets be issued, and also directed that machine gun post
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Speaker 1: be established near each end of the runway and the
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Speaker 1: command post. Meanwhile, the ground crews dispersed the serviceable planes
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Speaker 1: into revetments, a task not without its risks. That afternoon,
17:01
Speaker 1: Captain Frank C. Theron accidentally taxied two eleven F nine
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Speaker 1: into an oil drum and ruined the propeller, reducing the
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Speaker 1: serviceable planes to three. Captain Zelrod and Theron, the latter
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Speaker 1: wounded superficially in the attack, later supervised efforts to construct
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Speaker 1: protective works, and also the mining of the landing strip
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Speaker 1: with dynamite connected up to electric generators. Contractors bulldozed portions
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Speaker 1: of the land bordering the field in hopes that the
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Speaker 1: rough ground would wreck any enemy planes that attempted to
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Speaker 1: land there. That afternoon, over at Battery D, Godbold's men
17:42
Speaker 1: repaired damaged emplacements, improved the director position, and accepted delivery
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Speaker 1: of gas masks, hand grenades, and ammunition. Later that afternoon,
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Speaker 1: eighteen civilians reported for military duty Godbold assigned sixteen of
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Speaker 1: them to serve under Sergeant Walter A. Bauscher Junior, to
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Speaker 1: man the previously idled Gun three and assign the remaining
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Speaker 1: pair to the Director crew as lookouts. Under Boucher's leadership,
18:12
Speaker 1: the men in Gun three were soon working their piece
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Speaker 1: in a manner comparable to the Marine man guns. Gunner
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Speaker 1: Hammas and his men meanwhile carted ammunition from the quartermasters
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Speaker 1: shed and dispersed it into cachets, each of about twenty
18:28
Speaker 1: to twenty five boxes west of Camp I near Wilkes Channel,
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Speaker 1: and camouflaged them with coral sand. Next, they dispersed hundreds
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Speaker 1: of boxes of fifty and thirty caliber ammunition in the
18:41
Speaker 1: bushes that lined the road that led to the airfield.
18:45
Speaker 1: Before nightfall, Hammas delivered fifty caliber ammunition and metal links
18:50
Speaker 1: to Captain Herbert C. Freuler and furnished him the keys
18:54
Speaker 1: to the bomb and ammunition magazines. About twenty five civilians
18:59
Speaker 1: with trucks responded on it to First Lieutenant Lewis's request
19:02
Speaker 1: for assistance in improving his battery's defensive position. Then, Lewis
19:08
Speaker 1: ordered his men to lay a telephone line from the
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Speaker 1: Battery Command Post CP to the batteries height finder so
19:15
Speaker 1: that he could obtain altitude readings for the incoming enemy
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Speaker 1: bombers and relay that information to the guns. Commander Campbell Keene,
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Speaker 1: commander Wake Based Detachment, meanwhile reassigned his men to more
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Speaker 1: critical combat duties. He sent Ensign's GEORGI. E. Henshaw and
19:35
Speaker 1: Bernard J. Loft to Cunningham's staff. Bosun's mate first Class
19:40
Speaker 1: James Z. Barnes, and twelve enlisted men joined the ranks
19:44
Speaker 1: of the Defense Battalion to drive trucks, serving the galley
19:47
Speaker 1: details and stand security watches. One of the three enlisted
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Speaker 1: men whom Commander Keenes sent to VMF two eleven was
19:56
Speaker 1: aviation machinist's mate first Class James F. Has Sa. Kenney
20:01
Speaker 1: and Technical Sergeant Hamilton soon found the Pennsylvanian with light
20:05
Speaker 1: brown hair, who had served in the Air Corps before
20:08
Speaker 1: he had joined the Navy and who had just turned
20:11
Speaker 1: thirty five years of age, to be invaluable. VMF two
20:16
Speaker 1: eleven also benefited from the services of civilians Harry Jaeger
20:20
Speaker 1: and Doc Stevenson, who reported to work as mechanics, and
20:25
Speaker 1: Pete Sorenson, who volunteered to drive a truck for the
20:29
Speaker 1: remainder of the day and on into the night. In
20:32
Speaker 1: the contractor's hospital in Camp iiO, Naval Reserve Lieutenant Gustav M. Kahn,
20:38
Speaker 1: Medical Corps and the contractor's physician, doctor Lawton E. Shank
20:43
Speaker 1: worked diligently to save as many men as possible. Some, though,
20:48
Speaker 1: were beyond help, and despite their best efforts, four of
20:52
Speaker 1: VMF two eleven's men, including Second Lieutenant Condermen died that
20:57
Speaker 1: night at Peacock Point. That afternoon, just down the coast
21:02
Speaker 1: from the airfield, Barney Barninger's men had completed their fox holes.
21:07
Speaker 1: Overhead covers, sand bags, and chunks of coral would come later.
21:12
Speaker 1: Later at dusk, Barninger evidently sensed that the atoll might
21:17
Speaker 1: be in for a long siege. Thinking that they might
21:21
Speaker 1: not be in a camp again for some time, he
21:23
Speaker 1: sent some of his men back to Camp one to
21:26
Speaker 1: obtain extra toilet gear and clothing. In the gathering darkness,
21:31
Speaker 1: he set his security watches and rotated beach patrols and observers.
21:36
Speaker 1: Those men not on watch slept fitfully in their fox
21:40
Speaker 1: holes that night. Wakes offshore guardians Tambre to the north
21:45
Speaker 1: and Triton to the south, surfaced to recharge batteries, breathe
21:50
Speaker 1: fresh air, and listen to radio reports. From those reports,
21:55
Speaker 1: the crews of the Tamber and Triton finally learned to
21:58
Speaker 1: the outbreak of war. The ninth of December dawned with
22:02
Speaker 1: a clear sky overhead over at the airfield. Three planes
22:07
Speaker 1: took off on the early morning patrol, while Kinney head
22:10
Speaker 1: a fourth, though without its reserved gas tank ready by
22:14
Speaker 1: zero nine hundred, A test flight proved the fourth F
22:18
Speaker 1: four F to be O K since she was stood
22:20
Speaker 1: a three hundred fifty mile per hour dive without a quiver.
22:25
Speaker 1: It was just in the nick of time for at
22:27
Speaker 1: eleven forty five on the ninth, the Chittos Air Group
22:31
Speaker 1: struck again as twenty seven knells came in at thirteen
22:35
Speaker 1: thousand feet. Second Lieutenant David D. Klee were and Technical
22:40
Speaker 1: Sergeant Hamilton attacked straggling bombers and claimed one shot down.
22:46
Speaker 1: Battery D's number two and four guns meanwhile collectively fired
22:51
Speaker 1: one hundred three inch rounds. The Marines damaged twelve planes,
22:56
Speaker 1: but the enemy suffered only very light casualties, dead and
23:00
Speaker 1: another slightly wounded. Once more, though the Japanese wreaked considerable
23:06
Speaker 1: havoc on the defenders. Most of their bombs fell near
23:10
Speaker 1: the edge of the lagoon, north of the airfield and
23:13
Speaker 1: on Camp iiO, demolishing the hospital and heavily damaging a
23:17
Speaker 1: warehouse and a metal shop. One wounded VMF two eleven
23:22
Speaker 1: enlisted man perished in the bombing of the hospital, while
23:25
Speaker 1: the three man crew of one of the dispersed gasoline
23:28
Speaker 1: trucks died instantly when a bomb exploded in the fox
23:32
Speaker 1: hole in which they had sought shelter. Doctors Khan and
23:36
Speaker 1: Shank and their assistance evacuated the wounded and saved as
23:40
Speaker 1: much equipment as they could. Shank carried injured men from
23:44
Speaker 1: the burning hospital, courageous actions that so impressed Marine gunner Hammis,
23:49
Speaker 1: who had been trapped by the raid while carrying a
23:51
Speaker 1: load of projectiles and powder to gun positions on Peel,
23:55
Speaker 1: that he later recommended that Shank be awarded a Medal
23:58
Speaker 1: of Honor for his hair heroism. The hard pressed medical
24:03
Speaker 1: people soon moved the wounded and what medical equipment they
24:06
Speaker 1: could into Magazines ten and thirteen near the unfinished airstrip,
24:11
Speaker 1: and established two twenty one bed wards. Once the bombers
24:15
Speaker 1: had gone. The work of repairs and improving planes and
24:19
Speaker 1: positions resumed that night. Because the initial bombing had destroyed
24:25
Speaker 1: the mechanical loading machines, a crew of civilians helped load
24:29
Speaker 1: fifty caliber ammunition. That same evening, work crews dispersed food,
24:34
Speaker 1: medical supplies, water, and lumber to various points around the atoll,
24:39
Speaker 1: while the communications center and wake's command posts were moved.
24:44
Speaker 1: Earlier that day, from near the tip of Peacock Point,
24:47
Speaker 1: marine gunner Clarence B. McKinstry of Batterye had noted one
24:51
Speaker 1: bomber breaking off from the rest. Supposing that the plane
24:56
Speaker 1: had taken aerial photographs, he suggested that the battery be
25:00
Speaker 1: moved that afternoon. First Lieutenant Lewis received orders to reposition
25:05
Speaker 1: his guns after dark. He was to leave two three
25:08
Speaker 1: inches in place until the other two were emplaced, and
25:12
Speaker 1: then move the last two. Aided by about one hundred
25:16
Speaker 1: civilians with several trucks, Lewis and McKinstry succeeded in shifting
25:20
Speaker 1: the battery, guns, ammunition, and sand bags to a new
25:24
Speaker 1: location some fifteen hundred yards to the northwest. Marines and
25:29
Speaker 1: workmen set up dummy guns in the old position. As
25:33
Speaker 1: the tenth dawned, Marine gunner McKinstry found himself with new duties,
25:38
Speaker 1: having received orders to proceed to Wilkes and report to
25:41
Speaker 1: Captain Wesley mccy platt, commander of the Wilkes Strong Point Battery.
25:47
Speaker 1: F comprised four to three inch guns but lacked crewman,
25:51
Speaker 1: a height finder, or a director. Consequently, McKinstry could only
25:56
Speaker 1: fire the guns accurately at short or point blank reigns,
26:00
Speaker 1: thus limiting them to beach protection. Assisted by one Marine
26:05
Speaker 1: and a crew of civilians, Gunner McKinstry moved his guns
26:08
Speaker 1: into battery just in time for the arrival of twenty
26:11
Speaker 1: six Knells, which flew over at ten twenty and dropped
26:15
Speaker 1: their bombs on the airfield and those seacoast installations at
26:18
Speaker 1: the tip of Wilkes. While casualties were light, Batteriel had
26:23
Speaker 1: one Marine killed and one wounded. One civilian suffered shell shock.
26:28
Speaker 1: The equipment and guns in the positions themselves received considerable damage. Further,
26:35
Speaker 1: one hundred twenty tons of dynamite, which had been stored
26:38
Speaker 1: by the contractors near the site of the new channel,
26:41
Speaker 1: exploded and stripped the three inch battery of its fresh camouflage.
26:45
Speaker 1: The gunners moved them closer to the shoreline and camouflaged
26:49
Speaker 1: them with burnt brush because they lacked sand bags with
26:52
Speaker 1: which to construct defensive shelters for the gun crews. In
26:57
Speaker 1: a new position, which was up the coast from the
26:59
Speaker 1: old one, Battery e's three inches managed to hurl one
27:03
Speaker 1: hundred round skyward while bombs began hitting near Peacock Point.
27:08
Speaker 1: The old position there was very heavily bombed, and a
27:12
Speaker 1: direct hit set off a small ammunition dump, vindicating McKinstry's
27:16
Speaker 1: hunch about the photo reconnaissance plane. Battery d's gunners meanwhile
27:22
Speaker 1: claimed hits on two bombers, one of which was seen
27:25
Speaker 1: to explode later. Although Captain l Rod, who single handedly
27:30
Speaker 1: attacked the formation, claimed two of the raiders, only one
27:34
Speaker 1: knell failed to return to its base. That night, the
27:38
Speaker 1: itinerant Batterye shifted to a position on the toe of
27:42
Speaker 1: the horseshoe on the lagoon side of Wake, their daily
27:46
Speaker 1: defensive preparations complete. Wake's defenders awaited what the next dawn
27:51
Speaker 1: would bring. They had endured three days of bombings. Some
27:56
Speaker 1: of Cunningham's men may have wondered when it would be
27:59
Speaker 1: their turn to wreak destruction upon the enemy. End of
28:04
Speaker 1: Chapter one, Part one, Chapter one, Part two of A
28:14
Speaker 1: Magnificent Fight Marines in the Battle for Wake Island by
28:18
Speaker 1: Robert J. Cressman. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Sidebars.
28:27
Speaker 1: Major James PS. Devereaux, Commanding Officer of the Wake Detachment
28:32
Speaker 1: of the First Defense Battalion, was born in Cuba and
28:35
Speaker 1: educated in the United States and in Switzerland. Devereaux enlisted
28:40
Speaker 1: in the Marine Corps in nineteen twenty three. He saw
28:44
Speaker 1: service at home Norfolk, Philadelphia, Washington, d c. And Quantico,
28:50
Speaker 1: among other places, and abroad Cuba, Nicaragua, and China. He
28:57
Speaker 1: was awarded the Navy Cross for his leadership of the
29:00
Speaker 1: Marines at Wake. After his retirement, he served in the
29:04
Speaker 1: U S House of Representatives and Unshaven Commander Winfield S. Cunningham,
29:11
Speaker 1: Officer in charge Naval activities Wake Island and Commander of
29:16
Speaker 1: the Defense of Wake. Was photographed as a pow on
29:20
Speaker 1: board the Japanese transport Nita Meru at Yokohama, Japan, about
29:25
Speaker 1: eighteen January nineteen forty two. A member of the Naval
29:30
Speaker 1: Academy Class of nineteen twenty one and an excellent pilot.
29:34
Speaker 1: He had flown fighters in flying boats and had been
29:37
Speaker 1: schooled in strategy and tactics. Contemporaries in the Navy regarded
29:42
Speaker 1: him as an intelligent, quick witted officer who possessed moral courage.
29:48
Speaker 1: His long and varied experience in aviation duty had fitted
29:52
Speaker 1: him well for his independent duty at Wake. He would
29:56
Speaker 1: earn the Navy Cross for his leadership of the defense
29:59
Speaker 1: of Wake. Major Paul A. Putnam, a model of strong
30:05
Speaker 1: nerves and the will to fight, is pictured right in
30:08
Speaker 1: the autumn of nineteen forty one. One of his men,
30:12
Speaker 1: Second Lieutenant David Kleewer, praised Putnam's cool judgment, his courage,
30:18
Speaker 1: and his consideration for everyone that forged an aviation unit
30:22
Speaker 1: that fought behind him to the end. Putnam had become
30:26
Speaker 1: commanding officer of VMF two eleven on seventeen November nineteen
30:31
Speaker 1: forty one at Ewa, after having served as executive officer.
30:37
Speaker 1: Designated a naval aviator in nineteen twenty nine. He had
30:40
Speaker 1: flown almost every type of marine plane, from a Ford
30:44
Speaker 1: tri motor to a Grumm and four F three. He
30:48
Speaker 1: had distinguished himself in Nicaragua in nineteen thirty one. One
30:53
Speaker 1: officer who had flown with him there considered him calm, quiet,
30:57
Speaker 1: soft spoken, a determined sort of He was awarded a
31:02
Speaker 1: Navy Cross for his heroism at Wake. Defensive mainstay. The
31:08
Speaker 1: M three anti aircraft gun at right in the firing
31:14
Speaker 1: position is an Army pattern three three inch anti aircraft
31:18
Speaker 1: gun of the type that the first Defense Battalion had
31:21
Speaker 1: at Wake. Already obsolescent at the outbreak of World War II,
31:26
Speaker 1: this weapon was the mainstay of the Defense battalions in
31:29
Speaker 1: the first months of the war. Twelve of these guns
31:32
Speaker 1: were emplaced at Wake as early as nineteen fifteen. The
31:37
Speaker 1: US Army, recognizing the need for a high angle firing
31:41
Speaker 1: anti aircraft gun and resolving to build one from existing stocks,
31:46
Speaker 1: chose the M nineteen oh three Seacoast Defense Gun and
31:49
Speaker 1: redesignated it the M nineteen seventeen soon after America's entry
31:55
Speaker 1: into World War One. However, the requirement for a mobile mount,
32:00
Speaker 1: one with less recoil compelled the selection of the less
32:04
Speaker 1: powerful M eighteen ninety eight Seacoast Gun for conversion to
32:08
Speaker 1: the M nineteen eighteen. Development of both guns and mounts
32:12
Speaker 1: continued throughout the Inner War years, leading ultimately to the
32:16
Speaker 1: standardization of the gun as the M three on the
32:19
Speaker 1: M two wheeled mount. On the eve of World War Two,
32:23
Speaker 1: each of the seven marine defense battalions then activated had
32:27
Speaker 1: twelve three inch guns in three four gun batteries. Each
32:32
Speaker 1: mount weighed a little over six tons. The normal crew
32:36
Speaker 1: of eight could fire twenty five twelve point eight seven
32:40
Speaker 1: pound high explosive shells per minute. The guns had an
32:44
Speaker 1: effective ceiling of nearly thirty thousand feet and an effective
32:49
Speaker 1: horizontal range of fourteen thouy seven hundred eighty yards. The Knells,
32:56
Speaker 1: Betties and Clauds of Japan a formation of Mitsubishi G
33:02
Speaker 1: three M one and G three M two Type ninety
33:05
Speaker 1: six bombers Nell above fly in formation in nineteen forty two.
33:12
Speaker 1: The first models flew in nineteen thirty five, and more
33:15
Speaker 1: than two hundred fifty were still serving in the Japanese
33:18
Speaker 1: land based Naval Air Arm in December nineteen forty one.
33:23
Speaker 1: Nell's instrumental in the reduction of Wake's defenses, served alongside
33:28
Speaker 1: the newer, more powerful Mitsubishi G four M one Type
33:32
Speaker 1: ninety seven bombers Betty earmarked to replace them in frontline
33:36
Speaker 1: service in helping to sink the British capital ships HMS
33:41
Speaker 1: Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse off Malaya on ten
33:45
Speaker 1: December nineteen forty one. Two one thousand horsepower can save
33:50
Speaker 1: forty five engines enabled the knell to reach a speed
33:53
Speaker 1: of two hundred thirty eight miles per hour at nine
33:56
Speaker 1: thy eight hundred forty feet. Normally Crewed by seven men,
34:01
Speaker 1: the G three M two model carried a defensive armament
34:05
Speaker 1: of one twenty millimeter and two seven point seven millimeters
34:09
Speaker 1: machine guns and a payload of either one one thousand,
34:12
Speaker 1: seven hundred sixty four pound torpedo or twenty two hundred
34:16
Speaker 1: pounds of bombs. Although Mitsubishi A five M four Type
34:21
Speaker 1: ninety six carrier fighters Claud also equipped the Chittos Air Group,
34:27
Speaker 1: none accompanied the group's nlls because of the long distances involved.
