Editing Wake Island (section)

===World War II===
<!--[[File:Wake Atoll National Historic Landmark Wake Island Japanese defensive structures.jpg|thumb|left|An abandoned World War II bunker (2014)]]-->
On December 8, 1941, the Japanese began an assault on Wake Island. At the time, there were about 500 Marines, 1100 civilian contractors, and dozens of Pan-Am airline employees and passengers. Shortly after a bombing raid that killed dozens, the Pan Am Flying Boat took off with the passengers and many employees. Three days later, the Japanese began a multi-ship amphibious invasion led by a cruiser, which was turned away at the loss of two destroyers by Wake's artillery. This action was widely reported as the first American battlefield success of the war. Meanwhile, the U.S. Navy began a plan to resupply the island and evacuate the contractors; however, before this could happen, a much larger amphibious invasion took place on the island on December 23, 1941, losing two more ships and additional casualties. The Japanese stationed about 4,000 troops on the island. All but 100 of the POWs were sent away; the ones that remained were executed in 1943 after a U.S. bombing raid. In June 1945, the Allies allowed a Japanese hospital ship to evacuate about 1000 soldiers from Wake. The island was bombed many times by the Allies throughout the war but never invaded; it was surrendered to the U.S. in September 1945.

====Battle of Wake Island====
{{Main|Battle of Wake Island}}
[[File:Wake Island surface action 11 December 1941.PNG|thumb|Diagram of the December 11 battle at Wake]]
[[File:BGen Bayler - 19420103 - Chevron.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|A [[Clipping (publications)|clipping]] of an American newspaper article on Bayler]]On December 8, 1941 (December 7 in Hawaii, the day of the [[attack on Pearl Harbor]]), at least 27 Japanese [[Mitsubishi G3M]] "Nell" medium bombers flown from bases on [[Kwajalein]] in the [[Marshall Islands]] attacked Wake Island, destroying eight of the 12 [[Grumman F4F Wildcat]] fighter aircraft belonging to [[VMFA-211|USMC Fighter Squadron 211]] on the ground. The Marine garrison's defensive emplacements were left intact by the raid, which primarily targeted the aircraft.<ref name="UrwinEncyclBrit">{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Wake-Island|author=Urwin, Gregory|title=Battle of Wake Island|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=October 23, 2016|archive-date=December 6, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181206145854/https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Wake-Island|url-status=live}}</ref> On December 9 and 10, there were more air attacks, and two Japanese bombers were shot down. However, the bombing of Wilkes Island detonated an ammunition dump; the Wake hospital was destroyed, and many other buildings were damaged. Meanwhile, the Japanese naval landing force was on its way from [[Roi-Namur|Roi]] in the Japanese-held Marshall Islands and would arrive at Wake on December 11, 1941.<ref>{{Cite web |title=A Gallant Defense: The Battle of Wake Island |url=https://www.thoughtco.com/battle-of-wake-island-2361443 |access-date=November 2, 2023 |website=ThoughtCo |language=en |archive-date=November 2, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231102171224/https://www.thoughtco.com/battle-of-wake-island-2361443 |url-status=live }}</ref> On the night of December 10, the US submarine [[USS Triton (SS-201)|USS ''Triton'']] engaged an enemy destroyer near Wake while on patrol; it fired torpedoes, but in the battle neither vessel was sunk. This is noted as the first time a U.S. submarine launched its torpedoes in the Pacific war.<ref name="Triton III SS-201">{{Cite web |title=Triton III (SS-201) |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/t/triton-iii.html |access-date=November 3, 2023 |website=NHHC |language=en-US |archive-date=February 23, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200223191425/https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/t/triton-iii.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

