The Daily Alaska empire. [volume] (Juneau, Alaska) 1926-1964, 1942-02-07
Bravery-and Brains-at Wake

philadelphia Record
President Roosevelt has cited the defenders of
Wake Island for their courageous conduct" which
will not be forgotten SO long as gallantry and hero
ism respected and honored'
Certainly, this is no reinstatement. The de-
Tense of Wake extraordinary action 1t turned
out to be a major Axis disaster even though Japan
succeeded in selling the island after IA days.
New figures show the Japanese lost seven war
ships in the attack on Wake-one cruiser four de-
stroyers, submarine and gunboat
This is a stable amount of naval tonnage, pos
sibly equal to the total u S. naval tonnage in the
Far East mot of course in the Pacific) at the start
of the war. t
That the Japanese had to spend so much to
grab half fortified slet is out of all proportion
to its value The u s. detachment defending Wake
was 1886 Marines, and few Navy men would say that
this should have been greatly increased.
If the taking of every point of Wakes minor
value involved losses heavy those suffered by
the Japs, exhaustion of japanese naval strength
would come very soon indeed The whole Japanese
loss at Pearl Harbor where they crippled a good
part of the main U S. fleet, was not nearly as
great as the Japanese loss at Wake.
How did 1886 Marines mflict this enormous set
back on the enemy?
New information just released by the Navy De-
partment gives some clues. s
In the first place. Wake was not the victim of
surprise The garrison there was told of the attack
on Pearl Harbor as soon as that happened. The
men were Immediately called to stations. The first
air attack on Wake did not come until nearly five
hours later The subsequent defense indicates the
enormous value of the Japanese treachery-what a
whole of a difference few hours warning would
have meant at Pearl Harbor.
When the Japs did come over, the Marines at
Wake had four planes in the air. Even so, seven
planes being serviced on the ground took heavy
punishment (Here is another impressive argument
for better airfeld protection, underground hangers
etc.
Then, on December II, apparently came the big
japanese landing attempt from the sea- The pen
ciled notes of Major w Bailey Marine air officer,
tell how the defenders waited until the Japanese
were within 47o0 yards and then opened up at point
blank range with three-inch and five-nch guns
Obviously many of the japanese ship losses came
at this point .,, I'LL. -r.......,solg .ss.,,, s..
what we know of the details of the remaining
defense is a typicaIy American story that begins
in backwards and tool sheds and cellars where typ-
cal American kids take old machinery apart and
put it together again The japanese were trying to
knock out every U. S. plane on the island. eThere
were only IL to start With They did. But again
and again U. S. planes were back in the air
Ground crews simply picked up the pieces and
built new planes Major Paul A. Putnam, in charge
of the Marine air force at Wake, wrote Parts and
assemblies have been traded back and forth so that
no airplane can be identified. Engines have been
traded from plane to plane; have been Junked
stripped, rebuilt and all but created
High as the courage at Wake the story is
also one of brains and ingenuity, of the old Yankee
genius for making do
The men who waited until the Japanese closed
in and then let them have it: the men who rebuilt
wrecked planes under fire and the men who flew
them, are all dead or captured.
But there are thousands like them where they
came from That's little fact the Japanese i'm
perial command didn't figure on. If they had, they
wouldn't have risked seven ships at Wake.