How many Americans were on Wake Island?

Urwin Collection. By December 4, 1941, the atoll's American garrison numbered only 524 officers and men— 449 Marines, 69 sailors, and a six-man radio detachment from the US Army. Three hundred and eighty-nine Marines belonged to the Wake Island Detachment, 1st Defense Battalion.



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Wake Island is a tiny island in Micronesia in the Pacific Ocean, located 2/3 of the way from Honolulu to Guam, best known for its role in World War II. It is an unorganized United States territory, with no permanent residents, just members of the U.S. military and civilian contractors who manage the facility.

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It was formally claimed by the United States in 1899 for the site of a cable station and was placed under naval jurisdiction in 1934. The following year a commercial seaplane base and hotel were built for overnight stops on transpacific flights to Guam and the Philippines.

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The U.S. recovered Wake Island after the Japanese surrender in 1945. Wake's defense in 1941 had been one of the few bright spots during the first months of war in the Pacific.

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Located about 2,000 miles (3,200 km) west of Hawaii and 600 miles (approximately 1,000 km) north of the Japanese-held Marshall Islands, Wake Island impressed American naval planners as an ideal site for an advance defensive outpost.

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How deep is the water? The depth of the cable wakeboarding lake is anywhere from 5-7 feet. The depth of the AQUA PARK lake ranges from 6-12 feet.

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Today Wake Atoll serves as a refueling and emergency landing station for trans-pacific flights. Receiving only one civilian aircraft every two weeks, the station serves mostly military purposes.

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After the war, Wake Island once again retreated into solitude and isolation. It was used as a fueling stop by American forces during the Vietnam War, and in 2006, it was hit by a fierce typhoon that caused major damage to the surviving infrastructure on the island.

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