The Japanese are known to have lost one of the submarines they sent as part of the operation. Still, it was because two of their submarines accidentally collided with one another on December 17, sinking one. Japanese submarine ''[[Japanese submarine Ro-66|Ro-66]]'' was on the surface {{convert|25|nmi}} southwest of Wake Island – bearing 252 degrees from the atoll – to recharge her [[Electric battery|batteries]] in a heavy [[squall]] in the predawn darkness of December 17, 1941, when her lookouts suddenly sighted ''Ro-62'', also on the surface and recharging batteries.<ref name="ijnsubsiteRo66">{{cite web |url=http://www.ijnsubsite.info/RO-Sub%20Details/RO-66.htm |title=RO-66 |work=iijnsubsite.info |year=2016 |access-date=October 21, 2020 |archive-date=June 4, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240604180649/http://www.ijnsubsite.info/RO-Sub%20Details/RO-66.htm |url-status=usurped }}</ref><ref name="combinedfleetRo66">{{cite web |url=http://www.combinedfleet.com/RO-66.htm |title=Sensuikan: IJN Submarine RO-66: Tabular Record of Movement |first1=Bob |last1=Hackett |first2=Sander |last2=Kingsepp |work=combinedfleet.com |year=2017 |access-date=October 21, 2020 |archive-date=February 18, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200218184712/http://www.combinedfleet.com/RO-66.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="combinedfleetRo62" /> Both submarines attempted to back off, but it was too late to avoid a collision, and ''Ro-62'' rammed ''Ro-66'' at 20:20 [[Japan Standard Time]].<ref name="combinedfleetRo66" /><ref name="combinedfleetRo62" /> ''Ro-66'' sank at {{coord|19|10|N|166|28|E|name=''Ro-66''}}<ref name="ijnsubsiteRo66" /> with the loss of 63 lives, including that of the commander of Submarine Division 27.<ref name="ijnsubsiteRo66" /><ref name="combinedfleetRo66" /><ref name="combinedfleetRo62" /> ''Ro-62'' rescued her three survivors, who had been thrown overboard from her [[Bridge (nautical)|bridge]] by the collision.<ref name="ijnsubsiteRo66" /><ref name="combinedfleetRo66" /><ref name="combinedfleetRo62">{{cite web |url=http://www.combinedfleet.com/RO-62.htm |title=Sensuikan: IJN Submarine RO-62: Tabular Record of Movement |first1=Bob |last1=Hackett |first2=Sander |last2=Kingsepp |work=combinedfleet.com |year=2017 |access-date=October 17, 2020 |archive-date=May 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220506041615/http://www.combinedfleet.com/RO-62.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

The American garrison, supplemented by civilian construction workers employed by [[Morrison-Knudsen]] Corp., repelled several Japanese landing attempts.<ref>Arthur Herman. ''Freedom's Forge: How American Business Produced Victory in World War II,'' pp. 170–174, Random House, New York, 2012. {{ISBN|978-1-4000-6964-4}}.</ref> An American journalist reported that after the initial Japanese amphibious assault was beaten back with heavy losses on December 11, the American commander was asked by his superiors if he needed anything. Popular legend has it that Major James Devereux sent back the message, "Send us more Japs!" – a reply that became famous.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://usmilitary.about.com/od/marines/a/legends.htm |title=Legends |publisher=Usmilitary.about.com |date=December 7, 1941 |access-date=December 10, 2011 |archive-date=January 12, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120112122355/http://usmilitary.about.com/od/marines/a/legends.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=Joyous Finale |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,854451,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080105131004/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,854451,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 5, 2008 |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=September 17, 1945 |access-date=April 8, 2007}}{{subscription required}}</ref> After the war, when Major Devereux learned that he had been credited with sending such a message, he pointed out that he had not been the commander on Wake Island and denied sending it. "As far as I know, it wasn't sent at all. None of us was that much of a damn fool. We already had more Japs than we could handle."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Boller |first1=Paul F. Jr. |last2=George |first2=John |title=They Never Said It: A Book of Fake Quotes, Misquotes, and Misleading Attributions |year=1989 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York |isbn=0-19-505541-1 |page=[https://archive.org/details/theyneversaiditb00boll/page/20 20] |url=https://archive.org/details/theyneversaiditb00boll/page/20 }}</ref>
In reality, Commander [[Winfield S. Cunningham]], USN, was in charge of Wake Island, not Devereux.<ref name="NYTIMES3">{{cite news|title=Adm. Winfield CunninGuam; Commanded at Wake island|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/03/06/obituaries/adm-winfield-cunningham-commanded-at-wake-island.html|website=The New York Times|date=March 6, 1986|access-date=January 11, 2017|archive-date=January 13, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170113162149/http://www.nytimes.com/1986/03/06/obituaries/adm-winfield-cunningham-commanded-at-wake-island.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Cunningham ordered that coded messages be sent during operations. A junior officer had added "send us" and "more Japs" to the beginning and end of a message to confuse Japanese [[Cryptanalysis|code breaker]]s. This was put together at Pearl Harbor and passed on as part of the message.<ref name="Sbrega2015">{{cite book|author=John J. Sbrega|title=The War Against Japan, 1941–1945: An Annotated Bibliography|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vUTeCQAAQBAJ&pg=PT424|year=2015|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-317-43178-7|pages=424–|access-date=January 11, 2017|archive-date=February 3, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230203022527/https://books.google.com/books?id=vUTeCQAAQBAJ&pg=PT424|url-status=live}}</ref>

