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ships and aircraft. The outnumbered defenders suffered casualties and were thrown back but,
they also inflicted casualties on the Japanese and dislodged them from strong points in counterattacks.
An approaching American task force would be unable to provide any relief to Wake for
at least a full day. With the defending force divided, communications unreliable, and unclear
how much damage they had inflicted on the Japanese, Cdr. Cunningham bowed to the
inevitable and surrendered the atoll.
Before the war, Wake Island was a refueling and rest stop for the Pan American clipper.
For about five years, a few dozen employees of Pan Am were the only substantial presence on
Wake. Late in 1940, a contract was awarded to the “Contractors Pacific Naval Air Bases”
organization for a three-year effort to turn Wake Island into a major naval air base. Construction
workers were recruited from men who had worked on big construction projects such as the
Hoover and Grand Coulee Dams. The advance party of construction workers arrived on the
island in January 1941.
When the first Marines arrived late in 1941, they found they were greatly outnumbered
by the construction workers. Devereux’s battalion eventually reached about half strength—or
roughly 450 Marines. A service detachment from Marine Air Group 21, the pilots of VMF-211,
and other navy men and marines added less than a hundred additional personnel to the military
total. Civilian construction workers reporting to contractor superintendent Daniel Teeters
numbered about 1,150.
The contractor had dynamite, bulldozers, dredging equipment, and other tools, but the
workers were unarmed. Devereux’s Marines began work on defense installations. They were
armed, but equipped with little more than picks and shovels for construction work. Short of
manpower, the Marines worked in twelve-hour shifts. Teeters’ men continued with their contract
work, but Teeters loaned the Marines a bulldozer and other equipment to help them prepare
gun emplacements, bomb shelters and defensive positions.
Early in November, Devereux received a warning message: “International situation
indicates you should be on the alert.” Devereux sent a return message: “Does international
situation indicate employment of contractor’s men on defense installations which are far from
complete?” Devereux met with Teeters and Lt. Cdr. Elmer Greey, the military supervisor of
construction, and began planning for the use of the civilian contractor work force and equipment
to aid in completing high-priority fortifications. Devereux assumed he would be granted
permission to employ the contractor’s resources on the highest priority projects. The reply from
Pearl Harbor denied Devereux the permission he requested. Devereux could only assume the
international situation was not as critical as the earlier warning message had indicated.
Devereux’s battalion was equipped with old weapons, some dating back to World War I;
but, it had an impressive array of them. These included six 5-inch guns; twelve 3-inch guns;
eighteen .50 caliber machine guns; and, thirty .30 caliber machine guns. Only one of the 3-inch
guns came with its full fire-control equipment. The biggest problem was that Devereux did not
have sufficient manpower to man all the weapons. His men were also equipped with
submachine guns, rifles and pistols, but naval personnel on the island and a small army
communications team were unarmed.
On the morning of December 8 th , Wake received notice of events occurring in Hawaii
(where it was December 7 th ). Soon, Wake received its first air raid and suffered its first
casualties. Wake’s lone Navy doctor was ordered to take over the contractor’s hospital which
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