A piece of USMC history

[Ravage]

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A memorial to the defenders of Wake Island, including Marine Fighter Squadron 211, stands near the command post of Maj. James Devereux, who lead the defense of the island from Dec. 8-23, 1941. On Jan. 8, 2009, approximately 60 Marines from Marine Attack Squadron 211 returned to Wake Island en route to a deployment to Iwakuni, Japan. The visit marked the first time since 1993 the bulk of the squadron, nicknamed the "Wake Island Avengers" after the original defenders where killed or captured by Japanese forces during the island's siege, has returned to the remote Pacific atoll. VMA-211 is based in Yuma, Ariz.
(Photo by Gunnery Sgt. Bill Lisbon)

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A memorial to the defenders of Wake Island, including Marine Fighter Squadron 211, stands near the command post of Maj. James Devereux, who lead the defense of the island from Dec. 8-23, 1941. On Jan. 8, 2009, approximately 60 Marines from Marine Attack Squadron 211 returned to Wake Island en route to a deployment to Iwakuni, Japan. The visit marked the first time since 1993 the bulk of the squadron, nicknamed the "Wake Island Avengers" after the original defenders where killed or captured by Japanese forces during the island's siege, has returned to the remote Pacific atoll. VMA-211 is based in Yuma, Ariz.
(Photo by Gunnery Sgt. Bill Lisbon)

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A crumbling bunker serves as a testament to the Japanese’s hold on Wake Island from 1942-1945. Approximately 100 U.S. and Japanese historical structures from bunkers to gun placements remain on the island. On Jan. 8, 2009, approximately 60 Marines from Marine Attack Squadron 211 returned to Wake Island en route to a deployment to Iwakuni, Japan. The visit marked the first time since 1993 the bulk of the squadron, nicknamed the "Wake Island Avengers" after the original defenders where killed or captured by Japanese forces during the island's siege, has returned to the remote Pacific atoll. VMA-211 is based in Yuma, Ariz.
(Photo by Gunnery Sgt. Bill Lisbon)

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Cpl. Josh Nesbit, a powerline mechanic with Marine Attack Squadron 211, looks out at the lagoon in the center of the Wake Island atoll Jan. 8, 2009, during a tour of the island where the where a handful of the unit's Marines helped defend the island from an overwhelming Japanese invasion force from December 8-23 in 1941 before it was captured. The squadron, nicknamed the "Wake Island Avengers," returned to its symbolic birthplace en route to Iwakuni, Japan, where it attached to the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit for a seven- to nine-month deployment. VMA-211 is based in Yuma, Ariz.
(Photo by Gunnery Sgt. Bill Lisbon)

 

[Gypsy]

Wow... Thanks for those, Rav.

 

[SgtUSMC8541]

Those Marines held hard.

 

[0699]

I've said it before and I'll say it again. We need an envy smilie.

I'd love to go to Wake and do a battlefield study. Amazing battle; hard to believe a small group of Marines, Sailors, and (yes, even then) contractors held out for so long.

The only really neat battlefield study I've done was at Entebbe Airport. I took a book about the rescue to Uganda with me (I think it was Raid on Entebbe) and read it as I was walking around the airfield. It was pretty neat to have the book in one hand and walk the path the Israeli C-130s took as they taxied up to the terminal. There were still blood stains on the wall of the old terminal (abandoned when we were there) and some of our det pried 7.62 rounds out of the wall plaster.

I'd love to do the same at Wake Island with Maj Deveraux's book...

 

[AssadUSMC]

I'd love to tour the battlefields of the island-hopping campaign, walk Belleau Wood, etc. There is so much heritage in the Marine Corps... It gives me goose bumps thinking about it.

 

[0699]

I'd love to tour the battlefields of the island-hopping campaign, walk Belleau Wood, etc. There is so much heritage in the Marine Corps... It gives me goose bumps thinking about it.

I got to do this in '99 when we were in Paris for 10 days (TAD none the less ). I even drank from Devil Dog fountain; I guess that explains retirement. :)

A lot of the Belleau Wood battlefield has been consumed by woods. Better than urban sprawl, but makes it hard to get the feel of the battlefield. The cemetary was very moving. Meticulously maintained and when the caretaker found out we were Marines we got a personal tour.

 

[AssadUSMC]

That's great stuff, man. One day...