On December 12, in the early morning, a four-engined flying boat bombed Wake, but a Wildcat fighter aircraft was able to intercept and shoot it down. Later in the day, they were bombed again by 26 [[Mitsubishi G3M|Nell aircraft]] (G3M twin-engine bombers), one of which was shot down by anti-aircraft fire. An F4F Wildcat on patrol late in the day sank a Japanese submarine that was near Wake. The next air raid was on December 14, which included a bombing raid by several 4-engined flying boats, and later in the day, 30 Nells (G3M) struck the atoll, destroying a Wildcat that was under repair. The island was bombed again on December 15, killing one civilian worker. Wake was bombed again on December 16 by 33 Nells (G3M), and again on the 19th, though in that attack one was shot down by anti-aircraft fire and several more damaged.<ref name="www.nps.gov" /> Before and at the start of hostilities, the waters around Wake were patrolled by two USN submarines, the [[USS Triton (SS-201)|USS Triton]] and the [[USS Tambor]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=A Magnificent Fight: Marines in the Battle for Wake Island (Humbled by Sizeable Casualties) |url=https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/npswapa/extcontent/usmc/pcn-190-003119-00/sec2.htm |access-date=November 3, 2023 |website=nps.gov |archive-date=November 3, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231103005023/https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/npswapa/extcontent/usmc/pcn-190-003119-00/sec2.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Before the start of the war one of the USS Triton crew members became sick and was dropped off at Wake Island on December 1, 1941. He became a prisoner of war and survived WWII.<ref>{{Cite web |title=On Eternal Patrol – USS Triton (SS-201) |url=https://www.oneternalpatrol.com/uss-triton-201.htm |access-date=November 3, 2023 |website=oneternalpatrol.com |archive-date=June 8, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230608024922/https://oneternalpatrol.com/uss-triton-201.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> The Triton was radioed about the start of the war when it surfaced to recharge its batteries and was warned to stay away from the atoll, lest Wake's gunners target it. On December 10, the USS Triton had one engagement with a Japanese destroyer and fired the first US torpedoes of the Pacific War, though it did not sink. It escaped unscathed and went on to serve in the Pacific theater (it was later sunk in 1943).<ref name="Triton III SS-201" /> The submarine USS Tambor had to return to its home port in Hawaii in mid-December due to mechanical difficulties and had no engagements.<ref name="www.nps.gov" />

