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Now under U.S. Army control, the island, which is located 690 miles (1,110 kilometers) north of Kwajalein Atoll, became a rocket launch site for the Kwajalein Missile Range known as the Wake Island Launch Center.
The Battle of Wake Island was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on Wake Island.The assault began simultaneously with the attack on Pearl Harbor naval and air bases in Hawaii on the morning of 8 December 1941 (7 December in Hawaii), and ended on 23 December, with the surrender of American forces to the Empire of Japan.
Winfield Scott Cunningham (February 16, 1900 – March 3, 1986) was the Officer in Charge, Naval Activities, Wake Island when the tiny island was attacked by the Japanese on December 8, 1941. Cunningham commanded the defense of the island against the massive Japanese attack. After 15 days, he surrendered the island to the Japanese.
Wake Island Airfield (IATA: AWK, ICAO: PWAK, FAA LID: AWK) is a military air base located on Wake Island, which is known for the Battle of Wake Island during World War II. It is owned by the U.S. Air Force and operated by the 611th Air Support Group .
The United States and the Marshall Islands governments both claim Wake Island, which puts the United States armed forces in the ambiguous position of defending US territory while acting as guarantor (under the Compact of Free Association) of the territorial integrity of a state with which it is involved in a territorial dispute.
On December 4, 1941, Captain Elrod flew to Wake Island with twelve aircraft, twelve pilots, and the ground crew of Major Paul A. Putnam's fighter squadron, VMF-211. Hostilities in the air over Wake Island commenced on December 8, 1941. On December 12, he single-handedly attacked a flight of 22 enemy planes and shot down two.
James Patrick Sinnott Devereux (February 20, 1903 – August 5, 1988) was a United States Marine Corps general, Navy Cross recipient, and Republican congressman. He was the officer-in-charge (OIC) of the 1st Defense Battalion Detachment during the defense of Wake Island in December 1941.
Howland and Baker were bombed, and two of the four colonists on Howland died. Although Wake Island was also bombed on December 8, Wake is west of the International Date Line, and the attack on Wake occurred only a few hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The last of the colonists on Jarvis, Howland, Baker, and Enderbury islands were removed ...