34:32
Speaker 1: Marine anti aircraft or fighter aircraft gunfire at Wake destroyed
34:37
Speaker 1: at least four knells during December nineteen forty one. Since
34:41
Speaker 1: the number of G three ms engaged varied from raid
34:45
Speaker 1: to raid, no more than thirty four or fewer than seventeen,
34:49
Speaker 1: so two did damage figures on at least two occasions,
34:54
Speaker 1: though as many as twelve returned to their base in
34:57
Speaker 1: the marshals damaged end of chapter one, Part two, Chapter
35:09
Speaker 1: two of A Magnificent Fight Marines in the Battle for
35:13
Speaker 1: Wake Island by Robert J. Cressman. This LibriVox recording is
35:17
Speaker 1: in the public domain. Humbled by sizeable casualties. During the
35:25
Speaker 1: night of ten December nineteen forty one, Wake's lookouts vigilantly
35:30
Speaker 1: scanned the horizon. Those of her defenders who were not
35:34
Speaker 1: on watch grab what sleep they could. Shortly before midnight,
35:39
Speaker 1: the Triton was south of the atoll, charging her batteries
35:42
Speaker 1: and patrolling on the surface. At twenty three point fifteen,
35:47
Speaker 1: her bridge lookout spied two flashes and then the silhouette
35:51
Speaker 1: of what seemed to be a destroyer, dimly visible against
35:54
Speaker 1: the backdrop of heavy clouds that lay behind her. The
35:59
Speaker 1: Triton submerged quickly and tracked the unidentifiable ship. Ultimately, she
36:04
Speaker 1: fired a salvo of four torpedoes from her stern tubes
36:08
Speaker 1: at zero zero seventeen on eleven December nineteen forty one,
36:12
Speaker 1: the first torpedoes fired from a Pacific Fleet submarine in
36:16
Speaker 1: World War II. Although the submariners heard a dull explosion,
36:21
Speaker 1: indicating what they thought was at least one probable hit,
36:25
Speaker 1: and propeller noises appeared to cease shortly thereafter. The Triton's
36:29
Speaker 1: apparent kill had not been confirmed. She resumed her patrol submerged.
36:37
Speaker 1: The ship that Triton had encountered off Wake's south coast
36:40
Speaker 1: was most likely the destroyer deployed as a picket ten
36:44
Speaker 1: miles ahead of the invasion convoy steaming up from the
36:47
Speaker 1: south under Rear Admiral Sadamichi Kagioka. It had set out
36:53
Speaker 1: from Quaduling in the Marshals on eight December. It consisted
36:58
Speaker 1: of the light cruiser Yubari, flagship, six destroyers Mutsuki, Kissaraji, Yayoi, Machizuki, Oite,
37:09
Speaker 1: and Hayate, along with patrol boat number thirty two and
37:14
Speaker 1: patrol boat number thirty three, two extra destroyers each week
37:18
Speaker 1: configured in nineteen forty one to launch a landing craft
37:21
Speaker 1: over a stern ramp, and two armed merchantmen Congo Maru
37:26
Speaker 1: and Kinriu Maru to provide additional gunfire support. The Commander
37:32
Speaker 1: fourth Fleet had also assigned the light cruisers Tatsuda and
37:37
Speaker 1: Tenryu to Kajioka's force. Admiral Kajioka faced less than favorable
37:43
Speaker 1: weather for the endeavor, deeming the northeast coastline unsuitable for
37:47
Speaker 1: that purpose. Invasion planners had called for the converted destroyers
37:52
Speaker 1: to put one hundred and fifty men ashore on Wilkes
37:55
Speaker 1: and three hundred on Wake. If those numbers proved insufficient,
38:00
Speaker 1: Kajioka supporting destroyers were to provide men to augment the
38:03
Speaker 1: landing force. If contrary winds threatened the assault, the troops
38:09
Speaker 1: would land on the northeastern and north coasts. Since the
38:13
Speaker 1: weather had moderated enough by the eleventh, though, the force
38:17
Speaker 1: was standing toward the atoll south or Lee shore in
38:21
Speaker 1: the pre dawn hours, confident that two days of bombings
38:24
Speaker 1: had rendered the island's defense as impotent. Meanwhile, far to
38:29
Speaker 1: the east at Pearl Harbor, the Pacific Fleet continued to
38:33
Speaker 1: pick up the pieces. After the shattering blow that the
38:35
Speaker 1: Japanese had delivered on the seventh, the enemy onslaught had
38:40
Speaker 1: forced Admiral husband E. Kimmel, the commander in chief Pacific
38:45
Speaker 1: Fleet sink Pack, to revise his strategy completely. Kimmel wanted
38:50
Speaker 1: to relieve Wake, but deploying what remained of his fleet
38:54
Speaker 1: to protect sea communications, defend outlying bases and protect far
38:59
Speaker 1: flung tear territory as well as to defend O'ahoo would
39:03
Speaker 1: have required a wide dispersal of the very limited naval forces.
39:08
Speaker 1: By ten December eleven December, on Wake, the scattered positions
39:12
Speaker 1: of his aircraft carriers, which were at sea patrolling the
39:16
Speaker 1: Oahu Johnston Palmyra Triangle, militated against deploying them to support Wake.
39:23
Speaker 1: Cunningham's garrison, however, in a most striking fashion, would soon
39:28
Speaker 1: provide inspiration to the Pacific Fleet and the nation as well.
39:33
Speaker 1: Wake's lookouts, like Triton's, had seen flickering lights in the distance.
39:39
Speaker 1: Gunner Hammis, on duty in the battalion command post, received
39:43
Speaker 1: the report of ships offshore from Captain Wesley mc cy platte,
39:48
Speaker 1: commander of the strong point on Wilkes, and notified Major Devereaux, who,
39:53
Speaker 1: along with his executive officer, Major George H. Potter, stepped
39:58
Speaker 1: out into the moonlight and scanned and the southern horizon.
40:02
Speaker 1: Hammis also telephoned Cunningham, who ordered the guns to hold
40:06
Speaker 1: fire until the ships closed on the island. Cunningham then
40:11
Speaker 1: turned to Commander Keene and Lieutenant Commander Elmer B. Gree,
40:15
Speaker 1: resident officer in charge of the construction programs at Wake,
40:19
Speaker 1: with whom he shared a cottage, and told them that
40:21
Speaker 1: lookouts at spotted ships undoubtedly hostile ones standing toward the atoll.
40:29
Speaker 1: He then directed the two officers to order an alert
40:32
Speaker 1: and immediately headed for the island's communications center in his
40:35
Speaker 1: pickup truck. As the Japanese ships neared Wake, the Army
40:40
Speaker 1: radio unit on the atoll sent a message from Cunningham
40:44
Speaker 1: to Pearl Harbor at zero two hundred on the eleventh,
40:47
Speaker 1: telling of the contractor's casualties and because of the danger
40:51
Speaker 1: that lay at Wake's doorstep, suggesting early evacuation of the civilians.
40:57
Speaker 1: Army communicators on Oahu who rest received the message noted
41:01
Speaker 1: that the Japanese had tried to jam the transmission. At
41:05
Speaker 1: zero four hundred, Major Putnam put VMF two eleven on
41:09
Speaker 1: the alert, and soon thereafter he and Captains el Rod,
41:13
Speaker 1: Theren and Fruler manned the four operational F four fs
41:18
Speaker 1: the Wildcats, a one hundred pound bomb under each wing,
41:22
Speaker 1: then taxied into position for takeoff. Shortly before zero five hundred.
41:28
Speaker 1: Kaijioka ships began their final run at zero five point fifteen,
41:33
Speaker 1: three Wildcats took off, followed after five minutes by the fourth.
41:39
Speaker 1: They rendezvous at twelve thousand feet above Tokey Point. At
41:43
Speaker 1: zero five twenty two, the Japanese began shelling Wake. The
41:48
Speaker 1: Marines guns, however, remained silent as Kaijioka's ships crept in,
41:54
Speaker 1: firing as they came. The first enemy projectile set the
41:58
Speaker 1: oil tanks on the south west portion of Wake ablaze,
42:02
Speaker 1: while the two converted destroyers prepared to land their Special
42:05
Speaker 1: Naval Landing Force troops. The column of warships advanced westward,
42:11
Speaker 1: still unchallenged, nearing the western tip of Wake. Twenty minutes later,
42:16
Speaker 1: Kajioka's flagship, the Yubari, close to within forty five hundred yards,
42:22
Speaker 1: seemingly scouring the beach with their five point five inch fire.
42:27
Speaker 1: At zero six hundred, the light cruiser reversed coorshet again
42:32
Speaker 1: and closed the range still further. The Ubari's maneuvering prompted
42:36
Speaker 1: the careful removal of the brush camouflage, and the Marines
42:40
Speaker 1: began to track the Japanese ships as the distance decreased
42:45
Speaker 1: and the reports came into Devereux's command posts. With that information,
42:50
Speaker 1: the Major again told Gunnar Hammas to relay the word
42:53
Speaker 1: to Commander Cunningham, who by that point had reached his
42:57
Speaker 1: command post. Cunningham, up on receiving Hamas's report, responded, what
43:03
Speaker 1: are we waiting for? Open fire? Must be Jap ships
43:07
Speaker 1: all right. Devereaux quickly relayed the order to his anxious
43:11
Speaker 1: artillery men. At zero six', ten they commenced. Firing barninger's
43:18
Speaker 1: five inchures At Peacock. Point wake's high ground behind them
43:23
Speaker 1: boomed and sent the first fifty pound projectiles beyond their.
43:26
Speaker 1: Target adjusting the range, quickly the gunner soon scored what
43:31
Speaker 1: seemed to be hits on The. Yubari Although barninger's guns
43:35
Speaker 1: had unavoidably revealed their, location the ship's counterfire proved woefully.
43:41
Speaker 1: Inaccurate kagioka's flagship managed to land only one shell in
43:46
Speaker 1: Battery bee's, vicinity a projectile that bursts some one hundred
43:50
Speaker 1: and fifty feet From barninger's command. Post the fire continued
43:54
Speaker 1: to be over and then short throughout her. Firing barninger
43:58
Speaker 1: later reported she straddled, continually but none of The salvos
44:03
Speaker 1: came into the. Position it was fortunate that The japanese
44:07
Speaker 1: fire proved as poor as it was For barninger's guns
44:11
Speaker 1: lay completely unprotected open save for, camouflage no sandbag protection.
44:17
Speaker 1: Existed Captain platt meanwhile Told Major potter via phone that
44:23
Speaker 1: Since Battery l's rangefinder had been damaged in the bombing
44:27
Speaker 1: the previous, Day First Lieutenant McAllister was having trouble obtaining
44:31
Speaker 1: the Range After platt passed Along potter's order to McAllister
44:36
Speaker 1: to estimate, It BATTERY l opened fire and scored hits
44:40
Speaker 1: on one of the, transports prompting the escorting destroyers to
44:44
Speaker 1: stand toward the troublesome. Guns platt carefully scrutinized The japanese
44:49
Speaker 1: ship movements offshore and noted with satisfaction That McAllister's five
44:54
Speaker 1: inchres sent Three salvos slamming into The. Hayate she exploded
44:59
Speaker 1: a immediately killing all of her one hundred and sixty
45:02
Speaker 1: seven man. Crew McAllister's gunners cheered and then turned their
45:07
Speaker 1: attention to The oita and The, mochizuki which soon suffered
45:12
Speaker 1: hits from the same. Guns The oite sustained fourteen, wounded
45:17
Speaker 1: The mochizuki sustained an undetermined number of. Casualties First Lieutenant
45:22
Speaker 1: kessler's battery b at the tip Of peel meanwhile dueled
45:27
Speaker 1: with the Destroyers Yayoi matsuki And, kissaraji as well as
45:33
Speaker 1: The tenriyu and The, tatsuda and drew heavy counterfire that
45:37
Speaker 1: disabled one. Gun the crew of the inoperable mount shifted
45:41
Speaker 1: to that of a serviceable, one serving as ammunition, passers
45:46
Speaker 1: and after ten, Rounds kessler's remaining guns scored a hit
45:49
Speaker 1: on The Yayoi, stern killing one, man wounding, seventeen and
45:54
Speaker 1: starting a. Fire his gunners then shifted their attention to
45:58
Speaker 1: the next, destroyer and the enemy's counterfire severed communications Between
46:04
Speaker 1: kessler's command post and the, gun but battery b the muzzle,
46:09
Speaker 1: blast temporarily disabling the, rangefinder continued with local fire. Control
46:15
Speaker 1: as The japanese warship stood to the, South kessler's gun
46:19
Speaker 1: hurled two parting shots toward a, transport which proved to
46:23
Speaker 1: have been out of. Range The yubari's action record reflects
46:27
Speaker 1: that Although wake had been pounded by land based, planes
46:31
Speaker 1: the atoll's defenders still possessed enough coastal guns to mounti ferocious,
46:36
Speaker 1: defense which Forced kajioka to. Retire as if the seacoast
46:41
Speaker 1: guns and the weather were not enough to frustrate The admiral's.
46:44
Speaker 1: Venture the heavy seas had overturned landing boats almost as
46:48
Speaker 1: soon as they were. Launched The japanese soon encountered a new.
46:51
Speaker 1: Foe While cunningham's cannoneers had been trading shells With, Kagioka's
46:58
Speaker 1: putnam's Four wildcats had climb to twenty thousand feet and
47:01
Speaker 1: maintained that altitude until, daylight when The major had ascertained
47:05
Speaker 1: that No japanese planes were. Airborne as the destroyers that
47:10
Speaker 1: had dueled battery b opened the range and stood away From,
47:14
Speaker 1: wake The wildcats roared. In Major putnam saw at least
47:19
Speaker 1: one of L rod's bombs hit The, kissaragi trailing oil and.
47:24
Speaker 1: Smoke the damaged destroyer slowed to a, stop but then
47:27
Speaker 1: managed to get under way, again internally a. Fire while
47:32
Speaker 1: she limped away to the. South L rod anti aircraft,
47:36
Speaker 1: fire having perforated his plane's oil, line headed. Home he
47:41
Speaker 1: managed to Reach wake and land down the rocky, beach
47:44
Speaker 1: BUT vmf two eleven's ground crew rode off HIS f
47:48
Speaker 1: FOUR f as a total. Loss, Meanwhile tenriyu came under
47:52
Speaker 1: attack By, putnam theren And, fruler who strafed her forward
47:57
Speaker 1: near the number one torpedo tube mount five men, in
48:01
Speaker 1: disabling three. Torpedoes the three Serviceable wildcats then shuttled back
48:06
Speaker 1: and forth to be rearmed and. Refueled putnam And kinney
48:11
Speaker 1: later saw The, kissaragi which had been carrying an extra
48:14
Speaker 1: supply of depth charges because of The american submarine, threat
48:18
Speaker 1: blow up and, sink killing her entire crew of one
48:22
Speaker 1: hundred and sixty seven. Men, Fuller, putnam And hamilton strafed
48:27
Speaker 1: The congo marou igniting barrels of gasoline stowed in one
48:31
Speaker 1: of her, holds killing Three japanese sailors and wounding nineteen
48:36
Speaker 1: two more men were listed as. Missing Fruller's wildcat took
48:41
Speaker 1: a bullet in the, engine but managed to return to the.
48:43
Speaker 1: Field Technical Sergeant hamilton reached the field despite a perforated tail.
48:49
Speaker 1: Section The, triton which had not made contact with an
48:54
Speaker 1: enemy ship since firing at the unidentified ship during the
48:57
Speaker 1: pre dawn, hours did not participate in the action that.
49:00
Speaker 1: Morning neither did her sister, ship The. Tambre the latter
49:06
Speaker 1: attempted to approach the enemy's ships she observed firing at
49:10
Speaker 1: the atoll until they appeared to be standing away From.
49:13
Speaker 1: Wake then she reversed course and proceeded, north well away
49:18
Speaker 1: from the Retiring japanese to avoid penetrating The triton's patrol. Area,
49:24
Speaker 1: meanwhile After kinney witnessed The kissaragi's cataclysmic, demise he strafed
49:30
Speaker 1: another destroyer before returning to the. Field having been rearmed and,
49:35
Speaker 1: refueled he took off again at zero nine point, fifteen
49:38
Speaker 1: accompanied By Second Lieutenant. Davidson shortly before Seventeen knells appeared
49:44
Speaker 1: to Bomb peels as. Batteries davidson battled nine of the,
49:48
Speaker 1: bombers which had separated from the others and headed toward the.
49:52
Speaker 1: Southwest kinny tackled the other eight battery d meanwhile hurled
49:58
Speaker 1: one hundred twenty five at the, Bombers although some of
50:02
Speaker 1: the enemy's bombs fell near the battery's position On, peel
50:06
Speaker 1: The japanese again inflicted neither damage nor, casualties and lost
50:11
Speaker 1: two knells in the. Process eleven OTHER g THREE m
50:15
Speaker 1: twos had been. Damaged casualties included fifteen dead and one slightly.
50:20
Speaker 1: Wounded putnam later Credited kinney And davidson with shooting down
50:25
Speaker 1: one plane a piece ordered to Move battery d's three
50:29
Speaker 1: inch guns the length Of. Peel during the, Night godbold
50:32
Speaker 1: reconnoitered the new position selected By Major, devereaux and at
50:37
Speaker 1: seventeen forty, five after securing all battery, positions began the.
50:42
Speaker 1: Shift for the next eleven, hours The, marines assisted by
50:46
Speaker 1: nearly two hundred and fifty, civilians constructed new emplacements by
50:51
Speaker 1: zero four to forty. Five on Twelve, December godbold could
50:55
Speaker 1: again report manned and ready At Peacock. Point on the
51:00
Speaker 1: night of the, Eleventh Wally lewis gave permission for all
51:03
Speaker 1: but two men at each gun and at the director
51:06
Speaker 1: to get some, sleep the first the men had had
51:09
Speaker 1: in three. Days The japanese, force, meanwhile humbled by sizeable,
51:14
Speaker 1: casualties withdrew to the, marshals having requested aircraft carrier. Reinforcement
51:21
Speaker 1: hundreds of miles. Away At Pearl, harbor elements of the
51:25
Speaker 1: Fourth Defense battalion received orders to begin preparing for an,
51:28
Speaker 1: operation the destination of which was closely. Held the marines
51:34
Speaker 1: of the battalion fervently desired to assist their comrades On Wake,
51:38
Speaker 1: island and many of, them probably concluded were headed For
51:42
Speaker 1: wake sidebars The Defense battalion's five inch. Guns in the photo,
51:52
Speaker 1: above a five inch fifty one seacoast gun of battery
51:56
Speaker 1: a First Defense battalion rests at The Marine Corps San
52:00
Speaker 1: diego on twenty One october nineteen forty prior to its
52:05
Speaker 1: being deployed beyond the. Seas Private edward F eaton standing
52:10
Speaker 1: beside it serves as a yardstick to give the viewer
52:14
Speaker 1: an idea of the size of the gun that could
52:16
Speaker 1: hurl a fifty pound shell at three, thousand one hundred
52:19
Speaker 1: fifty feet per second up to a range of seventeen
52:22
Speaker 1: thousy one hundred. Yards these guns gave a good account
52:26
Speaker 1: of themselves At Wake, island particularly in Discouraging Admiral kagioka's
52:31
Speaker 1: attempted landing In december nineteen forty. One Captain HENRY. T. L,
52:37
Speaker 1: ROD vmf two eleven's executive, officer distinguished himself both in
52:43
Speaker 1: the air and in the ground fighting At wake with
52:46
Speaker 1: deeds which earned him a Posthumous medal Of. Honor born
52:51
Speaker 1: In georgia in nineteen oh, five El rod attended The
52:54
Speaker 1: university Of georgia And Yale. University enlisting in The corps
52:59
Speaker 1: in nineteen twenty. Seven he received his commission in nineteen thirty.
53:03
Speaker 1: One L rod is the only marine hero From wake
53:07
Speaker 1: who has had a, warship a guided missil frigate named
53:11
Speaker 1: in his honor end of chapter two chapter three OF
53:22
Speaker 1: A Magnificent Fight marines in The battle For Wake island
53:26
Speaker 1: By ROBERT. J. Kressman this LibriVox recording is in the public.