A [[Consolidated PBY Catalina|PBY Catalina]] flying boat arrived with mail delivery on December 20, 1941. When it left, one marine was sent away on orders because he was required on Midway, thus [[Walter L. J. Bayler|Lt. Colonel Bayler]] became the last person to leave Wake Island before its loss.<ref>{{cite news |id={{ProQuest|165422622}} |last1=Conville |first1=Martin |title=Full Story of Desperate Wake Island Battle Told |work=Los Angeles Times |date=May 23, 1943 |page=C5 }}</ref> On December 21, 49 aircraft attacked Wake, striking from a Japanese carrier group.<ref name="Lundstrom-2005">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oYE4AAAAQBAJ&pg=PT59|title=The First Team: Pacific Naval Air Combat from Pearl Harbor to Midway|first=John B.|last=Lundstrom|date=July 1, 2005|publisher=Naval Institute Press|isbn=9781612511665|via=Google Books|access-date=October 6, 2023|archive-date=June 4, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240604181226/https://books.google.com/books?id=oYE4AAAAQBAJ&pg=PT59#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> During this time, there was a US Naval force on the way that was going to resupply Wake on December 24, but it did not work as planned as the Japanese 2nd wave took the island on December 23 before this could take place.<ref name="Lundstrom-2005" /> American and Japanese dead from the fighting between December 8 and 23 were buried on the island.<ref name="Stars and Stripes">{{Cite web |title=Search for closure, accurate account of Wake Island massacre continues |url=https://www.stripes.com/news/search-for-closure-accurate-account-of-wake-island-massacre-continues-1.166538 |access-date=November 2, 2023 |website=Stars and Stripes |language=en |archive-date=October 13, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231013123414/https://www.stripes.com/news/search-for-closure-accurate-account-of-wake-island-massacre-continues-1.166538 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The U.S. Navy attempted to provide support from Hawaii but suffered great losses at Pearl Harbor. The relief fleet they managed to organize was delayed by bad weather. The isolated U.S. garrison was overwhelmed by a reinforced and greatly superior Japanese invasion force on December 23.<ref>{{cite web |first1=Mike |last1=Yaklitch   |first2=Allan |last2=Alsleben |first3=Akira |last3=Takizawa |url=https://warfare.gq/dutcheastindies/SNLF.html |title=Japanese Special Naval Landing Forces |date=1999–2000 |work=Forgotten Campaign: The Dutch East Indies Campaign 1941–1942 |access-date=March 30, 2021 |archive-date=April 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210416140629/http://warfare.gq/dutcheastindies/SNLF.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> American casualties numbered 52 military personnel (Navy and Marine) and approximately 70 civilians killed. Japanese losses exceeded 700 dead, with some estimates ranging as high as 1,000. Wake's defenders sank two Japanese fast transports (''P32'' and ''P33'') and one submarine and shot down 24 Japanese aircraft. The US relief fleet, en route, on hearing of the island's loss, turned back.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/npswapa/extcontent/usmc/pcn-190-003119-00/sec6.htm|title=A Magnificent Fight: Marines in the Battle for Wake Island|access-date=August 7, 2022|archive-date=August 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220808002310/https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/npswapa/extcontent/usmc/pcn-190-003119-00/sec6.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.usmcu.edu/Portals/218/Heinl_The%20Defense%20of%20Wake.pdf?ver=2019-02-12-085233-467|format=PDF|title=The Defense of Wake|author=Lt. Col. R. D. Heinly Jr.|website=Usmcu.edu|access-date=March 3, 2022|archive-date=July 24, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200724173636/https://www.usmcu.edu/Portals/218/Heinl_The%20Defense%20of%20Wake.pdf?ver=2019-02-12-085233-467|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:Wreckage Wildcat Wake Island.jpg|thumb|Wreckage of Wildcats on Wake after the battle]]
In the aftermath of the battle, most of the captured civilians and military personnel were sent to [[List of Japanese-run internment camps during World War II|POW camps]] in Asia. However, the Japanese [[slave labor|enslaved]] some of the civilian laborers and tasked them with improving the island's defenses.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/japanese-execute-nearly-100-american-prisoners-on-wake-island#:~:text=On%20October%207%2C%201943%2C%20Rear,radio%20contact%20with%20U.S.%20forces.|title=Japanese execute nearly 100 American POWs on Wake Island|website=History.com|date=November 5, 2009 |access-date=April 26, 2021|archive-date=April 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210426190739/https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/japanese-execute-nearly-100-american-prisoners-on-wake-island#:~:text=On%20October%207%2C%201943%2C%20Rear,radio%20contact%20with%20U.S.%20forces.|url-status=live}}</ref>

At the end of the battle on December 23, 1,603 people, of whom 1,150 were civilians, were taken prisoner. Three weeks later, all but roughly 350–360 were taken to Japanese prisoner-of-war camps in Asia aboard the ''[[Japanese aircraft carrier Chūyō|Nita Maru]]'' (later renamed ''Chūyō)''. Many of those who stayed were those who were too badly wounded, and some were civilian contractors who knew how to operate the machinery on the island. A significant source of the prisoner war experience on Wake were the accounts in the commanding officer logs for Wilcox and Russel.<ref name="usni.org">{{Cite web|url=https://www.usni.org/magazines/naval-history-magazine/2001/february/massacre-wake-island|title=Massacre on Wake Island &#124; Naval History Magazine – February 2001 Vol. 15 Number 1|date=February 2001 |access-date=October 6, 2023|archive-date=October 7, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231007221306/https://www.usni.org/magazines/naval-history-magazine/2001/february/massacre-wake-island|url-status=live}}</ref> In September 1942, another 265 were taken off Wake including Wilcox and Russel; not including those that had died or been executed, that left 98 on the island.<ref name="usni.org" /> With the departure of the officers, their logs of daily prisoners of life on Wake ended. Still, additional facts are known, including a new commanding officer of the island in December 1942. In July 1943, a prisoner of war was executed for stealing food, as ordered by Sakaibara; however, the identity of this POW is unknown. On October 7, 1943, the prisoners of war were executed on order of Sakaibara; they were marched into an anti-tank ditch and executed by machine gun fire.<ref name="usni.org" /> At the end of the war, the Japanese garrison surrendered and said the POWs had been killed in a bombing attack; however, that story broke down when some of the officers wrote notes explaining the true story, and Sakaibara confessed to the mass execution.<ref name="usni.org" />

{{clear}}

====Japanese occupation, air raids, POWs====
[[File:Douglas TBD-1 Devastator of VT-6 over Wake Island, 24 February 1942 (80-CF-1071-1).jpg|thumb|left|A US TBD-1 flies by Wake Island in February 1942]]

