It's a true life story of the first American battle of World War II and survivors on a desert island--one that helped change the course of WWII! Within hours of the 1941 Pearl Harbor Attack, about 1,600 U.S. marines and civilians found themselves under surprise attack from Japan on a tiny Pacific atoll, 2,300 miles west of Hawaii. But the Marines on Wake, though staggered after the first strike are determined to fight on.
On December 8, 1941, just five hours after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Japanese planes attacked a remote U.S. outpost in the westernmost reaches of the Pacific. It was the beginning of an incredible sixteen-day fight for Wake Island, a tiny but strategically valuable dot in the ocean. Unprepared for the stunning assault, the small battalion was dangerously outnumbered and outgunned. But they compensated with a surplus of bravery and perseverance, waging an extraordinary battle against all odds. When it was over, a few hundred American Marines, sailors, and soldiers, along with a small army of heroic civilian laborers, had repulsed enemy forces several thousand strong--but it was still not enough. The Americans lost 52 Marine and Navy personnel and 70 civilians; another 57 were wounded. All 12 Wildcat fighters were destroyed, and over 1,500 Americans were taken prisoner.
The defense of Wake became a rallying cry for the American public. The defenders had inflicted heavy casualties on the Japanese and forced Tokyo to stretch out its forces, buying time for the Pacific Fleet to regroup and rearm. The Japanese left a garrison of more than 4,000 troops on the island, but the US chose to blockade and bypass it. The Japanese finally surrendered the island on September 4, 1945, two days after Japan's formal surrender to the Allies.
We take six survivors of the siege of Wake Island back to the scene of their heroic stand. They retrace those days in which they suffered eventual capture, beatings, executions of colleagues, and imprisonment--yet survived to tell their story.

Written and Produced by Martin Gillam; Produced by Greystone Communications, Inc. For The History Channel

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