 | GenghisTheHun (177)
09/09/2005 |  The gallant stand of the forces on Wake Island in December 1941 shall always shine in history. On the same day as the Pearl Harbor attack, the Japanese attacked Wake. The main defenders were a Marine detachment under the command of Major James P. S. Devereux. Commander Winfield S. Cunningham, U.S.N., the Island Commander of Wake, was in charge of the overall defense. A gallant Marine air detachment under Maj. Paul A. Putnam was crucial to the defense. The defenders held out for fifteen days before being overwhelmed. The U.S. Marines lost only 49 killed during the entire 15-day siege while three U.S. Navy personnel and at least 70 civilians were killed. The Japanese losses were recorded at between 700 to 900 killed with at least 1,000 more wounded, in addition to the two destroyers lost in the first invasion attempt, as well as at least 20 land-based and carrier aircraft. The Japanese captured all of the men remaining on the island, of whom the majority were civilian contractors employed with Morrison-Knudsen Company. At the beginning of the war Wake had a large civilian construction worker detachment who were working on the defenses. Many of these civilians were later massacred by the Japanese towards the end of the war.
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