The island's Japanese garrison was composed of the [[Imperial Japanese Navy|IJN]] 65th Guard Unit (2,000 men), Japan Navy Captain [[Shigematsu Sakaibara]] and the [[Imperial Japanese Army|IJA]] units, which became the 13th Independent Mixed Regiment (1,939 men) under the command of Col. Shigeji Chikamori.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Takizawa |first1=Akira |last2=Alsleben |first2=Allan |date=1999–2000 |title=Japanese garrisons on the by-passed Pacific Islands 1944–1945 |url=https://warfare.gq/dutcheastindies/japan_garrison.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160106231303/http://www.dutcheastindies.webs.com/japan_garrison.html |archive-date=January 6, 2016 |work=Forgotten Campaign: The Dutch East Indies Campaign 1941–1942}}</ref> Fearing an imminent invasion, the Japanese reinforced Wake Island with more formidable defenses. The American captives were ordered to build a series of bunkers and fortifications on Wake. The Japanese brought in an {{convert|8|in|mm|adj=on}} naval gun which is often incorrectly<ref name="csu2">{{cite web |date=October 9, 2005 |title=Dirk H.R. Spennemann, 8-inch Coastal Defense Guns |url=http://marshall.csu.edu.au/Marshalls/html/Sapuk/Sapuk.html |access-date=September 13, 2014 |publisher=marshall.csu.edu.au |archive-date=March 3, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210303043005/http://marshall.csu.edu.au/Marshalls/html/Sapuk/Sapuk.html |url-status=live }}</ref> reported as having been captured in Singapore. The U.S. Navy established a submarine blockade instead of an amphibious invasion of Wake Island. The Japanese-occupied island (called Ōtorishima (大鳥島) or ''Big Bird Island'' by them for its birdlike shape)<ref>{{cite book |last=Morison |first=Samuel Eliot |title=History of United States Naval Operations in World War II |publisher=University of Illinois Press |year=2001 |isbn=0-252-06973-0}}</ref> was bombed several times by American aircraft; one of these raids was the first mission for future United States President [[George H. W. Bush]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Parmet |first1=Herbert S |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M7CqPV_wHKgC&q=george+bush+wake+island&pg=PA51 |title=George Bush: The Life of a Lone Star Yankee |publisher=Transaction Publishers |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-7658-0730-4 |access-date=November 4, 2020 |archive-date=June 4, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240604181152/https://books.google.com/books?id=M7CqPV_wHKgC&q=george+bush+wake+island&pg=PA51#v=snippet&q=george%20bush%20wake%20island&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref>

The island was also bombed with leaflets and even small rubber rafts, with the idea that someone could escape from the island by sea.<ref name="Psywarrior.com2">{{cite web |title=Return to Wake Island |url=http://www.psywarrior.com/WakeIsland.html#:~:text=The%20Japanese%20garrison%20withered%20on,killed%20in%20American%20air%20attacks. |website=Psywarrior.com |access-date=April 26, 2021 |archive-date=April 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210426191134/http://www.psywarrior.com/WakeIsland.html#:~:text=The%20Japanese%20garrison%20withered%20on,killed%20in%20American%20air%20attacks. |url-status=live }}</ref>
[[File:Japanese patrol boat under attack off Wake on 24 February 1942.jpg|thumb|A Japanese patrol boat under fire from a US destroyer near Wake Island during the raid in February 1942]]
[[File:Wake Island being bombed on 23 March 1944.jpg|thumb|Wake bombed on March 23, 1944, by B-24]]

In February 1942, there was a raid attack on Wake, which included naval bombardment and bombing by aircraft. On the first day of the attack on February 23, several targets on the island were struck, and in the waters nearby, two Japanese patrol boats were sunk, and four Japanese seamen were recovered.<ref name="nnhc1">{{Cite web |title=Early Raids in the Pacific Ocean |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/e/early-raids-pacific-ocean.html |access-date=October 21, 2023 |website=NHHC |language=en-US |archive-date=June 4, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240604162027/https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/e/early-raids-pacific-ocean.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The next day (February 24) a Japanese 4-engine patrol aircraft was shot down 5 miles east of Wake, and another patrol boat was sunk by air attack in addition to also striking targets on Wake Island.<ref name="nnhc1" /> The raids would continue to reduce the danger of Wake being used as a launching point for a strike on Midway.

