_Sgt William J. Hamilton, (seen here on 20 January 1938) was one of two
enlisted pilots serving in VMF-211 at Wake, and not only flew patrols
but helped keep the squadron’s planes in the air._]
Once more, though, the Japanese wreaked considerable havoc on the
defenders. Most of their bombs fell near the edge of the lagoon, north
of the airfield, and on Camp 2, demolishing the hospital and heavily
damaging a warehouse and a metal shop. One wounded VMF-211 enlisted man
perished in the bombing of the hospital while the three-man crew of one
of the dispersed gasoline trucks died instantly when a bomb exploded in
the foxhole in which they had sought shelter.
Doctors Kahn and Shank and their assistants evacuated the wounded and
saved as much equipment as they could. Shank carried injured men from
the burning hospital, courageous actions that so impressed Marine
Gunner Hamas (who had been trapped by the raid while carrying a load
of projectiles and powder to gun positions on Peale) that he later
recommended that Shank be awarded a Medal of Honor for his heroism. The
hard-pressed medical people soon moved the wounded and what medical
equipment they could into magazines 10 and 13, near the unfinished
airstrip, and established two 21-bed wards.
Once the bombers had gone, the work of repairs and improving planes
and positions resumed. That night, because the initial bombing had
destroyed the mechanical loading machines, a crew of civilians helped
load .50-caliber ammunition. That same evening, work crews dispersed
food, medical supplies, water, and lumber to various points around the
atoll, while the communications center and Wake’s command post were
moved.
Earlier that day from near the tip of Peacock Point, Marine Gunner
Clarence B. McKinstry of Battery E had noted one bomber breaking off
from the rest. Supposing that the plane had taken aerial photographs,
he suggested that the battery be moved. That afternoon, First
Lieutenant Lewis received orders to reposition his guns after dark; he
was to leave two 3-inchers in place until the other two were emplaced,
and then move the last two. Aided by about a hundred civilians
with several trucks, Lewis and McKinstry succeeded in shifting the
battery--guns, ammunition, and sandbags--to a new location some 1,500
yards to the northwest. Marines and workmen set up dummy guns in the
old position.
As the 10th dawned, Marine Gunner McKinstry found himself with new
duties, having received orders to proceed to Wilkes and report to
Captain Wesley McC. Platt, commander of the Wilkes strongpoint. Battery
F comprised four 3-inch guns, but lacked crewmen, a heightfinder, or a
director. Consequently, McKinstry could only fire the guns accurately
at short or point-blank range, thus limiting them to beach protection.
Assisted by one Marine and a crew of civilians, Gunner McKinstry moved
his guns into battery just in time for the arrival of 26 Nells which
flew over at 1020 and dropped their bombs on the airfield and those
seacoast installations at the tip of Wilkes.
While casualties were light--Battery L had one Marine killed and one
wounded (one civilian suffered shell-shock)--the equipment and guns in
the positions themselves received considerable damage. Further, 120
tons of dynamite which had been stored by the contractors near the site
of the new channel exploded and stripped the 3-inch battery of its
fresh camouflage. The gunners moved them closer to the shoreline and
camouflaged them with burnt brush because they lacked sandbags with
which to construct defensive shelters for the gun crews.
In a new position, which was up the coast from the old one, Battery
E’s 3-inchers managed to hurl 100 rounds skyward while bombs began
hitting near Peacock Point. The old position there was “very heavily
bombed,” and a direct hit set off a small ammunition dump, vindicating
McKinstry’s hunch about the photo-reconnaissance plane. Battery D’s
gunners, meanwhile, claimed hits on two bombers (one of which was seen
to explode later). Although Captain Elrod, who single-handedly attacked
the formation, claimed two of the raiders, only one Nell failed to
return to its base.
That night, the itinerant Battery E shifted to a position on the toe
of the horseshoe on the lagoon side of Wake. Their daily defensive
preparations complete, Wake’s defenders awaited what the next dawn
would bring. They had endured three days of bombings. Some of
Cunningham’s men may have wondered when it would be their turn to wreak
destruction upon the enemy.
[Sidebar (page 1):
[Illustration]
Major James P. S. Devereux, Commanding Officer of the Wake Detachment
of the 1st Defense Battalion (seen here as a POW at Shanghai, _circa_
January 1942), was born in Cuba and educated in the United States and
in Switzerland. Devereux enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1923. He saw
service at home (Norfolk, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and Quantico,
among other places) and abroad (Cuba, Nicaragua, and China). He was
awarded the Navy Cross for his leadership of the Marines at Wake. After
his retirement, he served in the U.S. House of Representatives.
]
[Sidebar (page 2):
[Illustration]
An unshaven Commander Winfield S. Cunningham, Officer in Charge, Naval
Activities, Wake Island, and commander of the defense of Wake, was
photographed as a POW on board the Japanese transport _Nitta Maru_, at
Yokohama, Japan, about 18 January 1942. A member of the Naval Academy
Class of 1921 and an excellent pilot, he had flown fighters and flying
boats, and had been schooled in strategy and tactics. Contemporaries
in the Navy regarded him as an intelligent, quick-witted officer who
possessed moral courage. His long and varied experience in aviation
duty had fitted him well for his independent duty at Wake. He would
earn the Navy Cross for his leadership of the defense of Wake.
]
[Sidebar (page 3):
[Illustration]
Major Paul A. Putnam, a “model of strong nerves and the will to fight,”
is pictured at right in the autumn of 1941. One of his men, Second
Lieutenant David Kliewer, praised Putnam’s “cool judgment, his courage,
and his consideration for everyone [that] forged an aviation unit that
fought behind him to the end.” Putnam had become commanding officer of
VMF-211 on 17 November 1941 at Ewa, after having served as executive
officer. Designated a naval aviator in 1929, he had flown almost every
type of Marine plane from a Ford Tri-motor to a Grumman F4F-3. He
had distinguished himself in Nicaragua in 1931. One officer who had
flown with him there considered him “calm, quiet, soft-spoken ... a
determined sort of fellow.” He was awarded a Navy Cross for his heroism
at Wake.
]
[Sidebar (page 4): Defensive Mainstay: The M3 Antiaircraft Gun
[Illustration]
At right, in the firing position, is an Army pattern M3 3-inch
antiaircraft gun of the type that the 1st Defense Battalion had at
Wake. Already obsolescent at the outbreak of World War II, this weapon
was the mainstay of the defense battalions in the first months of the
war. Twelve of these guns were emplaced at Wake.
As early as 1915, the U.S. Army, recognizing the need for a high-angle
firing antiaircraft gun and resolving to build one from existing
stocks, chose the M1903 seacoast defense gun and redesignated it the
M1917. Soon after America’s entry into World War I, however, the
requirement for a mobile mount (one with less recoil) compelled the
selection of the less powerful M1898 seacoast gun for conversion to the
M1918. Development of both guns and mounts continued throughout the
interwar years, leading ultimately to the standardization of the gun as
the M3 on the M2 wheeled mount.
On the eve of World War II, each of the seven Marine defense battalions
then activated had 12 3-inch guns in three four-gun batteries. Each
mount weighed a little over six tons. The normal crew of eight could
fire 25 12.87-pound high-explosive shells per minute. The guns had an
effective ceiling of nearly 30,000 feet and an effective horizontal
range of 14,780 yards.
]
[Sidebar (page 6):
[Illustration:
National Archives Photo 80-G-179013
]