53:31
Speaker 1: Domain still no. Help well before dawn on Twelve, december
53:39
Speaker 1: unsynchronized engines heralded the approach of A japanese flying, Boat CAPTAIN. S,
53:45
Speaker 1: fruller and then scrambled their planes to intercept. It the enemy,
53:50
Speaker 1: plane A KWANISHI h SIX K type ninety seven reconnaissance
53:55
Speaker 1: flying Boat mavis from The Yokohama Air, group opped its
54:00
Speaker 1: bombs on the edge of the lagoon and then sought
54:03
Speaker 1: cover in the overcast and rain. Squalls theren although untrained
54:08
Speaker 1: in night aerial combat, techniques chased and splashed. It none
54:14
Speaker 1: of its nine man crew. Survived later that same, day
54:19
Speaker 1: twenty Six Chitos Air group knells Bombed Wake. Island returning
54:24
Speaker 1: aircrewmen claimed damage to a warehouse and an anti aircraft
54:29
Speaker 1: gun in the western. Sector anti aircraft fire shot down
54:35
Speaker 1: one plane in damaged Four. Japanese casualties included eight men.
54:39
Speaker 1: Killed once the bombers had, Departed Barney barninger's men continued
54:45
Speaker 1: working on their, foxholes freshened the, camouflage cleaned the, guns
54:50
Speaker 1: and tried to catch some. Sleep the daily, bombings he wrote,
54:55
Speaker 1: later were becoming an old, story and it was a
54:58
Speaker 1: relief from waiting when the raid was. Over weathering bombing.
55:03
Speaker 1: Attacks taking the enemy's blows was one, thing but striking
55:07
Speaker 1: at The japanese was something, else something to boost. Morale
55:12
Speaker 1: at about sixteen hundred on the twelfth, Second lieutenant Klee,
55:16
Speaker 1: were while, patrolling spotted a surfaced submarine twenty five miles
55:21
Speaker 1: southwest Of. Wake with the sun behind, him he dove
55:26
Speaker 1: from ten thousand. Feet convinced that the submarine Was, Japanese
55:31
Speaker 1: kleewer fired his four fifty calibers broadside into the. Submarine
55:37
Speaker 1: turning to the right and seeking to increase his chances
55:40
Speaker 1: of scoring maximum damage on the, enemy he dove and
55:43
Speaker 1: dropped his two one hundred pounders at such a low
55:46
Speaker 1: altitude that bomb fragments ripped large holes in his wings
55:50
Speaker 1: and tail, surfaces emptying his guns into the. Submarine on
55:55
Speaker 1: his next, pass he looked behind him and saw her.
55:58
Speaker 1: Submerge Major putnam flew out to verify that the sub
56:03
Speaker 1: had been sunk and spotted an oil slick at the.
56:05
Speaker 1: Spot clee were. Indicated that, night a state side radio
56:10
Speaker 1: report Praised wake's. Marines it stated that for security, reasons
56:16
Speaker 1: it could not mention the size of the garrison defending the,
56:19
Speaker 1: atoll but noted that we know the number is very.
56:22
Speaker 1: Small nothing like letting the enemy know our, Status kinney
56:27
Speaker 1: noted sardonically in his. Diary still no, help although help
56:33
Speaker 1: was a subject very much on the minds Of Admiral
56:35
Speaker 1: kimmel and his staff back At Pearl. Harbor by Eleven,
56:39
Speaker 1: december plans to Reinforce wake had not yet, crystallized nor
56:44
Speaker 1: could they until the carriers around which any task forces
56:48
Speaker 1: could be formed could be marshaled for the. Task As
56:52
Speaker 1: Captain CHARLES. H sak Mac, Morris kimmel's war plans, officer had,
56:58
Speaker 1: estimated all of the nearly fifteen hundred people On wake
57:02
Speaker 1: could be accommodated very rapidly on board the seaplane Tender
57:06
Speaker 1: TANGIER av eight if they either destroyed or abandoned their personal.
57:11
Speaker 1: Belongings tangier would be, crowded but he believed it could be.
57:16
Speaker 1: Done protecting the, tender though was. Key she should not.
57:22
Speaker 1: Go Mick morris, wrote until air protection is. Available if
57:26
Speaker 1: the evacuation Of wake was decided, upon and he recommended against,
57:31
Speaker 1: it the promptest measure would be to Have tangier assigned
57:35
Speaker 1: to a task force formed around the aircraft Carrier LEXINGTON cv,
57:40
Speaker 1: two then accompanied by, destroyers she could Evacuate Wakes garrison
57:46
Speaker 1: While lexington's planes provided. Cover even as the people At
57:52
Speaker 1: Pearl harbor considered plans for her. Employment, However lady lex
57:56
Speaker 1: and her consorts were encountering difficulty refueling in the heavy
58:01
Speaker 1: seas northwest Of. Oahu, Ultimately Task force twelve had to
58:06
Speaker 1: put Into Pearl harbor to complete the. Refueling the following,
58:11
Speaker 1: day Thirteen, december FOUND vmf two eleven conducting its patrols
58:16
Speaker 1: as usual with three available. Aircraft, meanwhile Ground cruise Drag
58:22
Speaker 1: captain L rod's old plane over from the beach and
58:25
Speaker 1: propped it up across the runway to serve as a.
58:28
Speaker 1: Decoy the contractors Promised kinny that a light proof hanger
58:33
Speaker 1: would be finished that. Night listening to the radio that
58:37
Speaker 1: evening provided little. Inspiration As kinny noted in his, diary K,
58:43
Speaker 1: kaiser the renowned, bandleader had dedicated a song to The Wake,
58:47
Speaker 1: marines while commentators noted That wake's, defenders when asked what they,
58:52
Speaker 1: required had, said send us more. Japs we began to figure.
58:58
Speaker 1: Out kenny wrote that THE uau was not going to
59:01
Speaker 1: reinforce us At Pearl. Harbor, however efforts proceeded a pace
59:06
Speaker 1: to disprove those who despaired of. Relief the tangier began
59:11
Speaker 1: discharging aviation gasoline to a barge alongside as she prepared
59:16
Speaker 1: for her impending. Mission early the following, morning she began
59:21
Speaker 1: unloading warheads and, torpedoes and commenced loading aviation stores earmarked For. Wake,
59:28
Speaker 1: later she shifted to The Pearl Harbor Navy, yard where
59:31
Speaker 1: she continued discharging gasoline and unloading. Torpedoes Wake Island Rear
59:38
Speaker 1: Admiral Claude, block the commandant of the Fourteenth Naval, district
59:43
Speaker 1: wrote on Twelve. December Thirteen december On wake is putting
59:48
Speaker 1: up a magnificent. Fight kimmel is doing his best to
59:51
Speaker 1: devise means for reinforcing it and getting out the. Civilians
59:56
Speaker 1: The lexington and her consorts Entered pearl to fuel on Thirteen,
1:00:01
Speaker 1: december While SARATOGA cv three and her escorts three old
1:00:07
Speaker 1: destroyers steamed Toward, o'ahu also delayed by heavy. Weather the
1:00:13
Speaker 1: enemy meanwhile maintained aerial pressure on the. Atoll three flying
1:00:19
Speaker 1: boats bombed the island at zero four thirty seven On,
1:00:22
Speaker 1: sunday Fourteen, december but did not damage. Anything The, marines
1:00:28
Speaker 1: sailors and contractors went about their daily business of improving
1:00:32
Speaker 1: their defensive. Positions the artillerymen replaced the natural camouflage with fresh.
1:00:39
Speaker 1: Foliage wake had little need for more, japs despite media.
1:00:45
Speaker 1: Claims it, did, however need tools with which it could defend.
1:00:50
Speaker 1: Itself cunningham radio to the commandant of the Fourteenth Naval
1:00:55
Speaker 1: district a lengthy list of, supplies including fire control raps
1:01:01
Speaker 1: required by his five and three inch, batteries as well
1:01:04
Speaker 1: as by the machine gun and searchlight batteries at the.
1:01:08
Speaker 1: Airfield the fourteenth dawn with just two planes in. Service kenny,
1:01:14
Speaker 1: determined though that one of, those AN f FOUR f
1:01:18
Speaker 1: bought FROM vf six embarked on THE Uss, enterprise required
1:01:23
Speaker 1: an engine. Replacement they would scavenge the parts required from
1:01:28
Speaker 1: two irreparably damaged. Planes as a work crew tackled that,
1:01:33
Speaker 1: task thirty knells from The Chittos Air group began sowing
1:01:37
Speaker 1: destruction Across. Wake one bomb hit one of the aircraft
1:01:42
Speaker 1: shelters and set a fire ON f FOUR. F scrambling
1:01:46
Speaker 1: over to That wildcat after the raid had, Ended kinney
1:01:49
Speaker 1: saw that the enemy ordnance had hit close to the,
1:01:52
Speaker 1: tail but had damaged only the oil tank and. Intercoolers
1:01:57
Speaker 1: since that was the squadron's best, Engine kinny knew that
1:02:00
Speaker 1: it must be removed mount and. All kinny used an
1:02:05
Speaker 1: improvised hoist to lift the plane by its. Nose with
1:02:09
Speaker 1: only the single makeshift, Hoist kinny and his crew removed
1:02:13
Speaker 1: one engine and attached the other mount by, nightfall fortified
1:02:17
Speaker 1: only by a gallon of ice cream Which Pete, sorenson
1:02:20
Speaker 1: one of the, contractors had thoughtfully brought. Them since the
1:02:25
Speaker 1: hanger was not, complete they had to work quickly to
1:02:28
Speaker 1: avoid the. Blackout kinny instructed the civilian foreman to call
1:02:33
Speaker 1: him as soon as the hanger was ready to receive the.
1:02:36
Speaker 1: Plane he Sent hamilton to bed at zero eight hundred
1:02:40
Speaker 1: and retired himself to be. Awakened an hour and a half,
1:02:44
Speaker 1: later With hamilton in, tow he awoke the three civilians
1:02:49
Speaker 1: who had been helping, them and all went to the.
1:02:51
Speaker 1: Hangar with a bit more, effort they were ready for
1:02:55
Speaker 1: the aircraft at eleven. Thirty kinny and his civilian helpers compled,
1:03:00
Speaker 1: pleaded installing the engine by zero three thirty on the.
1:03:03
Speaker 1: Fifteenth the failure to have the hangars, completed, meanwhile proved
1:03:08
Speaker 1: to be a sore point For Major. Putnam Commander cunningham
1:03:12
Speaker 1: differed with his marine subordinate over just how much pressure
1:03:15
Speaker 1: to apply to the, civilians as shewing the use of
1:03:19
Speaker 1: armed force in favor of addressing the workers in small
1:03:22
Speaker 1: groups and appealing to them to lend a. Hand annoyed
1:03:26
Speaker 1: That cunningham seemed to be using only moral suasion on the, Contractors,
1:03:31
Speaker 1: putnam on Fourteen december personally persuaded the contractors to work
1:03:36
Speaker 1: on the underground, shelters no work having been done for
1:03:40
Speaker 1: the previous twenty four, hours and the civilians turned out
1:03:44
Speaker 1: in force about three hundred when only fifty could. Work
1:03:48
Speaker 1: kinny noted the enthusiastic, turnout, however had an unexpected effect
1:03:54
Speaker 1: curiosity moved many workmen to line the airstrip to watch
1:03:58
Speaker 1: the takeoff of the evening. Patrol the surging crowd Caused
1:04:03
Speaker 1: Captain fruller to ease his plane to the left to
1:04:06
Speaker 1: avoid hitting any, men and in doing so found that
1:04:09
Speaker 1: he had aimed the plane toward a crane which sat
1:04:11
Speaker 1: on the north side of the. Airfield continuing to the,
1:04:15
Speaker 1: Left fruller tried to miss the piece of heavy, equipment
1:04:18
Speaker 1: but instead ground looped HIS f four f into the,
1:04:22
Speaker 1: boondocks wrecking. It hauled back to the. Runway the Damage
1:04:27
Speaker 1: wildcat served thereafter as a decoy At Pearl. Harbor at
1:04:32
Speaker 1: twelve thirty. One on Fourteen december zero nine oh one Fifteen,
1:04:37
Speaker 1: december On, Wake Task force eleven Formerly Task force, twelve
1:04:43
Speaker 1: stood out to. Sea its, Commander Vice Admiral Wilson, brown
1:04:48
Speaker 1: had been ordered to Raid jalut to divert attention away
1:04:52
Speaker 1: From Task force, fourteen which was TO sorti the following
1:04:56
Speaker 1: day and proceed To. Wake brown's force was to conduct
1:05:00
Speaker 1: the raid At, jloute reckoned to be the center Of
1:05:03
Speaker 1: japanese operations in The, marshals and then to retire Toward Pearl.
1:05:08
Speaker 1: Harbor the day Before Task force fourteen Under Rear Admiral
1:05:12
Speaker 1: Frank Jack, fletcher was to Reach. Wake fletcher's, task, meanwhile
1:05:17
Speaker 1: was to see that the tangier reached her. Objective The,
1:05:22
Speaker 1: saratoga WITH vmf two twenty one, embarked was to launch
1:05:27
Speaker 1: the marine fighters to fly Into, wake while the seaplane
1:05:30
Speaker 1: tender was to more offshore to begin the process of
1:05:34
Speaker 1: putting ashore, reinforcements, ammunition, provisions and, equipment including an important radar.
1:05:41
Speaker 1: Set the tangier was then to embark approximately six hundred
1:05:46
Speaker 1: and fifty civilians and all the wounded men in return
1:05:49
Speaker 1: To Pearl. Harbor kimmel and his staff had estimated that
1:05:53
Speaker 1: the process of unloading and debarkation would take at least two.
1:05:57
Speaker 1: Days embarking all the people At wake could be accomplished
1:06:00
Speaker 1: in less than. One unfavorable, weather, however could lengthen the time.
1:06:06
Speaker 1: Considerably at thirteen thirty one At Pearl harbor on Fifteen,
1:06:12
Speaker 1: December kimmel informed The chief Of Naval, Operations Admiral Herald Our,
1:06:17
Speaker 1: stark of the relief expedition he had just. Launched he
1:06:22
Speaker 1: Received Admiral stark's concurrence early the following. Morning, meanwhile during
1:06:27
Speaker 1: the Day on the, Fifteenth Dan godbold's men observed the usual,
1:06:32
Speaker 1: routine starting the day at full alert and replacing the
1:06:35
Speaker 1: natural camouflage before reducing the alert status at zero seven.
1:06:40
Speaker 1: Hundred his men completed the shelters near the guns during
1:06:44
Speaker 1: the day and began work on a shelter at the heightfinder.
1:06:47
Speaker 1: Position they stopped work at seventeen hundred to return to full.
1:06:52
Speaker 1: ALERT a half hour. Later, however battery lookouts reported a
1:06:57
Speaker 1: plane lurking amongst the low clouds to the year And
1:07:00
Speaker 1: godbold reported the presence of the intruder to the island command.
1:07:04
Speaker 1: Post at eighteen, hundred four flying boats came in at
1:07:09
Speaker 1: one thousand feet and dropped bombs on what their crews
1:07:13
Speaker 1: thought was the barracks Area CAMP i on the northern
1:07:17
Speaker 1: part of the. Island they also strafed the area Near
1:07:21
Speaker 1: BATTERIES d AND. B The japanese reported their bombing as
1:07:26
Speaker 1: having been, effective but it inflicted no material. Damage one
1:07:32
Speaker 1: civilian workman was killed from his vantage. Point marine gunner
1:07:37
Speaker 1: McKinstry In batterye thought all of the bombs landed in the.
1:07:41
Speaker 1: Ocean the next, day the, sixteenth thirty three knells Raided
1:07:47
Speaker 1: Wake island at thirteen. Forty The, marines, however greeted The
1:07:52
Speaker 1: japanese flyers with novel fire control. Methods kenny And klee
1:07:57
Speaker 1: were aloft down patrol of the incoming, formations closing on
1:08:02
Speaker 1: the atoll at eighteen thousand feet almost ten minutes before
1:08:06
Speaker 1: they Reached wake's. Airspace THE us pilots radioed the enemy's
1:08:11
Speaker 1: altitude to the gun. Batteries the early warning Permitted lewis
1:08:15
Speaker 1: to enter the data into THE m four director and
1:08:18
Speaker 1: passed the solution To. Godbold BATTERY d hurled ninety five round.
1:08:23
Speaker 1: Skyward battery EA's first shots seemed to explode ahead of the,
1:08:28
Speaker 1: formation but gunner McKinstry reported that the lead plane in
1:08:32
Speaker 1: one of the formations dropped smoking to the rear of the.
1:08:36
Speaker 1: Formation he estimated that at least four other planes cleared
1:08:41
Speaker 1: the island trailing. Smoke godbold estimated that four planes had
1:08:46
Speaker 1: been damaged and one had crashed some distance from the.
1:08:49
Speaker 1: Island japanese, accounts, however provided no support For godbold's, estimate
1:08:55
Speaker 1: acknowledging neither losses nor damage To japanese. Aircraft during the
1:08:59
Speaker 1: attack that, Day kleewer And kenny each attacked the formations of,
1:09:05
Speaker 1: planes but with little, effect partly because only one Of
1:09:09
Speaker 1: kenny's four machine guns functioned that. Day as half Of
1:09:14
Speaker 1: wake's submarine, support The tambre retired Toward oahu because of
1:09:19
Speaker 1: an irreparable leak in her forward torpedo. Room kenny returned
1:09:23
Speaker 1: to the task of keeping the planes ready to fight
1:09:26
Speaker 1: with field expedient repairs and borrowed. Gear kenny and his
1:09:30
Speaker 1: helpers fashioned gun cleaning rods from welding. Rods the pervasive
1:09:36
Speaker 1: intrusive coral sand threatened to cause severe mechanical damage to the.
1:09:40
Speaker 1: Planes kenny borrowed a compressor from Pan. Am two previous
1:09:46
Speaker 1: compressors had been strafed out of commission to try to
1:09:49
Speaker 1: keep the planes clean by blasting a mixture of air
1:09:52
Speaker 1: and kerosene to blow out the accumulations of. Grit to
1:09:57
Speaker 1: Help kenny And hamilton in their small but dedicated band of,
1:10:00
Speaker 1: civilians aviation machinist Mate, hessen who had been wounded on the,
1:10:05
Speaker 1: fourteenth violated doctor's orders and returned to. Duty he resumed
1:10:11
Speaker 1: work on the, plains carrying on as effectively as ever
1:10:14
Speaker 1: in spite of his. Injuries putnam later Recalled hessen's service
1:10:19
Speaker 1: as being the very foundation of the entire aerial defense
1:10:23
Speaker 1: Of Wake island At Pearl harbor in the lengthening shadows
1:10:28
Speaker 1: of Fifteen. December Sixteen december On, wake the relief expedition
1:10:33
Speaker 1: made ready to sail The, tangier the oiler NIETZSCHEZ a
1:10:40
Speaker 1: five and four destroyers sailed at seventeen thirty on the
1:10:44
Speaker 1: Fifteenth On wake fourteen. Hundred on Sixteen, december The saratoga
1:10:50
Speaker 1: and the remainder of the, escort delayed by the time
1:10:53
Speaker 1: it took to fuel the, carrier were to sail the following.