From June 1942 to July 1943, many US B-24 raids and photographic recon missions were launched from Midway to Wake, often resulting in air battles between Zeros and bombers. For example, on May 15, 1943, a raid of 7 B-24s made it to Wake to be intercepted by 22 Zeros, with allies losing one B-24 and claiming four kills. In July 1943, a B-24 strike targeting the fuel depots lost another B-24 when intercepted by 20 to 30 Zeros. The last raid from Midway in 1943 was in July. The next significant attack combined naval bombardment and carrier strike aircraft in the fateful October 1943 raids. In 1944, Wake Island was bombed by [[Consolidated PB2Y Coronado|PB2Y Coronado flying boats]] operating from Midway to stop the Japanese garrison from supporting the battle for the Marshall Islands. Once the Kwajalein was taken, Wake was attacked from the newly won base with B-24 raids. This continued until October 1944, thereafter Wake was only bombed a few more times by carrier strike groups usually heading west.<ref>{{Cite web |last=PacificWrecks.com |title=Pacific Wrecks |url=http://pacificwrecks.com/ |access-date=November 21, 2023 |website=pacificwrecks.com |language=en |archive-date=June 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200629123105/https://pacificwrecks.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

On May 10, 1942, one prisoner was executed for breaking into a store and getting drunk. In September 1942, another 265 POWs were taken off the island, leaving 98.<ref name="usni.org" />

In March 1943, the Japanese transport ship [[Suwa Maru]] was traveling to Wake with over 1000 troops on board. The U.S. submarine [[USS Tunny (SS-282)|USS Tunny]] torpedoed it, and the ship was taking on water as it approached Wake, so it was beached on the coral reef to avoid sinking.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Japanese Transports |url=http://www.combinedfleet.com/Suwa_t.htm |access-date=November 3, 2023 |website=combinedfleet.com |archive-date=May 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220506041706/http://www.combinedfleet.com/Suwa_t.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

After a successful American air raid on October 5, 1943, Sakaibara ordered the execution of the remaining 97 (one had been executed in July) POWs. They were taken to the northern end of the island, blindfolded and machine-gunned.<ref name="Tucker20122">{{cite book |author=Spencer Tucker |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TO2mx314ST0C&pg=PA1491 |title=Almanac of American Military History |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2012 |isbn=978-1-59884-530-3 |pages=1491– |access-date=January 11, 2017 |archive-date=February 3, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230203022527/https://books.google.com/books?id=TO2mx314ST0C&pg=PA1491 |url-status=live }}</ref> One prisoner escaped, carving the message "''[[Battle of Wake Island#War crimes|98 US PW 5-10-43]]''" on a large coral rock near where the victims had been hastily buried in a mass grave. This unknown American was soon recaptured and beheaded.<ref>{{cite web |title=Massacre on Wake Island |url=http://www.goldtel.net/ddxa/massacre.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181010090923/http://www.goldtel.net/ddxa/massacre.html |archive-date=October 10, 2018 |access-date=June 6, 2013 |publisher=Goldtel.net}}</ref> The one that escaped created an issue for the Japanese, who had already buried the bodies at the end of the runway under coral sand. They then had to dig up and count all the bodies, confirming that one was missing.<ref name="www.uswarmemorials.org">{{Cite web |title=Monument Details |url=https://www.uswarmemorials.org/html/monument_details.php?SiteID=284&MemID=510 |access-date=November 2, 2023 |website=uswarmemorials.org |archive-date=November 2, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231102144951/https://www.uswarmemorials.org/html/monument_details.php?SiteID=284&MemID=510 |url-status=live }}</ref> This would not be the final resting place, as near the end of the war in August 1945, the bodies were again dug up and reburied at Peacock Point in a mass grave but with multiple wooden crosses.<ref name="usni.org" /> After the war, they were exhumed again and buried at the U.S. National Cemetery of the Pacific.<ref name="www.uswarmemorials.org" />

