_Wrecked Grumman F4F-3s from VMF-211 near the airstrip on Wake
(photographed after the Japanese took the island). The Wildcat in the
foreground, 211-F-ll, was flown on 11 December by Capt Elrod in the
attack that sank the Japanese destroyer_ Kisaragi. _Having suffered
such damage as to make it unserviceable, 211-F-ll was ultimately
cannibalized for spares._]
The Japanese force, meanwhile, “... humbled by sizeable casualties,”
withdrew to the Marshalls, having requested aircraft carrier
reinforcement. Hundreds of miles away, at Pearl Harbor, elements of
the 4th Defense Battalion received orders to begin preparing for an
operation, the destination of which was closely held. The Marines of
the battalion fervently desired to assist their comrades on Wake Island
and many of them probably concluded, “We’re headed for Wake!”
[Sidebar (page 10):
[Illustration]