1:10:56
Speaker 1: Day The Twilight. Sortie First Lieutenant ROBERT. D Heineld, junior
1:11:02
Speaker 1: as commander Of BATTERY f three Inch Anti Aircraft, group
1:11:07
Speaker 1: wrote of the tangiers sailing dramatized the. Adventure the ship
1:11:12
Speaker 1: steam pass somber reminders of Seven, december the beach Battleship,
1:11:17
Speaker 1: nevada and A DOUGLAS Sbd dauntless from The enterprise that
1:11:21
Speaker 1: had been shot down by friendly fire Off Fort. Kemihameha
1:11:26
Speaker 1: the waters beyond sight of A, Wahoo First lieutenant heinel,
1:11:30
Speaker 1: noted seemed very lonely. Waters, Indeed columbus's men sailing westward
1:11:36
Speaker 1: in hourly apprehension of toppling off the edge of a
1:11:39
Speaker 1: Square earth could not have felt the seas to be
1:11:41
Speaker 1: more inscrutable and less. Friendly wake's dogged defense Caused Vice
1:11:47
Speaker 1: Admiral Shigayoshi, Anue Commander South Seas, Force Fourth, fleet to seek.
1:11:53
Speaker 1: Help Admiral Isoruku, yamamoto the commander in chief of the Combined,
1:11:59
Speaker 1: fleet responded by assigning a force under the command Of
1:12:03
Speaker 1: Rear Admiral Hiriaki, Abbe commander Eighth Cruiser, division consisting of
1:12:09
Speaker 1: Carriers hiyu And suryu and escorting ships to reinforce in a.
1:12:14
Speaker 1: Way at sixteen thirty on Sixteen, december the two, carriers
1:12:20
Speaker 1: with one hundred eighteen, aircraft screened by the heavy Cruisers
1:12:24
Speaker 1: tone And, chikuma and Destroyers tanakazi And, urikazi detached from
1:12:29
Speaker 1: Their Pearl Harbor striking force and headed Toward. Wake As
1:12:34
Speaker 1: abe ships steamed Toward, WAKE Us navy radio intelligence operators
1:12:39
Speaker 1: Intercepted japanese radio. Transmissions the, messages when, decoded caused the
1:12:46
Speaker 1: intelligence analysts to suspect that connections existed among The Japanese
1:12:51
Speaker 1: Fourth Fleet Operations Crew. Div, eight The tone and The
1:12:55
Speaker 1: chikuma KARDIV, ii The suryu and The hiriuu and Air
1:13:01
Speaker 1: on twenty, four twenty fourth flotilla aerial reconnaissance flights from
1:13:06
Speaker 1: the marshals. Followed the following, Afternoon Rear Admiral block sent
1:13:11
Speaker 1: a message that must have seemed a trifle unrealistic To,
1:13:15
Speaker 1: cunningham who was primarily concerned with defending the atoll and
1:13:19
Speaker 1: keeping his men. Alive the message stated that it was
1:13:23
Speaker 1: highly desirable that the dredging of the channel Across wilkes
1:13:27
Speaker 1: continue and inquired about the feasibility under present conditions of
1:13:32
Speaker 1: finishing the work with equipment at. Hand it requested an
1:13:37
Speaker 1: estimated date of. Completion on Seventeen, december something occurred At
1:13:43
Speaker 1: Pearl harbor which harbored ill portents for The Wake Island relief.
1:13:47
Speaker 1: Operation Admiral kimmel was relieved of command in a perfunctory
1:13:53
Speaker 1: ceremony at the submarine. Base kimmel relinquished command To Vice
1:13:57
Speaker 1: Admiral WILLIAM. S, pye who would serve as the acting
1:14:01
Speaker 1: commander Until Admiral CHESTER. W nimitz arrived to assume. Command
1:14:07
Speaker 1: pie inherited an operation about which he would soon harbor many.
1:14:11
Speaker 1: Reservations the next, day Eighteen, december Sink pack's radio intelligence
1:14:18
Speaker 1: men noted again That cardiff And crudive eight continued to
1:14:22
Speaker 1: be associated with The Fourth fleet in. Communications while the
1:14:27
Speaker 1: acting Sink pack digested the latest disquieting intelligence and sent
1:14:32
Speaker 1: it along To fletcher And. Brown wake's defenders endured another
1:14:36
Speaker 1: air raid on the nineteenth twenty. Seven knelts came in
1:14:40
Speaker 1: from the northwest at eleven thirty five and drop bombs
1:14:44
Speaker 1: on the remainder of the Pan am facility On peel
1:14:47
Speaker 1: and On Camp. I On, wake battery d fired seventy
1:14:52
Speaker 1: rounds at the attacking, planes and Both godbold and marine
1:14:56
Speaker 1: gunner McKinstry reported seeing one plane leaving the sky over the,
1:15:00
Speaker 1: atoll trailing a plume of smoke behind. It an, aviator they,
1:15:05
Speaker 1: said drifted down in his parachute some distance from. Land
1:15:10
Speaker 1: wakes gunners had actually done far better than they had
1:15:13
Speaker 1: thought of twenty seven planes, engaged twelve had been hit
1:15:18
Speaker 1: by anti aircraft. Fire cunningham responded To block's message of
1:15:23
Speaker 1: the previous day that up to that point he had
1:15:25
Speaker 1: been concerned only with defending the island and preserving. Lives
1:15:30
Speaker 1: he addressed the completion of the channel By listing the
1:15:33
Speaker 1: difficulties associated with the, task he pointed out that blackout
1:15:38
Speaker 1: conditions militated working at, night and The japanese air, raids
1:15:43
Speaker 1: which came without, warning reduced the amount of work which
1:15:46
Speaker 1: could be accomplished during the. Day but working during the
1:15:50
Speaker 1: day was, hazardous he, said because noisy equipment prevented workmen
1:15:55
Speaker 1: from being alerted to the incoming planes in time for
1:15:58
Speaker 1: them to take. Cover, furthermore the amount of contractor's equipment
1:16:03
Speaker 1: was being continually reduced by the. Bombings, additionally continuing the
1:16:09
Speaker 1: projects would require the immediate replenishment of, diesel oil and.
1:16:13
Speaker 1: Dynamite with morale of the civilian workmen generally, Low cunningham
1:16:19
Speaker 1: could not predict under the prevailing conditions when the construction
1:16:23
Speaker 1: projects would be. Completed he further declared that relief from
1:16:29
Speaker 1: raids would improve the. Outlook after recording in a second
1:16:34
Speaker 1: message the damage inflicted by The japanese on the base On,
1:16:37
Speaker 1: peel the atoll commander noted that since the outbreak of the,
1:16:42
Speaker 1: war the efforts involved in assisting in the defense and
1:16:45
Speaker 1: salvage operations had fully occupied all of the contractor's. Men
1:16:51
Speaker 1: cunningham continued by noting the additional numbers of dead or
1:16:54
Speaker 1: missing civilians since his earlier dispatch on the, subject and
1:16:58
Speaker 1: described the civilians morale as extremely. Low he reiterated his
1:17:04
Speaker 1: request to consider evacuating the civilians since the large number
1:17:08
Speaker 1: of them who were not contributing to the defensive efforts required,
1:17:12
Speaker 1: sustenance which drew on the stores required by those actively
1:17:17
Speaker 1: engaged in the defensive. Operations in the, Meantime Vice Admiral
1:17:22
Speaker 1: pi had passed on To brown information pointing Toward japan's
1:17:26
Speaker 1: establishment of an air base in The gilberts and the
1:17:29
Speaker 1: existence of a submarine force At. Jalute most disturbing of
1:17:34
Speaker 1: all was the news that Sink pack's intelligence people knew
1:17:38
Speaker 1: of no definite location of the force which Attacked. Owahu for,
1:17:43
Speaker 1: all anyone knew The japanese carriers whose planes had Bomb
1:17:47
Speaker 1: Pearl harbor could be lurking almost. Anywhere considering the newly
1:17:52
Speaker 1: established enemy air base is that he would have to
1:17:54
Speaker 1: pass en route To, Jalute brown could see That japanese
1:17:58
Speaker 1: air searches from those places might Spot Task force eleven
1:18:02
Speaker 1: before it reached its. Objective he began fueling his ships
1:18:06
Speaker 1: on the, eighteenth the same day that Rear Admiral WILLIAM.
1:18:10
Speaker 1: F Halsey Junior's Task force eight sailed From pearl to
1:18:14
Speaker 1: Support Task forces eleven and fourteen and informed the task
1:18:18
Speaker 1: force of its. Objective brown completed the fueling operations on the.
1:18:23
Speaker 1: Nineteenth that, done he detached as oiler The NEOSHO ao
1:18:29
Speaker 1: twenty three to stand out of danger and contemplated what lay.
1:18:34
Speaker 1: Ahead Fletcher's Task force fourteen meanwhile pressed. Westward at noon
1:18:41
Speaker 1: on the. Nineteenth The saratoga and her consorts were oneenty
1:18:45
Speaker 1: twenty miles east Of. Wake D day had been set
1:18:50
Speaker 1: for the twenty. Fourth Sidebar Admiral Frank Jack, fletcher the
1:18:57
Speaker 1: commander Of Task force, fourteen is the subject of much
1:19:01
Speaker 1: Historical monday morning. Quarterbacking all of these commentators have the
1:19:07
Speaker 1: benefit of Something Neither, pie the overall commander Nor fletcher
1:19:12
Speaker 1: on the scene had. Hindsight As sack mc, Morris Admiral
1:19:18
Speaker 1: kimmel's war plans officer put, it we had no more
1:19:21
Speaker 1: idea of billygoat about What japanese forces lay Off. Wake
1:19:27
Speaker 1: the welter of message, traffic linking, crewdives cardiffs and batdives
1:19:32
Speaker 1: with land based air painted a formidable picture of what
1:19:35
Speaker 1: might be encountered by a SINGLE Us navy carrier task.
1:19:39
Speaker 1: Force while The navy pilots may have been well, Trained
1:19:44
Speaker 1: saratoga's embarked Fighter squadron was under, strength having only thirteen Operational.
1:19:50
Speaker 1: Wildcats nor could The marines OF vmf two twenty, one
1:19:55
Speaker 1: bound For wake have been counted on as an effective
1:19:58
Speaker 1: adjunct to Ser squadron since they had not operated from a.
1:20:03
Speaker 1: Carrier an even more compelling argument for HOW vmf two
1:20:08
Speaker 1: twenty one would have performed in the, emergency as That
1:20:11
Speaker 1: Major General Ross, rowell commanding the Second Marine Aircraft, wing
1:20:16
Speaker 1: knowing of two twenty one's manpower and operational, deficiencies lamented
1:20:21
Speaker 1: having to Send Major vern McCall's half baked outfit into that.
1:20:26
Speaker 1: Mess raoul knew that maintaining the Temperamental BREWSTER f TWO
1:20:31
Speaker 1: a Three buffalo fighters at A stateside air base with
1:20:34
Speaker 1: all the conveniences had been a chore let. Alone having
1:20:38
Speaker 1: to operate THE f TWO a three at an advance,
1:20:40
Speaker 1: base especially one that had been so badly cut up
1:20:44
Speaker 1: As wake had, been or at sea on a, carrier
1:20:47
Speaker 1: where THE f two a's, performance especially with landing gear,
1:20:51
Speaker 1: failures was nearly, infamous and two the three carriers committed
1:20:57
Speaker 1: to the relief, expedition where all there were in The,
1:21:00
Speaker 1: pacific there were no. Reserves even though The japanese harbored
1:21:06
Speaker 1: no ideas of conquest Of hawaii at that, time they
1:21:10
Speaker 1: were through with The wahu for the time. Being pai
1:21:13
Speaker 1: and his advisers had no way of knowing that what
1:21:17
Speaker 1: intelligence existed pointed toward a potential disaster for an island
1:21:21
Speaker 1: where the issue, was As cunningham correctly, perceived very much in.
1:21:26
Speaker 1: Doubt when asked in nineteen seventy if the relief expedition's
1:21:31
Speaker 1: arrival would have made any difference in the outcome At,
1:21:33
Speaker 1: wake Retired Brigadier General devereux, ANSWERED i rather doubt that
1:21:39
Speaker 1: that particular task, force with its size and, composition could
1:21:43
Speaker 1: have been very. EFFECTIVE i think it was wise to pull.
1:21:47
Speaker 1: Back end of chapter, Three chapter four OF A Magnificent
1:21:58
Speaker 1: Fight marines and The battle For Wake island By ROBERT. J.
1:22:02
Speaker 1: Kressman this LibriVox recording is in the public. Domain all
1:22:09
Speaker 1: hands have behaved splendidly shortly before sixteen. Hundred on Twenty,
1:22:15
Speaker 1: december scrutinized By Wake island's only SERVICEABLE f FOUR F
1:22:20
Speaker 1: a consolidated Pby catalina flying boat bearing mail landed in the.
1:22:25
Speaker 1: Lagoon it arrived in the midst of a rain, squall
1:22:29
Speaker 1: but the defenders welcomed the precipitation because it worsened the
1:22:32
Speaker 1: flying weather and inhibited The japanese bombing. Efforts Commander keen
1:22:38
Speaker 1: sailors moored The catalina and fueled it for the next morning's.
1:22:41
Speaker 1: Flight As Barney barninger observed the flying boat's, arrival set
1:22:47
Speaker 1: the island on end with scuttle, butt most men surmised
1:22:51
Speaker 1: that the civilians would be. Evacuated the scuttle butt was partially.
1:22:56
Speaker 1: Correct from the secret orders carried on on board The,
1:23:00
Speaker 1: Pby cunningham learned that he was to prepare all but
1:23:04
Speaker 1: three hundred and fifty, civilians those to be selected by
1:23:08
Speaker 1: specific trades to continue the more important of the, projects
1:23:12
Speaker 1: one of which was the completion of the ship channel
1:23:15
Speaker 1: Between wake And wilkes for. Evacuation he was also notified
1:23:21
Speaker 1: that fire, control radar and other equipment was being, sent
1:23:25
Speaker 1: along with reinforcements of both men and. Machinery that, Day
1:23:31
Speaker 1: Commander cunningham recounted the events which had occurred to date
1:23:34
Speaker 1: in a report to Rear Admiral. Block although many air
1:23:39
Speaker 1: raids had, occurred he reported that most had resulted in
1:23:43
Speaker 1: few casualties and little damage to. Installations he Attributed wake's
1:23:49
Speaker 1: escape from more serious damage to the effectiveness of the
1:23:52
Speaker 1: marine's anti aircraft fire fire delivered despite the lack of
1:23:56
Speaker 1: fire control. EQUIPMENT a former fighter, pilot he also lavished
1:24:01
Speaker 1: unstinting praise ON vmf two eleven's, aviators who had never
1:24:06
Speaker 1: failed to push home attacks against heavy. Fire that none
1:24:10
Speaker 1: of the planes had been shot, down he, marveled is a.
1:24:14
Speaker 1: Miracle the representative of The bureau of The, Budget HERMANN. P,
1:24:19
Speaker 1: havener who had arrived On wake via The clipper on
1:24:23
Speaker 1: Seven december to check the progress of construction on the
1:24:26
Speaker 1: atoll and review the, expenditures wrote to The bureau telling
1:24:31
Speaker 1: them of the siege to that point and praising those
1:24:34
Speaker 1: who had led the. Defense the Commanding Officer cunningham and his,
1:24:39
Speaker 1: staff including The marine, officers have done a big job
1:24:44
Speaker 1: and an efficient. One their stand against The jaffs has
1:24:48
Speaker 1: been marvelous and they deserve everything our government can give.
1:24:51
Speaker 1: Them Major putnam dashed off a report OF vmf two
1:24:55
Speaker 1: eleven's operations To Lieutenant Colonel CLAUDE. A, larkin commanding officer
1:25:00
Speaker 1: Of Marine Aircraft GROUP mag twenty. One after recounting the
1:25:06
Speaker 1: losses of both planes and men suffered by his squadron
1:25:09
Speaker 1: and the damage he felt his men had inflicted upon the,
1:25:12
Speaker 1: Enemy putnam wrote that a large share of the squadron's
1:25:16
Speaker 1: records had been destroyed on the first, day and since
1:25:19
Speaker 1: then parts and assemblies have been traded back and, forth
1:25:23
Speaker 1: so that no airplane can be. Identified engines have been
1:25:26
Speaker 1: traded from plane to, plane have been, junked, stripped, rebuilt
1:25:31
Speaker 1: and all but. Created practically all of two eleven's gear
1:25:36
Speaker 1: had been. Destroyed quartermaster property lay scattered, about wholly uncounted. For,
1:25:43
Speaker 1: nevertheless he praised the. Men all hands have behaved splendidly
1:25:48
Speaker 1: and held up in a manner of which The Marine
1:25:51
Speaker 1: corps may well. Tell he singled out the indefatigable labor and,
1:25:56
Speaker 1: ingenuity skill and technical knowledge Of Lieutenant kinney and D
1:26:00
Speaker 1: Technical Sergeant, hamilton since it is solely due to their
1:26:04
Speaker 1: efforts that the squadron is still. Operating in a marginal
1:26:08
Speaker 1: note to this report By putnam upon his return from
1:26:11
Speaker 1: a pow camp In japan In october nineteen forty, five
1:26:16
Speaker 1: he added Amm one C hessen's name to those Of
1:26:20
Speaker 1: kinne And. Hamilton the next, morning THE pby crew and
1:26:24
Speaker 1: their only, Passenger Major WALTER. Lj, baylor who had completed
1:26:29
Speaker 1: his temporary duty At, wake clamored on board The. Catalina
1:26:34
Speaker 1: THE pby taxied into the lagoon and took off For.
1:26:37
Speaker 1: Midway as THE pby, departed A japanese task force steamed
1:26:43
Speaker 1: Toward Wake, island intent upon attacking on the twenty. Second
1:26:48
Speaker 1: the arrival and departure of THAT, pby, however influenced The japanese.
1:26:53
Speaker 1: Plans on Twenty, December Rear Admiral abe received a report
1:26:59
Speaker 1: based upon the radio messages THE pby sent as it Approached,
1:27:03
Speaker 1: wake that planes From Patrol squadron twenty three had advanced
1:27:08
Speaker 1: To wake From midway the previous. Day, consequently the commander
1:27:13
Speaker 1: of The South Seas, force hoping to catch and destroy those,
1:27:17
Speaker 1: planes Pressed abe to advance the attack one. Day The
1:27:22
Speaker 1: Wake Island Reinforcement force increased its speed to thirty. Knots
1:27:27
Speaker 1: in the, meantime on the morning of twenty One, December
1:27:31
Speaker 1: Rear Admiral kajioka set out from the marshals for a
1:27:34
Speaker 1: second attempt At. Wake the attacking naval forces included the
1:27:39
Speaker 1: same ships that had participated in the first, attack the
1:27:42
Speaker 1: Destroyers asunagi And, yunagi which replaced The hayate and The
1:27:48
Speaker 1: kissaragi which had been sunk during the initial, attack and some,
1:27:52
Speaker 1: reinforcements four heavy Cruisers, Kaiko, Aoba, furutaka And kinugasa that
1:28:00
Speaker 1: had recently taken part in the occupation Of, guam and
1:28:03
Speaker 1: the seaplane Carrier Kiyokawa. Maru instead of two hundred twenty
1:28:09
Speaker 1: five troops in each converted, destroyer two hundred and, fifty
1:28:13
Speaker 1: some of whom had taken part in the seizure Of,
1:28:15
Speaker 1: guam had been. Embarked landing exercises had been conducted at
1:28:20
Speaker 1: quaduling at zero seven hundred on the twenty, first beneath cloudy,
1:28:25
Speaker 1: Skies hiriyu And souryu turned into the northeasterly wind and
1:28:30
Speaker 1: began launching. Planes the aircraft arrived Over wake at about
1:28:35
Speaker 1: zero nine hundred to find a two hundred meters ceiling
1:28:38
Speaker 1: and seeing NO us, patrol planes circled that fifty to
1:28:42
Speaker 1: two hundred meters and began attacking shore. Installations anti aircraft
1:28:48
Speaker 1: fire hardly seemed to hinder them as they worked things
1:28:51
Speaker 1: over a bit and gave in battle defenders their first
1:28:55
Speaker 1: taste of dive. Bombing soyu's And hiriu's, aviators having experienced
1:29:01
Speaker 1: the flack Over Pearl, harbor reported very slight resistance from
1:29:06
Speaker 1: anti aircraft. Fire the enemy, Rear Admiral abe, reflected seemed
1:29:12
Speaker 1: to lose their fighting. Spirits the blow had fallen without.