Later in the war, the Japanese garrison had been almost cut off from supplies and was reduced to the point of starvation. While the islands' [[sooty tern]] colony had received some protection as a source of eggs, the [[Wake Island rail]] was hunted to extinction by the starving soldiers. Ultimately, about three-quarters of the Japanese garrison perished, and the rest survived only by eating tern eggs, the [[Polynesian rat]]s, and what scant number of vegetables they could grow in makeshift gardens among the coral rubble.<ref>{{cite web |title=Wake Rail (Hypotaenidia wakensis) – BirdLife species factsheet |url=http://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/22692447 |access-date=March 3, 2022 |website=Datazone.birdlife.org |archive-date=February 28, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220228035855/http://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/22692447 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Psywarrior.com2" /> In early 1944, Wake was largely cut off from resupply because the Allies Pacific campaign had moved past Wake, in particular, the Japanese base to the south that had been resupplying Wake was captured in January 1944. In May 1944, the Japanese forces on Wake began rationing food, and the rationing became progressively stricter. To survive the garrison engaged in fishing, growing vegetables, bird eggs, and rats, which were essential food supplies at this time, and sometimes tens of thousands of rats were killed in a single day to stave off starvation.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Olson |first1=Storrs L. |last2=Rauzon |first2=Mark J. |date=December 2011 |title=The Extinct Wake Island Rail Gallirallus wakensis: A Comprehensive Species Account Based on Museum Specimens and Archival Records |url=https://bioone.org/journals/the-wilson-journal-of-ornithology/volume-123/issue-4/11-029.1/The-Extinct-Wake-Island-Rail-Gallirallus-wakensis--A-Comprehensive/10.1676/11-029.1.full |journal=The Wilson Journal of Ornithology |volume=123 |issue=4 |pages=663–689 |doi=10.1676/11-029.1 |issn=1559-4491 |s2cid=83517404 |access-date=November 2, 2023 |archive-date=June 4, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240604181300/https://bioone.org/journals/the-wilson-journal-of-ornithology/volume-123/issue-4/11-029.1/The-Extinct-Wake-Island-Rail-Gallirallus-wakensis--A-Comprehensive/10.1676/11-029.1.short |url-status=live }}</ref>

In June 1945, the Japanese hospital ship ''[[Takasago Maru]]'' was allowed to visit Wake Island, and it departed with 974 patients. It was boarded and checked both before and after the visit to confirm it was not carrying contraband, and the number of patients was confirmed: 974 Japanese were taken off Wake. On the way to Wake, it was stopped by the [[USS Murray (DD-576)|USS ''Murray'' (DD-576)]] and on the way back from Wake it was stopped by the USS ''McDermut II'' (DD-677) to confirm it was carrying the patients.<ref name="www.combinedfleet.com">{{Cite web |title=Japanese Hospital Ships |url=http://www.combinedfleet.com/Takasago_t.htm |access-date=October 11, 2023 |website=combinedfleet.com |archive-date=October 14, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231014163807/http://www.combinedfleet.com/Takasago_t.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> The condition was recorded first hand by the USS ''McDermut II'', which reported that about 15% of the troops that the Japanese evacuated were extremely sick.<ref name="Psywarrior.com2" />

The Pacific War finally came to a close in August 1945, with negotiations opening. The Emperor of Japan announced the surrender to the Japanese people, and the agreement was formally signed on September 2, 1945.

Most of the Wake POWs were liberated from Hirahata Camp 12-B, which switched over from Japanese to American control in late August 1945. About 300 prisoners were included from Wake Island, and a makeshift flag was raised at the camp as they gathered to mark the end of their internment.

==== Surrender and trial ====
[[File:Wake island 1945 surrender.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|The formal surrender of the Japanese garrison on Wake Island, September 7, 1945. Island commander Admiral [[Shigematsu Sakaibara]] is the Japanese officer in the right-foreground.]]

