|
|
Wake Island Prisoners of World War IIWorld War II | 5 comments | Print This Post | Email This Post
The prisoners now decided to wait for the U.S. Army’s arrival rather than wander around the countryside of a defeated nation. On August 28 and 30, B-29s parachute-dropped 55-gallon drums crammed with food, medicine and clothing to the war-weary prisoners, a sure sign that their rescue was near. Many of the men, so long deprived of adequate food, became sick from the feast that followed. Subscribe Today
On September 1, Hakodate’s prisoners used colorful cargo chutes to fashion an American flag and, using a Japanese bugle, for the first time in three years, nine months and 21 days Marines sounded ‘To the Colors’ as they hoisted their makeshift flag above the prison camp. Cautiously, more adventuresome Americans now began to explore the area outside their prison. On September 9, during the last airdrop of clothing and provisions, a parachute bearing a fuel drum packed with supplies malfunctioned, killing a Marine and two Army prisoners. They were the last Wake Island prisoner casualties of the war.
Several days after these final tragic deaths, troopers from the 1st Cavalry Division reached Hakodate. For the prisoners there the long war was at last over.
This article was written by James W. Wensyel and originally appeared in the November 2001 issue of World War II magazine. For more great articles subscribe to World War II magazine today! Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8Help HistoryNet by bookmarking to
            Tags: 20th - 21st Century, Historical Conflicts, World War II
 |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||
What is HistoryNet?The HistoryNet.com is brought to you by the Weider History Group, the world's largest publisher of history magazines. HistoryNet.com contains daily features, photo galleries and over 5,000 articles originally published in our various magazines. If you are interested in a specific history subject, try searching our archives, you are bound to find something to pique your interest. |
From Our Magazines
|
Weider History Group |
Weider History Network: HistoryNet | Armchair General | Great History | Achtung Panzer! Terms of Use | Copyright © 2009 Weider History Group. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. |
||
Loading ...
5 Comments to “Wake Island Prisoners of World War II”
speaking as a vet myself i never heared of such cruelty as these brave me endured, what great honor and esteem could I give these men that would be deserving of their courage in surviving
such a terriable ordeal…God speed to them in the highest salute…
By stanley Ray Mcqueen on Jun 26, 2008 at 12:32 pm
My father(now deceased) was captured on Wake Island. He was USN.I still have his bible that he was allowed to keep with many men’s names in it. He never spoke much about the war but he did say that he was in the coal mines. He was a very proud and loyal American but could never stand to hear Taps play.
By Kathy Fuller Gallo on Aug 24, 2008 at 5:42 pm
After the first shipment of Wake Is Military and civilans left Wake in Jan 1942, there were approximately 364 civilians left on the island to build up the Japanese defence. OnSept 30, 1942, 264 civilians were shipped to Sesabo, Kyushu –via Yokohama Bay to build the Soto Dam above Sasebo. The remaining 100 left on Wake were murdered by the Japanese when they feared the takeover of the island.
What happened to these 264 men is another story. My father was one of them. They were at Camp #18 at Sasebo until the dam was finished 18 months later. The camp was closed when they left for Fukuolka Camp #1 in April 1944 so there is very little information about what happened except from the mouths of those who survived.
At Camp #1. the men helped build the runway at Fukuoka Internation Airport which is still in use. The dam is still functioning. I was there in March 2008.
Mary-Anne Hansen Collins
By mary-anne hansen collins on Jan 31, 2009 at 10:49 pm
If I’ve already correct the error in information, then why hasn’t it been corrected in your story?? Why is the correction not noted on the comments section ??
Mary-Anne Hansen Collins on January 31, 2009 8:53pm
By mary-anne hansen collins on Jan 31, 2009 at 10:54 pm
my great grandpa was a prisoner on wake island when he was 19. he was in the navy and was lucky enough to be part of the group that got to leave the island and got to live. i was really young when he died but i remember him loving to tell me and my younger brother stories about it. he was one of my biggest insperations in joining the navy myself. he was a great man.
By LaTasha hess on Jun 30, 2009 at 4:46 pm