1:29:16
Speaker 1: Warning it Caught Second Lieutenant klee were eating breakfast with
1:29:21
Speaker 1: the crews of the two fifty caliber machine guns at
1:29:24
Speaker 1: the west end of the. Field he admired them for
1:29:27
Speaker 1: the way in which they stuck to their guns amidst
1:29:30
Speaker 1: the bombing and, strafing continuing to fire when other guns
1:29:34
Speaker 1: on the island had been. Silenced the raid had Caught
1:29:38
Speaker 1: Major putnam returning From CAMP i in a. Truck he
1:29:42
Speaker 1: attempted to reach the only FLYABLE f four, f but
1:29:45
Speaker 1: strafing zeros twice forced him. Away only after The mitsubishies
1:29:51
Speaker 1: And iyachis left the vicinity at about ten twenty was
1:29:55
Speaker 1: he able to take off and attempt to follow them
1:29:58
Speaker 1: to their. Ships although he was not successful in that,
1:30:02
Speaker 1: endeavor his attempt typified the highest order of courage and
1:30:06
Speaker 1: resolution that he displayed throughout the. Siege As putnam searched
1:30:12
Speaker 1: for The japanese, Fleet cunningham radioed word of the morning's
1:30:15
Speaker 1: raid to Sink pack and the commandant of the Fourteenth Naval.
1:30:19
Speaker 1: District later that, day thirty Three knells Paid wake a.
1:30:24
Speaker 1: Visit the anti aircraft, fire, however apparently forced them to
1:30:29
Speaker 1: bomb from a higher altitude than before eighteen thousand feet
1:30:34
Speaker 1: vice thirteen. Thousand Although Dan godbold claimed to have seen
1:30:38
Speaker 1: one plane dropping from the skies Over wake trailing, smoke
1:30:43
Speaker 1: ALL g THREE m two's returned safely To. Roy their, bombs,
1:30:48
Speaker 1: however had fallen thickly about the, battery scoring a bullseye
1:30:52
Speaker 1: on the director and, placement killing Platoon Sergeant JOHNLSON. E,
1:30:57
Speaker 1: wright wounding three other, men and knocked unconscious the range,
1:31:01
Speaker 1: Officer Second Lieutenant ROBERT. W. Greeley THE m four, director
1:31:07
Speaker 1: although destroyed by the, bomb deflected the full force of
1:31:10
Speaker 1: the explosion From greeley and saved his. Life Right the
1:31:15
Speaker 1: firing battery officer had been known for his cheerfulness and boundless.
1:31:20
Speaker 1: Vitality although during previous raids he had been told to take,
1:31:25
Speaker 1: cover he had remained at his post calmly giving orders
1:31:29
Speaker 1: and disregarding the. Bombs his seemingly tireless efforts to improve
1:31:34
Speaker 1: the efficiency of the battery earned him A Bronze star.
1:31:37
Speaker 1: Posthumously At Peacock, point a bomb had fallen near the
1:31:42
Speaker 1: shelter belonging To barninger's number two gun, crew causing the
1:31:46
Speaker 1: entrance to be blocked and blowing the sides. In fortunately
1:31:51
Speaker 1: no one was. Hurt the bomb hitting the, Shelter barninger wrote,
1:31:56
Speaker 1: later was the only one close to the, guns and
1:32:00
Speaker 1: his men spent the rest of the day repairing the damaged.
1:32:02
Speaker 1: Shelter most of The, marines, though began feeling that fox
1:32:07
Speaker 1: holes were. Better although we didn't lose a. Man barninger,
1:32:12
Speaker 1: commented it was a close, thing and with the heavy caliber,
1:32:15
Speaker 1: bombs the shelter is too. Light for that, reason we
1:32:19
Speaker 1: are all back in the fox. Holes on the previous,
1:32:22
Speaker 1: Day Major devereaux had Ordered marine gunner McKinstry to keep
1:32:26
Speaker 1: the two guns of battery f firing to divert the
1:32:29
Speaker 1: enemy's attention from the only complete battery on the, Island.
1:32:33
Speaker 1: Batterye on the twenty, second McKinstry's gunners put on a
1:32:38
Speaker 1: fine performance despite having neither director nor heightfinder to help.
1:32:43
Speaker 1: Them firing by the expedient of lead him a. Mile
1:32:48
Speaker 1: the two guns of battery f kept the enemy guessing
1:32:51
Speaker 1: as to which group of guns was the greater. Threat,
1:32:54
Speaker 1: nevertheless all of the planes from Here you and Sore
1:32:58
Speaker 1: you returned undamaged their. Decks then abs forced steamed south
1:33:04
Speaker 1: to be in position two hundred miles From wake the
1:33:06
Speaker 1: next day to provide an anti submarine screen For kagioka's
1:33:10
Speaker 1: ships At Pearl. Harbor Vice Admiral pie read with Concern
1:33:16
Speaker 1: cunningham's dispatch reporting the raid by carrier. Planes The japanese
1:33:21
Speaker 1: had inserted a dangerous new factor into the. EQUATION pi
1:33:26
Speaker 1: deemed it essential to ensure the defense of The hawaiian.
1:33:30
Speaker 1: Islands with The Army's hawaiian defense and shambles and the
1:33:34
Speaker 1: battleship's strength significantly reduced by The japanese attack on Seven,
1:33:39
Speaker 1: december he believed that The Pacific fleet's three carriers constituted
1:33:44
Speaker 1: the best protection For. Oahu after he considered the evidence
1:33:48
Speaker 1: of Increased japanese air activity in The marshals with one
1:33:53
Speaker 1: or perhaps two carrier groups in that, vicinity as well
1:33:57
Speaker 1: as evidence of extensive offshore look and, patrol he decided
1:34:02
Speaker 1: that a surprise raid On jalut could not be conducted.
1:34:05
Speaker 1: Successfully Thus pie reluctantly abandoned the proposed carrier raid on
1:34:11
Speaker 1: The marshals while he allowed the efforts to Relieve wake to.
1:34:15
Speaker 1: Continue pie Warned fletcher not to get within two hundred
1:34:19
Speaker 1: miles of the atoll and Directed brown to move north
1:34:22
Speaker 1: With Task force eleven to Support Task force fourteen that
1:34:27
Speaker 1: decided on the afternoon of Twenty, december he radioed his
1:34:32
Speaker 1: decision to The Navy. Department with efforts to Relieve wake,
1:34:36
Speaker 1: progressing Sink pack Radioed cunningham on the morning of the twenty,
1:34:40
Speaker 1: second twenty first At Pearl harbor and asked him to
1:34:44
Speaker 1: report the condition of the aircraft. Runways he also requested
1:34:49
Speaker 1: to be informed immediately of any significant. Developments at zero
1:34:54
Speaker 1: eight hundred on twenty Two, december thirty nine planes from
1:34:57
Speaker 1: The souryu and The hiriu ascen and headed into the
1:35:01
Speaker 1: gray skies above the beleaguered. Atoll their pilots expected to
1:35:06
Speaker 1: Meet american. Fighters Second Lieutenant davidson took off From wake
1:35:11
Speaker 1: at ten, hundred cranked up his landing, gear and set
1:35:14
Speaker 1: out on the regular midday. Patrol engine trouble Prevented Captain
1:35:20
Speaker 1: fruller from getting aloft until ten. Thirty shortly before, Noon,
1:35:25
Speaker 1: davidson patrolling to the north Of, wake Radioed, fruller then
1:35:30
Speaker 1: flying to the south of the, atoll informing him of
1:35:33
Speaker 1: approaching enemy. Aircraft in spite of the, odds both men gave.
1:35:38
Speaker 1: Battle fruller engaged six carrier attack planes and dropped, one
1:35:44
Speaker 1: trailing smoke out of the formation on his first. Pass
1:35:48
Speaker 1: as the group Of nakajimas broke, up he made an
1:35:51
Speaker 1: opposite approach and fired flaming one, katte which exploded in
1:35:56
Speaker 1: an expanding ball of fire about fifty feet beneath. Him
1:36:01
Speaker 1: as his controls responded sluggishly and his badly SCORCHED f
1:36:05
Speaker 1: four f's manifold pressure, dropped he glanced back Toward wake
1:36:10
Speaker 1: and Saw davidson engaging several enemy. Planes an instant, later
1:36:15
Speaker 1: A heriu zero got On fruler's tail and opened. Fire
1:36:20
Speaker 1: bullets Penetrated fruler's, fuselage both sides of his vacuum, tank the, bulkhead,
1:36:26
Speaker 1: seat and. Parachute after his plane was, Hit fruller threw
1:36:31
Speaker 1: his FOUR f into a steep. Dive The japanese pilot
1:36:35
Speaker 1: did not follow, him nursed at, home and landed with
1:36:38
Speaker 1: the canopy stuck in the closed. Position ground crews extricated
1:36:43
Speaker 1: him and took him to the. Hospital Carl davidson unfortunately
1:36:49
Speaker 1: did not. Return the pilot who had Knocked fruller out
1:36:53
Speaker 1: of the, fight went to the rescue of his shipmates
1:36:56
Speaker 1: and shot Down. Davidson Rear Admiral abbe later paid homage
1:37:00
Speaker 1: to the two marine pilots who had challenged his carrier,
1:37:03
Speaker 1: planes lauding them as having resisted fiercely and. Bravely The
1:37:09
Speaker 1: suryu lost two planes and their three man. Crews damage
1:37:14
Speaker 1: suffered in the aerial action compelled the third to, ditch
1:37:18
Speaker 1: but one of the screening ships recovered its. Crew that,
1:37:22
Speaker 1: afternoon at thirteen, Twenty cunningham Radio pie that a combined
1:37:27
Speaker 1: land and carrier based plane attack had occurred and that
1:37:31
Speaker 1: his fighters had engaged the. Attackers he Reported davidson's loss
1:37:36
Speaker 1: on the wounding Of, fruler but noted that they had
1:37:39
Speaker 1: shot down several. Planes the atoll had suffered no further,
1:37:45
Speaker 1: Damage As Barney barninger later, recounted dive bombers, again the
1:37:52
Speaker 1: carriers must still be in the. Vicinity things are getting.
1:37:55
Speaker 1: Tense rumor continues to fly about, relief but the dive
1:38:00
Speaker 1: bombers are also. Present things go on in the same
1:38:03
Speaker 1: manner as. Before all that can be done is being,
1:38:07
Speaker 1: done but there is so little to do. It with
1:38:10
Speaker 1: heavy seas Bedeviled Frank Jack Fletcher's Task force fourteen as
1:38:15
Speaker 1: it pressed. Westward having been ordered to fuel to capacity before,
1:38:20
Speaker 1: Fighting fletcher began fueling his ships From. Nietzschez in the turbulent,
1:38:25
Speaker 1: seas rolling swells and gusty winds slowed that process considerably
1:38:31
Speaker 1: and permitted the fueling of only four of his. Destroyers
1:38:35
Speaker 1: If fletcher was expected to, fight his ships would require
1:38:39
Speaker 1: more fuel to be able to maneuver at high speed if.
1:38:42
Speaker 1: Necessary he resolved to top off the rest the following
1:38:47
Speaker 1: day twenty Three. December, meanwhile at around nineteen hundred on
1:38:52
Speaker 1: twenty One december fifteen thirty twenty Two, December, wake the
1:38:57
Speaker 1: pby that had Borne Major, baylor the last man Off
1:39:01
Speaker 1: Wake island From wake To, midway arrived At Pearl. Harbor
1:39:06
Speaker 1: the plane's commander dictated a, report which was transcribed by
1:39:10
Speaker 1: a sink pack. Stenographer shortly after the pilot's arrival Regarding
1:39:15
Speaker 1: wake's desperate. Play, pie upon reading the, report was deeply.
1:39:20
Speaker 1: Moved members Of pie's, staff many of whom had also
1:39:25
Speaker 1: faithfully served On Admiral kimmel's, staff pleaded With Pie's chief Of,
1:39:30
Speaker 1: Staff Rear Admiral MILO. F, drammel on behalf of The
1:39:34
Speaker 1: wake relief. Efforts referring to the Pby commander's, Report pie
1:39:39
Speaker 1: declared later the situation At wake seemed to warrant taking
1:39:44
Speaker 1: a greater chance to effect its, reinforcement even at the
1:39:47
Speaker 1: sacrifice of The tangier and possible damage to some major
1:39:51
Speaker 1: ships Of Task force. Fourteen The admiral therefore removed their
1:39:56
Speaker 1: restrictions On Task force fourteen's. Operations The tangier was to
1:40:01
Speaker 1: be detached with two destroyers to run Into wake to
1:40:05
Speaker 1: begin the evacuation of the civilians and to disembark the.
1:40:08
Speaker 1: Marines pie also rescinded the restrictions on the operating areas
1:40:14
Speaker 1: Of Task forces eight and, eleven allowing them to Support
1:40:18
Speaker 1: cunningham's command more. Effectively those on the staff who had
1:40:22
Speaker 1: pleaded for the relief force to continue Toward wake felt
1:40:25
Speaker 1: vindicated By pye's. Decision that, Night, meanwhile At, wake With
1:40:31
Speaker 1: Commander cunningham's prior. Approval Paul, putnam with no fliable planes,
1:40:37
Speaker 1: left reported his men To Major devereux for service as.
1:40:40
Speaker 1: Infantrymen devereux Ordered putnam to keep his squadron where it
1:40:45
Speaker 1: was and await further. Orders end of chapter, Four chapter,
1:40:57
Speaker 1: Five part one OF A Magnificent Fight marines in The
1:41:01
Speaker 1: battle For Wake island By ROBERT. J. Kressman this LibriVox
1:41:05
Speaker 1: recording is in the public. Domain this is as far
1:41:10
Speaker 1: as we. Go shortly after, Midnight First Lieutenant barninger noted
1:41:16
Speaker 1: flashing lights way off the windy side of the. Island
1:41:20
Speaker 1: alerted to the odd display on the horizon in the,
1:41:23
Speaker 1: Darkness barninger Telephoned Major, devereaux who replied that he also
1:41:28
Speaker 1: had seen. It devereaux Directed barninger to keep a watch
1:41:32
Speaker 1: out and caution The Peacock Point strongpoint commander to be
1:41:36
Speaker 1: mindful that The lee shore posed the most possibilities for.
1:41:40
Speaker 1: Danger lookouts continued to note irregular flashes of light in the, black,
1:41:46
Speaker 1: gusty rainy pre dawn of twenty Three december nineteen forty.
1:41:50
Speaker 1: One it may have been The, tenriu The, tatsuda and
1:41:53
Speaker 1: The yubari firing blindly at what their spotters thought Was Wake,
1:41:58
Speaker 1: island but which was in stead only empty. Ocean at
1:42:02
Speaker 1: zero one forty, five, however a report came into the
1:42:05
Speaker 1: detachment commander's command post telling of an enemy landing in
1:42:09
Speaker 1: progress At Tokey point at the tip Of. Peel devereaux
1:42:14
Speaker 1: alerted the. Battalion, kessler in the, meantime dispatched a patrol
1:42:20
Speaker 1: up the lagoon beach toward the Pan am, facility which
1:42:23
Speaker 1: met a patrol From BATTERY. D neither had anything to
1:42:27
Speaker 1: report On. Wilkes Captain platt Directed BATTERY l to move
1:42:32
Speaker 1: the men of the two five inch gun sections equivalent
1:42:36
Speaker 1: to two rifle, squads to the shore of the, lagoon
1:42:40
Speaker 1: west of the area of the new channel being dredged
1:42:42
Speaker 1: across the. Island the rest of the men of the,
1:42:45
Speaker 1: battery fire controlmen and headquartersmen Under, McAllister who had established
1:42:51
Speaker 1: his command post near the searchlight section of the, battery
1:42:54
Speaker 1: moved into positions they had readied along the south shore Of,
1:42:58
Speaker 1: wilkes between, McKinstry BATTERY f and the New. Channel, kessler
1:43:03
Speaker 1: Whom devereaux had requested to confirm or deny the accuracy
1:43:07
Speaker 1: of the information regarding the, landing reported that there was
1:43:11
Speaker 1: no landing in, progress but that he had seen the
1:43:14
Speaker 1: lights off. Shore cunningham at zero one forty five radioed
1:43:19
Speaker 1: The commandant Fourteenth Naval district reporting gunfire between ships to
1:43:25
Speaker 1: northeast Of. Ireland. Wake thus Alerted Second Lieutenant ARTHUR. A
1:43:30
Speaker 1: poindexter At Camp one with the Mobile, reserve Predominantly supply
1:43:36
Speaker 1: and Administration marines and fifteen sailors Under bosun's, mate First
1:43:40
Speaker 1: Class JAMES. E, barnes Believed peel to be. Threatened he
1:43:45
Speaker 1: exercised initiative and intrucked Eight marines with four thirty caliber machine,
1:43:50
Speaker 1: guns reporting his intention to the detachment. Commander, poindexter and
1:43:56
Speaker 1: that portion of his mobile reserve sped past the airfield Hoard.
1:44:00
Speaker 1: Peel it was Nearing devereux's command post when he ordered it.
1:44:04
Speaker 1: Intercepted the major Retained poindexter's little force where it was
1:44:10
Speaker 1: pending clarification of the. Situation the bad weather that prevented
1:44:14
Speaker 1: The marines from seeing their foes likewise hindered The. Japanese
1:44:19
Speaker 1: shortly before a zero two Hundred Special Naval Landing force
1:44:23
Speaker 1: troops clamored down into the medium landing craft designated to
1:44:27
Speaker 1: land On wilkes And. Wake four landing craft were launched
1:44:31
Speaker 1: some three thousand to four thousand meters off, shore but
1:44:35
Speaker 1: in the squalls and long, swells they experienced difficulty keeping
1:44:39
Speaker 1: up with patrol boat number thirty two and patrol boat
1:44:42
Speaker 1: number thirty. Three as they churned on a northeasterly course
1:44:46
Speaker 1: headed for the. Beach the landing craft designated to follow
1:44:50
Speaker 1: number thirty two lost sight of her in the, murky gusty.
1:44:53
Speaker 1: Darkness at about zero two Thirty marines On Peacock point
1:44:58
Speaker 1: detected the two patrol, boat which appeared to them only
1:45:02
Speaker 1: as dark, shapes as they made for the reef by the.
1:45:04
Speaker 1: Airstrip then the two ships ground gently ashore on the.
1:45:09
Speaker 1: Coral The japanese naval infantrymen slipped over the side into the,
1:45:14
Speaker 1: surf struggled, ashore and sprinted across the coral for. Cover On,
1:45:20
Speaker 1: wilkes gunner McKinstry called To Captain, platten informed him that
1:45:24
Speaker 1: he thought he heard the sound of engines over the
1:45:26
Speaker 1: boom of the, surf and at zero two thirty, five
1:45:29
Speaker 1: one of his fifty caliber, guns gun number, ten open
1:45:33
Speaker 1: fire in the. Darkness ten minutes, later, McKinstry having sought
1:45:38
Speaker 1: permission to use, illumination caused a searchlight to be turned.