On September 4, 1945, the Japanese garrison surrendered to a detachment of United States Marines under the command of Brigadier General [[Lawson H. M. Sanderson]].<ref name="Moran2011">{{cite book|author=Jim Moran|title=Wake Island 1941: A battle to make the gods weep|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AaO6CwAAQBAJ&pg=PA92|date=2011|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|isbn=978-1-84908-604-2|pages=84, 92|access-date=January 11, 2017|archive-date=February 3, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230203022527/https://books.google.com/books?id=AaO6CwAAQBAJ&pg=PA92|url-status=live}}</ref> The garrison, having previously received news that Imperial Japan's defeat was imminent, exhumed the mass grave. The bones were moved to the U.S. cemetery established on Peacock Point after the invasion. Wooden crosses were erected in preparation for the expected arrival of U.S. forces. During the initial interrogations, the Japanese claimed that an American bombing raid mostly killed the remaining 98 Americans on the island. However, some escaped and fought to the death after being cornered on the beach at the north end of Wake Island.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.yorktownsailor.com/yorktown/massacre.html |title=Massacre on Wake Island |author=Maj. Mark E. Hubbs, U.S. Army Reserve (Retired) |access-date=February 18, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080214141205/http://www.yorktownsailor.com/yorktown/massacre.html |archive-date=February 14, 2008 }}</ref> Several Japanese officers in American custody committed suicide over the incident, leaving written statements that incriminated Sakaibara.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Sakaibara-Shigematsu|title=Sakaibara Shigematsu {{!}} Japanese military officer|website=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=January 16, 2019|archive-date=March 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308052225/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Sakaibara-Shigematsu|url-status=live}}</ref> Sakaibara and his subordinate, lieutenant commander Tachibana, were later sentenced to death after conviction for this and other war crimes. Sakaibara was executed by hanging in Guam on June 18, 1947, while Tachibana's sentence was commuted to life in prison.<ref>{{cite web |author=Headsman |url=http://www.executedtoday.com/2009/06/18/1947-shigematsu-sakaibara-wake-island-massacre/ |title=1947: Shigematsu Sakaibara, "I obey with pleasure" |publisher=ExecutedToday.com |date=June 18, 2009 |access-date=June 6, 2013 |archive-date=February 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225214508/http://www.executedtoday.com/2009/06/18/1947-shigematsu-sakaibara-wake-island-massacre/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> The remains of the murdered civilians were exhumed and reburied at Honolulu's [[National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific]] at section G, commonly known as [[Punchbowl Crater]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cem.va.gov/cems/nchp/nmcp.asp|title=National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific – National Cemetery Administration|last=Administration|first=National Cemetery|website=cem.va.gov|access-date=January 16, 2019|archive-date=January 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126093940/https://www.cem.va.gov/cems/nchp/nmcp.asp|url-status=live}}</ref> A year after the Wake executions, in 1944, there was the [[Palawan massacre]] in which Captain Nagayoshi Kojima ordered the execution of 150 POW when he was told the Allies were near. They were burned alive in trenches, and those who tried to flee were gunned down, but 11 escaped, leading to a death toll of 139. In response, the Allies then realized the Japanese might execute POWs if they thought the Allies were near and began a special mission to liberate POW camps.<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 20, 2022 |title='Dispose of Them': Massacre of American POWs in the Philippines |url=https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/dispose-them-massacre-american-pows-philippines |access-date=October 11, 2023 |website=The National WWII Museum {{!}} New Orleans |language=en |archive-date=October 2, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002123332/https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/dispose-them-massacre-american-pows-philippines |url-status=live }}</ref> At the time, the events on Wake in 1943 were unknown, and the U.S. allowed the hospital ship ''[[Takasago Maru]]'' to visit Wake in June 1945.<ref name="www.combinedfleet.com" />  After the surrender, the POW gravesite was found where they had been buried with crosses at Peacock Point, and the story was that either they had died in a U.S. bombing raid or that they had died in a revolt.<ref name="Wimbrow III-2023">{{Cite web |last=III |first=Peter Ayers Wimbrow |date=September 28, 2023 |title=POW's killed in response to U.S. bombing of Wake Island |url=https://www.oceancitytoday.com/column_posts/world_war_ii/pow-s-killed-in-response-to-u-s-bombing-of-wake-island/article_97844b86-5e37-11ee-829a-576d154e66a7.html |access-date=November 2, 2023 |website=Ocean City Today |language=en |archive-date=November 2, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231102153348/https://www.oceancitytoday.com/column_posts/world_war_ii/pow-s-killed-in-response-to-u-s-bombing-of-wake-island/article_97844b86-5e37-11ee-829a-576d154e66a7.html |url-status=live }}</ref> At the handover of Wake, 2200 Japanese were on the island, significantly less than at the start, but 974 had just been shipped back to Japan in June 1945. Wake was not cut off until later in the war, but it is estimated that hundreds died during the bombing strikes and from starvation, and many were sick with tuberculosis.<ref name="Psywarrior.com2" />

In any case, the Japanese soldiers who had survived were nearly all sent away by November 1, 1945, transported aboard the ''[[Hikawa Maru]]'' for repatriation. The remaining Japanese troops and the officers were shipped to the U.S. base atoll, but on the route, two of the officers committed suicide, leaving notes describing a POW massacre. Another officer wrote a note describing the same. Finally, the Admiral admitted what he had ordered and accepted blame, leading to two officers' trial in late December.<ref name="Wimbrow III-2023" /> Back on Wake, the bodies were eventually exhumed, including those that had died in the Battle of Wake, to try to make identifications. The task proved too difficult, and they were buried as a group with a memorial listing the names. There was a ceremony in 1953.<ref name="www.uswarmemorials.org" />
[[File:Wake Island Japanese Tank, April 1952.jpg|thumb|A derelict Japanese tank after World War II]]