1:45:42
Speaker 1: On although the light was shut off as suddenly as
1:45:46
Speaker 1: it had been turned, on its momentary beam revealed a
1:45:50
Speaker 1: landing boat aground On wilkes's rocky, shore and beyond, that
1:45:54
Speaker 1: two destroyers beached on. Wake McAllister Ordered Platoon Sergeant HENRY.
1:46:00
Speaker 1: A baddell to detail two men to hurl grenades into
1:46:03
Speaker 1: the enemy. Craft the veteran non commissioned, officer accompanied only
1:46:09
Speaker 1: By private First Class WILLIAM. F, buehler gamely tackled the,
1:46:13
Speaker 1: task But japanese gunfire Killed badel and Wounded bueller before
1:46:17
Speaker 1: either had been able to work their way close enough
1:46:20
Speaker 1: to lob grenades into the. Boats But kinstrey's men meanwhile
1:46:25
Speaker 1: manned the three inches of battery f but the guns
1:46:28
Speaker 1: could not be depressed enough to fire on to the.
1:46:31
Speaker 1: Beach The marines held their position until the men from
1:46:35
Speaker 1: The Takano unit of The Special Naval Landing force approached
1:46:38
Speaker 1: closely enough to begin lobbing. Grenades marines And japanese grappled
1:46:43
Speaker 1: in the darkness hand to hand before McKinstry's men after
1:46:48
Speaker 1: removing the firing locks from the guns pulled back to
1:46:51
Speaker 1: take up infantry. Positions their concentrated fires kept most of
1:46:56
Speaker 1: The japanese at bay near the three inch gun. Position
1:47:00
Speaker 1: Other Special Naval Landing force, troops, however probed westward toward
1:47:05
Speaker 1: the five inch guns that had so Humbled kagioka's. Force
1:47:08
Speaker 1: on the, eleventh they ran into heavy fire from gun number,
1:47:12
Speaker 1: nine a well camouflaged fifty Caliber browning handled skillfully by
1:47:17
Speaker 1: twenty year Old private First Class SANDFORD. K, ray and
1:47:21
Speaker 1: situated some seventy five yards west of where The takano
1:47:24
Speaker 1: unit had first swarmed. Ashore ray's fire prevented the enemy
1:47:29
Speaker 1: from advancing closer than forty or fifty yards from his sandbag,
1:47:33
Speaker 1: position and his proximity to the beach allowed him not
1:47:36
Speaker 1: only to harass the enemy but also to report enemy.
1:47:39
Speaker 1: Movements Although japanese troops had severed most wire communication, Lines
1:47:45
Speaker 1: platte remained in touch with developments at the shoreline by
1:47:49
Speaker 1: reports From. Ray reports from observers along the beach soon
1:47:53
Speaker 1: began to Delse devereux's command, post where he and his executive,
1:47:58
Speaker 1: Officer Major potter attempted to keep abreast of. Events Gunnar
1:48:03
Speaker 1: hammis relayed the information To cunningham at his command. Post
1:48:08
Speaker 1: on the basis of those, reports the island commander at
1:48:12
Speaker 1: zero two fifty radioed The commandant of the Fourteenth Naval
1:48:16
Speaker 1: District island under, gunfire enemy apparently landing at that. Point
1:48:23
Speaker 1: devereux Directed poindexter to move the mobile reserve into the
1:48:27
Speaker 1: area Between CAMP i and the west end of the.
1:48:29
Speaker 1: Airfield since the Eight marines had remained in the truck
1:48:34
Speaker 1: with the four machine, guns only fifteen minutes elapsed before
1:48:37
Speaker 1: they set up both gun sections in a position commanding
1:48:40
Speaker 1: the road that ran along the south shore and also
1:48:43
Speaker 1: covering a critical section of. Beach within, Moments poindexter's brownings
1:48:49
Speaker 1: chattered and spat into the dim shape of the grounded
1:48:52
Speaker 1: patrol Boat number thirty, two most of the bullets striking
1:48:56
Speaker 1: the after part of the. Ship Special naval landing for d,
1:49:00
Speaker 1: troops who disclosed their positions by igniting, flares soon came
1:49:03
Speaker 1: under fire At camp, one just up the. Coast men
1:49:08
Speaker 1: From BATTERY i and the sailors who had been serving
1:49:11
Speaker 1: as lookouts manned the four to thirty caliber machine guns
1:49:14
Speaker 1: set up. There From poindexter's vantage, point the enemy troops
1:49:18
Speaker 1: appeared confused and, disoriented shouting and discharging a number of,
1:49:23
Speaker 1: flares perhaps for controlling. Coordination having received a report Of
1:49:29
Speaker 1: japanese destroyers standing Toward wake south shore and well inside
1:49:34
Speaker 1: the range of the five inch batteries that had so
1:49:36
Speaker 1: vexed the, enemy on Eleven, December Second Lieutenant ROBERT. M,
1:49:40
Speaker 1: hannah who commanded the machine guns emplaced at the, airstrip
1:49:44
Speaker 1: clearly perceived the. Threat accompanied By Corporal RALPH. J holowinsky
1:49:50
Speaker 1: and three Civilians Paul, Gay Eric letola And Bob, Bryan
1:49:55
Speaker 1: hannah set off at a dead run for the three
1:49:58
Speaker 1: inch gun that had been in place based on the
1:50:00
Speaker 1: landward side of the beach, road on a slight rise
1:50:04
Speaker 1: between the beach road and the oil tie down area
1:50:07
Speaker 1: at the. Airstrip up to that, Point Major putnam's grounded,
1:50:11
Speaker 1: airmen their ground support, unit and the volunteer civilians had
1:50:16
Speaker 1: been awaiting further. Orders As hannah and his scratch three
1:50:21
Speaker 1: inch crew sprinted to the then unmanned, Gun devereaux Ordered
1:50:25
Speaker 1: putnam to support The. Lieutenant putnam Assigned Second Lieutenant kleewer
1:50:30
Speaker 1: to a post on the west end of the, airfield
1:50:32
Speaker 1: along with Staff Sergeant JOHN. F, Blandye Sergeant ROBERT. E
1:50:36
Speaker 1: Borkwin junior And Corporal CAROL. E. Trego they were to
1:50:41
Speaker 1: set off the mines on the field if the enemy
1:50:44
Speaker 1: attempted to use. It two fifty caliber guns situated just
1:50:48
Speaker 1: north of the airstrip Covered kleawer's. Position at the eastern
1:50:53
Speaker 1: end of the strip lay the guns manned By Corporal
1:50:55
Speaker 1: winford j mcinally along with Six marines and three, civilians
1:51:00
Speaker 1: and supported by a small group of. Riflemen the gunners
1:51:04
Speaker 1: enjoyed a, perfect unobstructed field of. Fire the airstrip itself
1:51:10
Speaker 1: about zero three Hundred just at a time when events
1:51:13
Speaker 1: began to develop with startling. Rapidity as The japanese pushed
1:51:18
Speaker 1: ashore On Wilkeson, Wake Major devereux lost touch With CAMP.
1:51:22
Speaker 1: I putnam's, Platoon hanna's command posts near the, airstrip And barringer's.
1:51:27
Speaker 1: BATTERY a Advancing japanese troops probably had found the communication,
1:51:33
Speaker 1: lines the exigencies of war had prevented them from being
1:51:37
Speaker 1: buried and cut. Them devereaux's last situation reports from those
1:51:42
Speaker 1: units painted a bleak. Picture If cunningham received less than
1:51:47
Speaker 1: encouraging reports from The Defense battalion. Commander he received equally
1:51:51
Speaker 1: grim news from Sink pack when at zero three nineteen wake,
1:51:55
Speaker 1: Time Pearl harbor radio to wake that The triton And
1:51:59
Speaker 1: tambour were returning To hawaiian. Waters no friendly vessels should
1:52:05
Speaker 1: be in your vicinity, today the message, stated keep me.
1:52:09
Speaker 1: Informed hannah and his men meanwhile reached the three inch
1:52:14
Speaker 1: gun and set to. Work anxious hands fumbled in the
1:52:18
Speaker 1: darkness for, ammunition While, hannah since the gun lacked, sights
1:52:23
Speaker 1: peered down the board to draw a beat on the
1:52:26
Speaker 1: beached and stationary patrol Boat number thirty three that lay
1:52:29
Speaker 1: less than five hundred yards. Away the first round tore
1:52:34
Speaker 1: into the ship's, bridge seriously wounding both the captain and the,
1:52:38
Speaker 1: navigator killing two seamen and wounding. Five hannah's gun hurled
1:52:43
Speaker 1: fourteen more rounds on. Target some of his projectiles evidently
1:52:48
Speaker 1: touched off a, magazine and the beached warship began to.
1:52:52
Speaker 1: Burn the illumination provided by the burning ship revealed her sister,
1:52:57
Speaker 1: ship Which hannah and his hard working gunners bombarded as.
1:53:01
Speaker 1: WELL a short time, later three Special Naval Landing forced
1:53:06
Speaker 1: sailors Attacked hannah's exposed. Position in the ensuing, Fight hannah
1:53:12
Speaker 1: coolly shot and killed all three enemy sailors with his
1:53:15
Speaker 1: pistol and resumed the operation of his three. Inchure Reinforcing
1:53:20
Speaker 1: hannah's cannoneers became the next order of. Business devereux felt
1:53:25
Speaker 1: compelled to Keep Peels's BATTERY b intact to deal with surface,
1:53:29
Speaker 1: threats And BATTERY, e which by that point had a
1:53:33
Speaker 1: full complement of guns and, crews along with the only
1:53:36
Speaker 1: height finder and director to deal with enemy. Planes that
1:53:41
Speaker 1: Left Godbold's BATTERY, d which by that point possessed only
1:53:45
Speaker 1: two operational guns and no fire control. Gear devereaux Directed
1:53:50
Speaker 1: godbold to send one section nine men to the battalion
1:53:54
Speaker 1: command post to Reinforce hannah's. Crew Under corporal leon Adah.
1:54:00
Speaker 1: Graves the squad clambered on board a contractor's truck and
1:54:04
Speaker 1: reached the command post about zero three point. Fifteen they
1:54:08
Speaker 1: were to proceed along the road that paralleled the shoreline
1:54:11
Speaker 1: to adjunction some six hundred yards south of the, airfield
1:54:15
Speaker 1: where they were to leave the truck and proceed through
1:54:17
Speaker 1: the brush To hanna's. Position quickly they set out into the.
1:54:22
Speaker 1: Night the flames from the wrecked patrol boat number thirty
1:54:26
Speaker 1: three Disclosed japanese troops advancing past the west end of
1:54:30
Speaker 1: the air strip into the thick undergrowth in front of
1:54:33
Speaker 1: the Mobile reserve's. Positions, poindexter after ordering one machine gun
1:54:39
Speaker 1: section to keep up a fire into the brush to
1:54:41
Speaker 1: interdict that movement and protect his own, flank heard machine
1:54:45
Speaker 1: guns From CAMP i behind. Him wanting to see for
1:54:50
Speaker 1: himself if More japanese landing craft were coming ashore to his,
1:54:53
Speaker 1: rear the, lieutenant accompanied by his, runner left the front
1:54:58
Speaker 1: in charge Of Sergeant. Qt W wad and hurried back
1:55:01
Speaker 1: to the. Camp. There unable to see at what his
1:55:05
Speaker 1: neophyte sailor gunners were expending their, Ammunition poindexter asked each
1:55:10
Speaker 1: to point out his. Target two could. Not they opened
1:55:14
Speaker 1: fire only because the other two had done, so but
1:55:17
Speaker 1: a third pointed to the dim outline of what appeared
1:55:20
Speaker 1: to be a large landing barge on the order of
1:55:23
Speaker 1: a self propelled artillery. Lighter when another craft of the
1:55:27
Speaker 1: same type seemed to materialize out of the, Murk poindexter
1:55:31
Speaker 1: ordered firing resumed at what proved to be two large
1:55:34
Speaker 1: landing craft that were attempting to ground themselves twelve hundred
1:55:38
Speaker 1: yards east of the entrance To wilke's. Channel the Enemy, coxins,
1:55:43
Speaker 1: however appeared to be having difficulty coaxing the unwieldy landing
1:55:47
Speaker 1: craft on to the, beach backing off and trying again
1:55:51
Speaker 1: and again to. Land The Special Naval Landing force men
1:55:54
Speaker 1: crouched behind the, gunnales which seemed to be deflecting the
1:55:58
Speaker 1: thirty caliber bullets pepper. Them seizing the, Moment poindexter called
1:56:03
Speaker 1: for volunteers to pick their way down the rocky beach
1:56:06
Speaker 1: to the water's, edge there to lob grenades into the.
1:56:09
Speaker 1: Boats poindexter organized two, teams Mess Sergeant Gerald carr and
1:56:15
Speaker 1: a Civilian RAYMOND. R Cap, rutledge who had served in
1:56:19
Speaker 1: The army In france And World WAR, i in One
1:56:23
Speaker 1: poindexter And bosun's, Mate First Class barnes in the. Other
1:56:27
Speaker 1: the grenadiers dashed to the water's edge while the machine
1:56:31
Speaker 1: guns momentarily held their. Fire, barnes taking cover behind coral,
1:56:36
Speaker 1: heads remained hidden until The barges ground ashore. Again then
1:56:42
Speaker 1: exposing himself to enemy, fire he hurled several grenades toward
1:56:46
Speaker 1: The japanese craft and managed to land at least one,
1:56:50
Speaker 1: inside killing or wounding many of the troops on. Board
1:56:54
Speaker 1: the valiant efforts Of poindexter and his, men, however stopped
1:56:58
Speaker 1: The japanese just, momentarily for soon they began swarming ashore
1:57:03
Speaker 1: and moving. Inland shortly before the wire communications To devereux's
1:57:07
Speaker 1: command post, Failed poindexter reported the result of his, foray
1:57:13
Speaker 1: having seen flair streaking skyward in the. Murk captain godboled On.
1:57:17
Speaker 1: Peel meanwhile sent out two, patrols one to move westward
1:57:22
Speaker 1: toward the naval air base and the other to go
1:57:25
Speaker 1: eastward along the lagoon. Shore neither patrol encountered any enemy.
1:57:30
Speaker 1: TROOPS a half hour, Later godbold established an outpost at
1:57:35
Speaker 1: the bridge Connecting peel And wake end of chapter, Five part,
1:57:40
Speaker 1: One chapter, Five part two OF A Magnificent Fight marines
1:57:51
Speaker 1: in The battle For Wake island By ROBERT. J. Cressman
1:57:55
Speaker 1: this LibriVox recording is in the public. Domain this is
1:58:00
Speaker 1: as far as we. Go, meanwhile after word of the
1:58:05
Speaker 1: enemy landing Reached Pearl, Harbor Vice Admiral pie convened a
1:58:09
Speaker 1: meeting of his staff by zero seven hundred twenty Two
1:58:13
Speaker 1: December hawaiian. Time having received further word of the developments At,
1:58:18
Speaker 1: Wake pie estimated that a relief of the island looked
1:58:21
Speaker 1: impossible given the prevailing, situation and directed The tangier should
1:58:26
Speaker 1: be diverted toward the, east with the relief mission. Abandoned
1:58:31
Speaker 1: should his forces attack the enemy forces in the vicinity Of,
1:58:34
Speaker 1: wake or Should american forces be withdrawn to the. East
1:58:39
Speaker 1: he feared that the timing of The japanese carrier strikes
1:58:42
Speaker 1: and the landing then in progress indicated that the enemy
1:58:46
Speaker 1: had estimated closely the time at which our relief expedition might,
1:58:50
Speaker 1: arrive and may if the general location of our carrier
1:58:54
Speaker 1: groups is estimated be waiting in, Force american forces could
1:58:59
Speaker 1: inflict extensive damage Upon. Japanese pie believed if the enemy
1:59:04
Speaker 1: did not know of the presence of THE us carrier task,
1:59:07
Speaker 1: forces they had not yet seen, action, though and no
1:59:11
Speaker 1: one could overestimate the danger of having ships damaged two
1:59:14
Speaker 1: thousand miles from the nearest repair. FACILITIES a damage ship
1:59:19
Speaker 1: is a loss, Ship brown had commented In Task force
1:59:22
Speaker 1: eleven's war. Diary damage to the carriers could leave The
1:59:26
Speaker 1: Hawaiian islands open to a major enemy. Thrust we Cannot pie,
1:59:32
Speaker 1: declared afford such. Losses at. Present two courses of action
1:59:37
Speaker 1: existed to Direct Task force fourteen to Attack japanese forces
1:59:42
Speaker 1: in the vicinity Of, wake With Task forces eight and
1:59:45
Speaker 1: eleven Covering Task force fourteen's, retirement or to retire all
1:59:50
Speaker 1: forces without any attempt to attack the. Enemy these choices
1:59:55
Speaker 1: weighed heavily On pie's. Mind If american forces hit The
1:59:59
Speaker 1: japanese ships At wake and suffered the loss of a
2:00:02
Speaker 1: carrier air group in the, PROCESS pi deemed the offensive
2:00:06
Speaker 1: spirit shown by The navy as perhaps worth the. Sacrifice,
2:00:11
Speaker 1: however in the midst of his, deliberations shortly after zero
2:00:16
Speaker 1: seven thirty, SIX pi received a message from THE cno
2:00:19
Speaker 1: which noted that recent developments had emphasized That wake was
2:00:24
Speaker 1: a liability and AUTHORIZED pi to Evacuate wake with appropriate
2:00:29
Speaker 1: demolition With japanese forces on the. Island THOUGH pi felt
2:00:34
Speaker 1: that capitulation was only a matter of, time the real
2:00:39
Speaker 1: question at, ISSUE pi, thought is shall we take the
2:00:43
Speaker 1: chance of the loss of a carrier group to attempt
2:00:45
Speaker 1: to attack the enemy forces in the vicinity Of. Wake
2:00:49
Speaker 1: radio intelligence from the previous day Linked KRUDIV, A kardiv
2:00:54
Speaker 1: two and Erroneously batdiv, three consisting of two battleships with
2:01:00
Speaker 1: the forces off Of. WAKE a pair Of congo class
2:01:04
Speaker 1: fast battleships supported by carriers and heavy, cruisers would easily
2:01:09
Speaker 1: have Overmatched Fletcher's Task force. Fourteen in the, Meantime japanese,
2:01:15
Speaker 1: cruisers probably The, Yubari tenriyu And, tatsuda had begun shelling,
2:01:21
Speaker 1: wake further discomfitting the. Defenders Despite lewis's battery e firing
2:01:27
Speaker 1: pre arranged three inch air burst concentrations over The japanese,
2:01:32
Speaker 1: beachhead the enemy continued to press steadily TOWARD vmf two
2:01:36
Speaker 1: eleven's position Around hannah's three inch. Gun Major, putnam already
2:01:41
Speaker 1: wounded in the, jaw with blood from his wound staining
2:01:44
Speaker 1: the backs of the snapshots of his little, daughters which
2:01:48
Speaker 1: he carried in his, pocket formed his final. Line, this he,
2:01:53
Speaker 1: said is as far as we. Go putnam had Placed
2:01:57
Speaker 1: captain L rod in command of one flank OF vmf
2:02:00
Speaker 1: two eleven's defensive, line which was situated in dense undergrowth
2:02:06
Speaker 1: in the impenetrable. Darkness the squadron executive officer and his,
2:02:10
Speaker 1: men most of whom were unarmed civilians who acted as
2:02:13
Speaker 1: weapons and ammunition carriers until weapons became, available conducted a
2:02:19
Speaker 1: spirited defense which repeated attacks by Special Naval Landing force
2:02:23
Speaker 1: troops could not. Dislodge each time he Heard japanese troops
2:02:28
Speaker 1: mounting a probe of two eleven's, position L rod interposed
2:02:32
Speaker 1: himself between the enemy and his own men and provided
2:02:35
Speaker 1: covering fire to enable his detachment to keep supplied with
2:02:39
Speaker 1: guns and. Ammunition shortly before, dawn A japanese sailor who
2:02:44
Speaker 1: had hidden himself among the heaps of casualties Surrounding hannah's
2:02:48
Speaker 1: gun shot and killed the Gallant captain L. Rod Captain,
2:02:53
Speaker 1: thron in charge of a group of marines on the
2:02:55
Speaker 1: left flank OF vmf two elevens, line delivered covering fire
2:03:00
Speaker 1: for the unarmed ammunition carriers attached to his, unit which
2:03:04
Speaker 1: repulsed several assaults on his. Position at one, Point japanese
2:03:09
Speaker 1: sailors penetrated the defenses in theren, sector but in the
2:03:14
Speaker 1: counter attack which drove the enemy from the, Position theron
2:03:18
Speaker 1: captured an enemy automatic weapon and used it successfully and
2:03:22
Speaker 1: effectively against its former, owners The Indomitable Aviation. Machinists mate
2:03:28
Speaker 1: First Class hessen armed himself with A thompson submachine gun
2:03:33
Speaker 1: and some, grenades and although wounded by rifle fire and
2:03:36
Speaker 1: grenade fragments single handedly drove back two concerted, attacks killing
2:03:42
Speaker 1: Several japanese and preventing them from overrunning two eleven's. Flank
2:03:47
Speaker 1: despite the heroic efforts Of putnam's, platoon The japanese managed
2:03:52
Speaker 1: to move into the roughly triangular, area which was bounded
2:03:56
Speaker 1: by peacock point on one, side the beach on the
2:03:59
Speaker 1: suide outside of the airstrip on the. Others Corporal graves's
2:04:04
Speaker 1: squad From BATTERY d, meanwhile detrucked somewhat north of their
2:04:09
Speaker 1: intended destination two hundred yards south of the airstrip rather
2:04:13
Speaker 1: than six, hundred began walking TOWARD vmf two eleven's position
2:04:18
Speaker 1: and quickly encountered A japanese patrol and the ensuing, firefight
2:04:23
Speaker 1: enemy machine gun and rifle fire killed One marine and
2:04:27
Speaker 1: pinned down the remainder for a time Until graves and
2:04:31
Speaker 1: his men managed to extricate themselves and retire northward toward
2:04:35
Speaker 1: the battalion command. Post graves's encounter indicated that The japanese
2:04:40
Speaker 1: had penetrated THE us defenses despite their extraordinary. Efforts Neither
2:04:46
Speaker 1: kleewer and the fifty caliber guns at the, airfield nor
2:04:50
Speaker 1: The HANNAH vmf two eleven group at the three inch
2:04:53
Speaker 1: gun near the shore had been able to stop. Them
2:04:57
Speaker 1: at the same, Time BATTERIES a AND e becas he
2:05:00
Speaker 1: began to receive, mortar small arms and machine gun, fire
2:05:03
Speaker 1: Prompting barninger to deploy his reine section armed with two
2:05:08
Speaker 1: thirty Caliber, brownings and deploy as infantrymen facing northwest across
2:05:14
Speaker 1: the high ground to the rear of the five inchers
2:05:17
Speaker 1: At Peacock. Point, lewis whose three inch fire had silenced
2:05:21
Speaker 1: an automatic weapons position in the thick undergrowth southwest Of
2:05:25
Speaker 1: BATTERY eee dispatched a patrol to try to relieve the
2:05:29
Speaker 1: pressure on his. Position that, group Under Sergeant Raymond, gragg
2:05:35
Speaker 1: progressed only fifty yards beyond the perimeter before it came
2:05:38
Speaker 1: under heavy. Fire The, japanese, however moved no further because
2:05:43
Speaker 1: of the resistance put up by grags. Squad amidst the,
2:05:48
Speaker 1: Chaos devereaux groped for information about the progress of the.
2:05:52
Speaker 1: Battle at some point he received word from one of
2:05:56
Speaker 1: the few positions which had retained wire contact with his,
2:05:59
Speaker 1: Command corporal mcinally's machine gun, section which was located at
2:06:05
Speaker 1: the eastern end of the. Airstrip mcinally reported that The
2:06:09
Speaker 1: japanese were advancing up the shore, road apparently intent upon
2:06:13
Speaker 1: launching a thrust up the other prong Of, wake with
2:06:18
Speaker 1: one unit Besetting putnam's at the. Airstrip Another japanese unit
2:06:22
Speaker 1: Skirted putnam In hannah and was headed into the triangular
2:06:26
Speaker 1: end Of Peacock. Point, mcinally establishing contact with the fifty
2:06:31
Speaker 1: caliber machine guns on the east shore Of, wake some
2:06:35
Speaker 1: four hundred yards, south carried on a, resolute well coordinated
2:06:39
Speaker 1: defense which stemied the enemy in the. Area perhaps more,
2:06:44
Speaker 1: important mcinally served As devereux's eyes and ears on that
2:06:48
Speaker 1: portion of the. Battlefield On wilke's private first class raised
2:06:53
Speaker 1: defense of his position equaled that of Mcinally's. Captain, platt
2:06:58
Speaker 1: having lost communityction with his own posts and also with
2:07:02
Speaker 1: The Defense battalion Command, post set out on a personal
2:07:06
Speaker 1: reconnaissance mission at about zero four. Thirty he crawled through
2:07:10
Speaker 1: the thick underbrush and picked his way across the rocky
2:07:13
Speaker 1: beach until at about zero five hundred he came to
2:07:17
Speaker 1: a place east of gun number, ten where he could
2:07:20
Speaker 1: See Special Naval landing forcemen masked in and About battery f's.
2:07:25
Speaker 1: Guns soon, thereafter while clamoring back to the Gun Platt
2:07:30
Speaker 1: Matt Sergeant RAYMOND. L colson and ordered him to gather
2:07:34
Speaker 1: two thirty caliber machine gun crews and their guns At Cuckoo,
2:07:37
Speaker 1: point where they had been sent during the false alarm
2:07:40
Speaker 1: earlier that, morning along with the searchlight crew and everyone
2:07:44
Speaker 1: else he could, find and to return To Gun number. Ten,
2:07:49
Speaker 1: devereaux still isolated from his units and literally in the
2:07:52
Speaker 1: dark about the actions On wilkes and those in the
2:07:55
Speaker 1: vicinity Of CAMP, i attempted as best he could to
2:07:59
Speaker 1: keep the Island mander. Informed cunningham consequently also had scant
2:08:05
Speaker 1: comprehension of the way that fighting was progressing in those.
2:08:08
Speaker 1: Areas at zero five, hundred about the Time Captain platt
2:08:13
Speaker 1: was reconnoitering The japanese position On, Wilkes cunningham Radioed commandant
2:08:18
Speaker 1: Fourteenth Naval, District enemy On island issue in. Doubt, poindexter,
2:08:25
Speaker 1: meanwhile satisfied That camp one was being defended as well as,
2:08:29
Speaker 1: possible proceeded to the mobile reserve gun positions on the
2:08:33
Speaker 1: west side of the. Airfield japanese machine gun and mortar,
2:08:37
Speaker 1: fire accompanied by much shouting and numerous pyrotechnic, flares began
2:08:43
Speaker 1: to fall around those, positions partially disabling ONE us gun.
2:08:48
Speaker 1: Section as the sky over wake began to lighten with,
2:08:53
Speaker 1: Dawn poindexter became concerned about the enemy fire that had
2:08:57
Speaker 1: begun to land near his, men and also that the
2:09:00
Speaker 1: enemy troops infiltrating the woods might outflank the mobile. Reserve
2:09:05
Speaker 1: he ordered a retirement Toward CAMP. I the sections alternated
2:09:10
Speaker 1: in covering each other throughout the, movement maintaining a steady
2:09:14
Speaker 1: volume of. Fire Reaching camp one after, Daylight poindexter established
2:09:19
Speaker 1: a north south line astride the shore road east of
2:09:23
Speaker 1: a prominent water. Tank While poindexter deliberated the situation facing his,
2:09:29
Speaker 1: Force japanese movement along the east shore road increasingly Pressed
2:09:34
Speaker 1: corporal mcinally's. Group mcinally communicated his difficult situation To devereux's command.
2:09:41
Speaker 1: Post japanese hand grenades and small arms fire made life
2:09:45
Speaker 1: difficult for mcinally's, band which nevertheless held its ground and
2:09:50
Speaker 1: broke up several. Assaults around zero five, Thirty devereaux Told
2:09:55
Speaker 1: Major potter to form a final defensive line astride the
2:09:59
Speaker 1: north south, road which was being threatened from the south
2:10:02
Speaker 1: by the Advancing, japanese Calling godbold's battery d into the.
2:10:07
Speaker 1: Action soon, Thereafter devereux committed his last reserve troops into
2:10:12
Speaker 1: the action on the east side Of. Wake aware Of
2:10:16
Speaker 1: corporal mcinally's, Predicament devereaux ordered the corporal's combat group to
2:10:21
Speaker 1: withdraw northward toward the command post to Join Major potter's
2:10:25
Speaker 1: detachment On. Wilkes at about that, Time Sergeant coulson Rejoined
2:10:31
Speaker 1: Captain platt with the two machine gun cruising guns and eight.
2:10:35
Speaker 1: Riflemen the surf that had masked the sound made by
2:10:38
Speaker 1: the invaders now worked to the advantage of the hard pressed.
2:10:42
Speaker 1: Defenders along with the sputter and crackle of gunfire along
2:10:47
Speaker 1: the south shore Of wake and On, wilkes it prevented
2:10:50
Speaker 1: The japanese from Discovering platt's briefing of his marines for
2:10:54
Speaker 1: the assault on the abandoned battery f position and the waning,
2:10:59
Speaker 1: Darkness flad and his men crept toward the, enemy reaching
2:11:02
Speaker 1: a point less than fifty yards away from the abandoned
2:11:05
Speaker 1: three Inches On plat's, signal the two machine guns chattered
2:11:10
Speaker 1: and spat toward the enemy. Position his skirmishers charged forward
2:11:15
Speaker 1: and soon began engaging The, japanese, who with no security
2:11:20
Speaker 1: on the, west were taken completely by, surprise and whose
2:11:23
Speaker 1: only light machine guns had been emplaced facing eastward toward
2:11:27
Speaker 1: the Old, channel almost simultaneously with platts, assault but not
2:11:33
Speaker 1: at all coordinated with. It, McAllister who lost contact with
2:11:37
Speaker 1: The wilks strong point commander soon after the enemy, landing
2:11:40
Speaker 1: and his men encountered and engaged a small enemy patrol
2:11:44
Speaker 1: on the beach ahead of, them killing one man before
2:11:47
Speaker 1: the rest took cover behind some coral. Boulders while flanking
2:11:52
Speaker 1: fire pinned down the enemy. Gunner McKinstry started forward to
2:11:55
Speaker 1: clean out that pocket of resistance stopped, him but as
2:12:01
Speaker 1: he was telling the gunner to detail one of his
2:12:03
Speaker 1: men to do it, Instead Corporal WILLIAM. C halstead climbed
2:12:07
Speaker 1: atop the rocks and slew the remainder of the. Enemy
2:12:11
Speaker 1: platts and mccalister's assaults cleaned out The japanese in the
2:12:15
Speaker 1: three inch gun. Position platt and McAlister reorganized their units
2:12:20
Speaker 1: and searched for any enemy troops who might have. Escaped
2:12:24
Speaker 1: they encountered no further resistance and took two prisoners who
2:12:28
Speaker 1: had been wounded and had feigned. Death The marines counted
2:12:32
Speaker 1: at least ninety four Dead Japanese american losses included nine
2:12:37
Speaker 1: marines and two civilians, killed four marines and one civilian. Wounded,
2:12:43
Speaker 1: meanwhile shortly before dawn On, Wake japanese troops Surrounded kleawer's.
2:12:48
Speaker 1: Position the Four, marines, however armed with only Two thompson's
2:12:54
Speaker 1: three forty five caliber pistols and two boxes of hand,
2:12:58
Speaker 1: grenades repelled multi bayonet charges in the. Darkness dawn revealed
2:13:04
Speaker 1: a full scale enemy attempt to carry the, post But
2:13:07
Speaker 1: klewer and his three, shipmates backed up by the two
2:13:10
Speaker 1: fifty caliber machine guns one hundred fifty yards behind, them
2:13:14
Speaker 1: killed many of the Attacking japanese and continued to hold
2:13:17
Speaker 1: their ground On. Peel with the departure Of Captain godbold
2:13:23
Speaker 1: and The marines Of BATTERY d for the island's command
2:13:26
Speaker 1: post On, wake First Lieutenant kessler became strong point. Commander at,
2:13:31
Speaker 1: dawn he scanned the other. Islets On, wilkes he Discerned
2:13:37
Speaker 1: japanese flags whipping in the, breeze one particularly large one
2:13:42
Speaker 1: flying Where battery f had, been flags Which platt's men
2:13:45
Speaker 1: would remove shortly. Thereafter kessler reported his observations To, devereux
2:13:52
Speaker 1: who had not heard a word From platte since around
2:13:54
Speaker 1: zero three. Hundred the report Prompted devereux to fear That
2:13:59
Speaker 1: wilkes had. Fallen as he Scanned. Wake at about zero six, hundred,
2:14:04
Speaker 1: However kessler observed the masts of what proved to be
2:14:07
Speaker 1: patrol Boat number thirty, two which was aground on the
2:14:11
Speaker 1: south shore Of. Wake kessler requested permission to fire at the.
2:14:16
Speaker 1: Ship his request was, approved but he was admonished to
2:14:20
Speaker 1: avoid firing into friendly. Troops kessler ordered his five inchres
2:14:26
Speaker 1: to open. Fire the first salvo clipped off the main.
2:14:30
Speaker 1: Mast then BATTERY bees gunners lowered their sights to hit
2:14:34
Speaker 1: the ship. Itself they could see only the funnel tops
2:14:39
Speaker 1: over the intervening. Island twenty five minutes, later at zero
2:14:43
Speaker 1: six twenty, five the command post Ordered BATTERY b to cease,
2:14:47
Speaker 1: fire their target having been. Demolished twenty minutes, Later kessler
2:14:54
Speaker 1: observed four battleships or super heavy, cruisers probably the heavy Cruisers, Aoba, Kinugasa,
2:15:02
Speaker 1: furutaka And, keiko off Heel, point moving westward but remaining
2:15:07
Speaker 1: well out of. Range those ships lay ten kilometers off
2:15:12
Speaker 1: shore and shelled the, atoll but achieved little. Success Additional
2:15:17
Speaker 1: japanese forces were headed For wake at zero six twelve
2:15:22
Speaker 1: off to the, Northwest soyu turned into the wind and
2:15:26
Speaker 1: launched twelve. Planes the day's air operations had begun in
2:15:31
Speaker 1: less than an. Hour the planes were over the. Island
2:15:35
Speaker 1: throughout the, Battle Major devereux had as well as he,
2:15:39
Speaker 1: could kept the island commander informed of the progress of the.
2:15:42
Speaker 1: Assault while The, marines assisted by the sailors and, civilians
2:15:48
Speaker 1: had been attempting to stem the. Tide most of the
2:15:51
Speaker 1: news which trickled Into cunningham's command posts boded. Ill at
2:15:56
Speaker 1: zero six fifty, two he sent out a message reflecting
2:15:59
Speaker 1: the situation as he knew. It enemy on, island several
2:16:04
Speaker 1: ships plus transport moving in two d d a ground
2:16:09
Speaker 1: that was at ten thirty two twenty Two december nineteen
2:16:12
Speaker 1: forty one On Pearl. Harbor it was to be the
2:16:16
Speaker 1: last message from The Wake island defenders At Pearl. Harbor
2:16:21
Speaker 1: at about the time That cunningham was sending that last,
2:16:24
Speaker 1: Message Vice Admiral pie had reached making a. Decision he
2:16:29
Speaker 1: concluded that If Task force fourteen encountered anything but a
2:16:33
Speaker 1: Weaker japanese, force the battle would be fought On japanese.
2:16:37
Speaker 1: Terms while within range of shore based, planes and With
2:16:40
Speaker 1: american forces having only enough fuel for two days of
2:16:43
Speaker 1: high speed. Steaming Like, brown pie believed that a damaged
2:16:48
Speaker 1: ship was a lost, Ship especially two thousand miles From Pearl.
2:16:52
Speaker 1: Harbor the, risk he believed was too. Great he ordered
2:16:58
Speaker 1: the recall of task forces for four fourteen and, eleven
2:17:01
Speaker 1: and Directed Task force eight to cover the. Retirement Frank
2:17:06
Speaker 1: Jack Fletcher's Task force, fourteen, meanwhile was right on schedule
2:17:11
Speaker 1: and was in fact further west than pie. Knew his
2:17:15
Speaker 1: ships fully fueled and ready for, Battle fletcher planned to
2:17:18
Speaker 1: detach The tangier and two destroyers for the final run Into,
2:17:22
Speaker 1: wake while the pilots on board The saratoga prepared themselves
2:17:26
Speaker 1: for the fight. Ahead, fletcher not one to shirk a,
2:17:30
Speaker 1: fight received the news of the recall. Angrily he ripped
2:17:35
Speaker 1: his hat from his head and disgustedly hurled it to
2:17:38
Speaker 1: the deck. Rear Admiral AUBREY. W, Fitch fletcher's air, commander
2:17:44
Speaker 1: similarly felt the fist tightening frustration of the. Recall he
2:17:49
Speaker 1: retired from The saratoga's flag bridge as the talk there
2:17:52
Speaker 1: reached mutinous. Proportions as word of the recall circulated Throughout
2:17:58
Speaker 1: Task force. Fourteen reactions were pretty much the. Same pie's
2:18:03
Speaker 1: recall order left no latitude for discussion or. Disobedience those
2:18:08
Speaker 1: who argued later That fletcher should have used The nelsonian
2:18:12
Speaker 1: blind eye obviously failed to recognize that in the sea Off,
2:18:17
Speaker 1: copenhagen The british admiral could see his. Opponents fletcher And,
2:18:22
Speaker 1: fitch then four hundred and thirty miles east Of, wake
2:18:26
Speaker 1: could not See. Theirs they had no idea what enemy
2:18:30
Speaker 1: forces they might. Encounter The japanese had beaten them To.
2:18:34
Speaker 1: Wake end of chapter, Five part, Two chapter six OF
2:18:46
Speaker 1: A Magnificent Fight marines in The battle For Wake island
2:18:50
Speaker 1: By ROBERT. J. Kressman this LibriVox recording is in the public,
2:18:55
Speaker 1: DOMAIN a difficult thing to. Do even as deliberations proceeded
2:19:03
Speaker 1: to determine the fate of the relief, efforts the men On,
2:19:06
Speaker 1: wake ignorant of what was transpiring At Pearl harbor and
2:19:10
Speaker 1: on the bridges Of Task force fourteen ships fought on
2:19:15
Speaker 1: shortly before zero seven hundred On wake ten forty twenty Two.
2:19:19
Speaker 1: December At Pearl, harbor the two trucks Bearing battery d's
2:19:23
Speaker 1: former anti aircraft gunners Under Second Lieutenant greeley And Captain
2:19:28
Speaker 1: godbold respectively Reached devereaux's command. Post Major potter deployed the
2:19:35
Speaker 1: new arrivals in an attempt to form a thin defensive
2:19:38
Speaker 1: line running across the. Island the attempt was doomed because
2:19:43
Speaker 1: of the. Terrain they were being forced to defend an
2:19:46
Speaker 1: area which had been partially cleared of brush as part
2:19:49
Speaker 1: of the airfield. Construction it presented the marines with four
2:19:54
Speaker 1: hundred fifty yards of ground without cover or. Concealment marine
2:19:59
Speaker 1: gunner Bor the established a defensive line near the battalion
2:20:02
Speaker 1: command posts with two thirty caliber guns crewed By Command
2:20:06
Speaker 1: post marines and a few marines From BATTERY. D at
2:20:10
Speaker 1: about the Time greeley And godbold Reached devereux's command posts
2:20:14
Speaker 1: With battery d's, Marines Second Lieutenant kessler At BATTERY b
2:20:20
Speaker 1: shifted his attention to a column of three destroyers Off cuckoo. Point.
2:20:25
Speaker 1: FOUR Us salvos appeared to inflict heavy damage on the lead,
2:20:29
Speaker 1: ship so he shifted his attention to the second ship in.
2:20:32
Speaker 1: Column after about fifteen, minutes dive bombers directed bombs and
2:20:38
Speaker 1: strafing toward the. Position the batteries, firing having called attention
2:20:43
Speaker 1: to its. Existence, fortunately their accuracy was, poor And kessler's
2:20:49
Speaker 1: men escaped without. Casualty by that, time the situation seemed
2:20:54
Speaker 1: to be. Grim enemy planes were attacking every visible. Target
2:21:00
Speaker 1: Major potter's final defense line was receiving increasingly heavy enemy
2:21:04
Speaker 1: rifle and machine gun. Fire japanese troops near the airstrip
2:21:09
Speaker 1: continued probing and BESETTING vmf two eleven's encircled. Remnant wilkes
2:21:15
Speaker 1: had apparently fallen to the. Enemy Major devereux saw little
2:21:20
Speaker 1: left to be. Done still having no communication with the
2:21:24
Speaker 1: stubborn defenders Of wilkes and Of CAMP, I devereux had
2:21:28
Speaker 1: no way of knowing which of his units were still.
2:21:31
Speaker 1: Fighting about an hour after daylight zero six, Thirty Commander
2:21:36
Speaker 1: keene picked up the telephone in the contractor's headquarters and
2:21:40
Speaker 1: Found Commander cunningham And Major devereux engaged in conversation on the.
2:21:45
Speaker 1: Line the latter reported being hard pressed at his command.
2:21:50
Speaker 1: Post he did not, believe he, said that the battalion
2:21:54
Speaker 1: could hold out much. Longer cunningham Told devereux that if
2:21:58
Speaker 1: he did not feel he was able to continue, fighting
2:22:01
Speaker 1: he should. SURRENDER a discussion between the two, men then,
2:22:06
Speaker 1: ensued you Know wilkes has, Fallen devereux, Stated cunningham answered
2:22:11
Speaker 1: that he. Did devereux then stated that he did not
2:22:15
Speaker 1: feel he should make the decision to, surrender That, cunningham
2:22:19
Speaker 1: the commander of the, island should. Decide pausing for a,
2:22:24
Speaker 1: Moment cunningham then Told devereux that he authorized surrender and
2:22:28
Speaker 1: to take the necessary steps to carry it. Out uncertain
2:22:32
Speaker 1: of his ability to contact The japanese, Commander devereux Asked
2:22:37
Speaker 1: cunningham to attempt to make contact with the enemy as.
2:22:40
Speaker 1: Well cunningham, Responded i'll see WHAT i can. Do, surrendering,
2:22:46
Speaker 1: however would take time and the word did not reach
2:22:49
Speaker 1: everyone right. Away On. Wilkes having reorganized his, Men platt
2:22:55
Speaker 1: attempted at about zero eight hunter to phone the battalion
2:22:58
Speaker 1: command post on Wid he managed to reach someone at
2:23:02
Speaker 1: The camp one motor, pool but got no further because
2:23:06
Speaker 1: the motor pool was not in communication with the command.
2:23:09
Speaker 1: Post at about zero eight, Hundred devereaux notified the units
2:23:14
Speaker 1: he could still reach of the surrender. Decision On Peel
2:23:18
Speaker 1: kessler received orders to cease firing the five inch guns
2:23:23
Speaker 1: At BATTERY E lewis's men removed and smashed the firing.
2:23:28
Speaker 1: Locks when stuffing blankets into the muzzles and firing around
2:23:33
Speaker 1: did not do sufficient damage to the, guns the men
2:23:36
Speaker 1: rolled grenades down the. Barrels other marines smashed equipment and
2:23:41
Speaker 1: chopped up electrical. Cables lewis himself destroyed the optics and
2:23:46
Speaker 1: electro mechanical parts of the height finder and director by
2:23:50
Speaker 1: firing twenty rounds into them from his forty. Five satisfied
2:23:55
Speaker 1: with that work of, destruction he marched his men as
2:23:58
Speaker 1: a unit To devereu's c man post At Peacock. Point
2:24:03
Speaker 1: First Lieutenant barninger ordered that the five inch firing locks
2:24:07
Speaker 1: be broken and, buried the telescope, smashed and the rangefinder. Destroyed,
2:24:13
Speaker 1: then running up a white, flag he ordered all, hands
2:24:16
Speaker 1: including the civilians who had stood faithfully with the, battery
2:24:20
Speaker 1: to eat as much as they. Could no one knew
2:24:23
Speaker 1: how much the enemy would allow their captives to. Eat
2:24:27
Speaker 1: as surrender preparations proceeded a pace on one side Of
2:24:31
Speaker 1: wake and in the positions That devereux had been able
2:24:34
Speaker 1: to reach by. Telephone poindexter's men meanwhile established themselves along
2:24:40
Speaker 1: a line at the edge of the clearing east Of CAMP.
2:24:42
Speaker 1: I they placed ten thirty caliber machine guns to cover
2:24:47
Speaker 1: their entire front with interlocking fields of. Fire occasional low
2:24:52
Speaker 1: flying planes strafed their. Position japanese gunfire from their, front
2:24:58
Speaker 1: though proved, Ineffective poindexter sent back word To camp one
2:25:03
Speaker 1: for all special duty personnel to join the reserve as.
2:25:07
Speaker 1: Riflemen when by zero nine hundred the enemy at the
2:25:11
Speaker 1: front having shown no inclination to attack his, Position poindexter
2:25:16
Speaker 1: ordered a counter attack toward the air, strip dividing his
2:25:20
Speaker 1: men into three ten man squads with a non commissioned
2:25:23
Speaker 1: officer in charge of. Each the commander of The Mobile
2:25:26
Speaker 1: reserve decided to launch his attack along a front which
2:25:30
Speaker 1: extended from the beach into the brush on the north
2:25:32
Speaker 1: side of the. Road poindexter's counterattack regained the terrain Between
2:25:37
Speaker 1: camp one and the road junction west of the air. Strip, Meanwhile,
2:25:42
Speaker 1: devereaux accompanied By Sergeant Donald, malik who held the loft
2:25:47
Speaker 1: a white rag attached to a swab, handle set out
2:25:50
Speaker 1: down the north south road along the eastern shore Of
2:25:53
Speaker 1: wake to contact The. Japanese as he passed marines still in,
2:25:58
Speaker 1: action he ordered them to cease firing a special naval
2:26:03
Speaker 1: landing For sailor soon emerged from the brush along the
2:26:06
Speaker 1: road and Halted devereux's, progress covering the major And Sergeant
2:26:11
Speaker 1: malik as they took off their helmets and laid down their.
2:26:14
Speaker 1: Weapons unable to speak Any, english The japanese motioned them
2:26:19
Speaker 1: toward the hospital, bunker Where devereux found an enemy officer
2:26:23
Speaker 1: who spoke Some. English the enemy had already captured the,
2:26:27
Speaker 1: hospital killing one patient and wounding another when they fired
2:26:30
Speaker 1: into the. Entrance soon, Thereafter Commander, cunningham who had changed
2:26:36
Speaker 1: into his blue uniform for the, occasion arrived to arrange
2:26:40
Speaker 1: the details of the. Surrender devereux And, malik accompanied by
2:26:45
Speaker 1: A japanese, officer then began the sad journey toward Those
2:26:49
Speaker 1: marines who still stubbornly held out ahead of. Them, meanwhile
2:26:54
Speaker 1: the resistance put up By hannah and the remnant OF
2:26:57
Speaker 1: vmf two eleven had prompted The japanese call for more
2:27:00
Speaker 1: close air. Support one plane overflew the embattled three inch
2:27:05
Speaker 1: gun and carried out low level attacks that allowed the
2:27:08
Speaker 1: observer to fire on the position with his flexible mount
2:27:12
Speaker 1: seven point seven millimeter. Gun the strafing killed two Civilians
2:27:17
Speaker 1: Paul gay And Eric, bryan and Wounded Major, putnam Second
2:27:22
Speaker 1: Lieutenant hannah In Corporal. Holowinski having finally reached the airfield
2:27:27
Speaker 1: at around zero nine, Thirty devereux found that The japanese
2:27:31
Speaker 1: had taken cover behind the revetments and had pinned Down
2:27:34
Speaker 1: hannah's men in what remained OF vmf two eleven's. Force
2:27:39
Speaker 1: The major Ordered Captain, thren the only officer who had
2:27:42
Speaker 1: not been seriously, wounded to cease fire of the ten
2:27:47
Speaker 1: men in that, position all including The gallant aviation, Machinists
2:27:52
Speaker 1: mate First Class hessen had been wounded in the last ditch.
2:27:55
Speaker 1: Fighting even as elements On wakes still held Outce Admiral
2:28:00
Speaker 1: pi was informing THE cno That wake could not be.
2:28:03
Speaker 1: Evacuated japanese forces had, landed supported by cruisers and, destroyers
2:28:10
Speaker 1: and probably by a covering force. Nearby The gallant Defensive,
2:28:16
Speaker 1: Wake pie, stated has been of utmost, value but Hereafter
2:28:20
Speaker 1: wake is a. Liability in view of the extensive operations
2:28:26
Speaker 1: then under. Way the situation had FORCED pi to conclude
2:28:30
Speaker 1: that risking one carrier task force to attack enemy forces
2:28:33
Speaker 1: in the vicinity Of wake was not. JUSTIFIABLE pi had
2:28:39
Speaker 1: ordered the two westernmost Task forces fourteen and eleven to
2:28:44
Speaker 1: retire Toward Pearl. Harbor the third Task force eight he
2:28:49
Speaker 1: sent on an unrelated mission on. Wake Second Lieutenant klee
2:28:54
Speaker 1: were seeing The japanese flags all along the, beach decided
2:28:58
Speaker 1: to set off the, mine blowing up the, airfield and
2:29:02
Speaker 1: then to fall back in the confusion generated by the. Explosions,
2:29:07
Speaker 1: unfortunately the rain had drowned the generator, motor which disabled
2:29:11
Speaker 1: the electric. Detonator at ten point, Fifteen klewer saw men
2:29:16
Speaker 1: carrying a white flag coming down the. Beach Major devereux
2:29:21
Speaker 1: was among, them with a group of what appeared to
2:29:23
Speaker 1: Be japanese. Officers they stopped about fifty feet From kleawer's
2:29:28
Speaker 1: trench and ordered him to. Surrender kleewer's men counseled against giving.
2:29:34
Speaker 1: Up don't, Surrender. Lieutenant The marines never. Surrender it's a.
2:29:39
Speaker 1: Hoax it was a difficult thing to, Do kleewer wrote,
2:29:43
Speaker 1: later but we tore down our guns and turned ourselves.
2:29:46
Speaker 1: Over about one hour, Later devereux's melancholy procession arrived at
2:29:52
Speaker 1: the lines facing the mobile, reserve which still fought. STOUTLY
2:29:57
Speaker 1: a rifleman shouted back To poindexter that a large group
2:30:01
Speaker 1: Of japs are coming down the, road tortoise with a white.
2:30:04
Speaker 1: Flag as they trudged, Closer poindexter could see No americans
2:30:10
Speaker 1: in the, group and after ordering his men to hold their,
2:30:13
Speaker 1: fire he stepped out into the, road springfield at the,
2:30:17
Speaker 1: ready cautioning his men not to fire unless the enemy
2:30:21
Speaker 1: fired at. Him he walked toward the. Group soon he
2:30:25
Speaker 1: Discerned Major devereux amidst, them shouting to, him telling him
2:30:30
Speaker 1: That wake had been. Surrendered dropping his rifle and grenades
2:30:34
Speaker 1: in the, Road poindexter Joined, devereux who then told him
2:30:38
Speaker 1: to return to his unit and order his men to
2:30:41
Speaker 1: drop their weapons and stand. Up at That japanese troops
2:30:46
Speaker 1: bayonets fixed began to rush the positions they had been,
2:30:50
Speaker 1: engaging but were stopped by A japanese officer who interposed
2:30:54
Speaker 1: himself between the two. Sides As poindexter and his men
2:30:59
Speaker 1: trudged towards the ens, airstrip he saw large numbers of
2:31:02
Speaker 1: enemy troops emerging from the brush and falling in along the,
2:31:06
Speaker 1: road confirming his suspicions that the enemy had established itself
2:31:10
Speaker 1: in force in the. Region devereux then progressed To Camp,
2:31:15
Speaker 1: on which was still held by the machine gun sections
2:31:18
Speaker 1: Of poindexter's. Group, there A japanese sailor climbed to the
2:31:23
Speaker 1: top of the water tower observation post and cut down
2:31:27
Speaker 1: the stars and stripes that had been flying throughout the
2:31:30
Speaker 1: battle elsewhere At Camp. Won in what could be regarded
2:31:34
Speaker 1: as one of the last measures of defiance to the
2:31:37
Speaker 1: now victorious, Foe Gunnery Sergeant John, samaris The wake detachment's
2:31:42
Speaker 1: machine gun maintenance, sergeant unaware of the, surrender fired briefly
2:31:47
Speaker 1: at a low flying. Floatplane samaris was not alone in his.
2:31:52
Speaker 1: Defiance marines On, wilkes ignorant that their shipmates On wake
2:31:57
Speaker 1: And peel had laid down their, arms still sought to
2:32:01
Speaker 1: carry on the fight as best they. Could platte sighting
2:32:05
Speaker 1: ships to the southwest Of, wilkes Ordered BATTERY l to engage.
2:32:09
Speaker 1: Them McCallister and his men hurried back to the five,
2:32:13
Speaker 1: inchers only to find the ships out of range and
2:32:17
Speaker 1: during bombing and strafing attacks From japanese. Planes around, noon
2:32:22
Speaker 1: The marines At BATTERY l spot at small boats standing
2:32:25
Speaker 1: toward the channel Between wilkes And, wake and observed several
2:32:29
Speaker 1: transports and warships lying about four thousand yards Out manning
2:32:34
Speaker 1: the five, inchers The marines discovered one would not move
2:32:38
Speaker 1: and that one of the dive bombing attacks had damaged
2:32:41
Speaker 1: the recoil cylinders of the. Other platt then ordered mccallister's
2:32:46
Speaker 1: marines to take up a position along the Old channel
2:32:49
Speaker 1: and fire on the small, boats and exploding bomb killed
2:32:53
Speaker 1: twenty year Old private First Class ROBERT. L stevens while
2:32:56
Speaker 1: the men were en route to their new. Positions he
2:33:00
Speaker 1: was the last combat casualty suffered by The marines On Wake.
2:33:04
Speaker 1: Island at about thirteen, Hundred devereaux Reached. Wilkes soon, thereafter
2:33:11
Speaker 1: A japanese destroyer closed with the island and opened, fire
2:33:15
Speaker 1: apparently intent on bombarding, them but an exchange of signals
2:33:19
Speaker 1: quickly caused the ship to cease. Firing almost a half hour,
2:33:23
Speaker 1: later at a point about between The old And new,
2:33:26
Speaker 1: Channels devereaux spotted a few, grubby dirty Men, platts who
2:33:32
Speaker 1: came out of the brush with their rifles. Ready they
2:33:36
Speaker 1: laid down their arms and surrendered. Too the men Of
2:33:39
Speaker 1: wake had fought, well impressing the victors with their tenacious,
2:33:43
Speaker 1: bravery which later proved to be inspiring not only to
2:33:47
Speaker 1: The Marine, corps but also to the nation as a.
2:33:50
Speaker 1: Whole of the four hundred forty Nine Marines First Defense
2:33:55
Speaker 1: battalion IN vmf two eleven detachments who Manned wake's, defenses
2:34:00
Speaker 1: forty nine were, killed thirty two were, wounded and the
2:34:03
Speaker 1: remainder became prisoners of. War of the sixty Eight navy
2:34:08
Speaker 1: officers and, men three were, killed five, wounded and the
2:34:12
Speaker 1: rest taken. Prisoner the small five Man Army Communications detachment
2:34:18
Speaker 1: suffered no, fatalities they were all taken. Prisoner of the
2:34:23
Speaker 1: one one hundred forty six civilians involved in construction programs
2:34:28
Speaker 1: On Wake, island seventy were killed and twelve were. Wounded
2:34:33
Speaker 1: five Of wake's defenders were executed by The japanese on
2:34:36
Speaker 1: Board Nita, meru with the exception of nearly one hundred
2:34:40
Speaker 1: contractors who remained On Wake. Island all of the rest
2:34:44
Speaker 1: of the civilians Joined Wakes, marines sailors and, soldiers and
2:34:48
Speaker 1: prisoner of war pow. Camps The japanese transported the wounded
2:34:54
Speaker 1: military men and civilians from the island as their wounds
2:34:58
Speaker 1: healed and they were deemed well enough to, Travel they
2:35:01
Speaker 1: too were placed in pow. Camps until their liberation in
2:35:05
Speaker 1: nineteen forty. Five The japanese lost two ships in seven.
2:35:10
Speaker 1: PLANES a score more were. Damaged the casualty, statistics though irrevocably,
2:35:17
Speaker 1: incomplete show that at least three hundred eighty One japanese
2:35:21
Speaker 1: died and many more were. Wounded wake was not recaptured
2:35:26
Speaker 1: By american forces during the. War air raids On wake
2:35:31
Speaker 1: occurred throughout the, war the first occurring In february nineteen forty.
2:35:35
Speaker 1: Two raids In october nineteen forty, three, however had grave
2:35:41
Speaker 1: repercussions for the contractors who had been left. Behind Rear
2:35:45
Speaker 1: Admiral Shikamatsu Saki, bera the atoll, commander who feared that
2:35:50
Speaker 1: the raids portended a major, landing had them all. Executed
2:35:55
Speaker 1: he was unwilling to have his garrison threatened by such
2:35:58
Speaker 1: a large fifth. Column for that, offense he was hanged
2:36:03
Speaker 1: as a war. Criminal THE us Recovered Wake island after
2:36:07
Speaker 1: The japanese surrender in nineteen forty. Five wake's defense in
2:36:13
Speaker 1: nineteen forty one had been one of the few bright
2:36:15
Speaker 1: spots during the first months of war in The. Pacific
2:36:19
Speaker 1: it Provided americans a stirring example of. Heroism end of chapter,
2:36:26
Speaker 1: six end of a magnificent Fight marines in The battle
2:36:32
Speaker 1: For Wake island By ROBERT. J, cressman read By Aaron,
2:36:37
Speaker 1: bennett