Given Up for Dead

At Wake Island an outnumbered Marine Defense Battalion showed the world what they were made of when they fought off a Japanese landing force and secured America’s first but very fleeting victory in World War II. The Japanese flush with victory after ravaging Pearl Harbor turned their sights to the small strategic island but failed to account for the courage and tenacity of the defenders. Instead of an easy victory, the Japanese were handed their first defeat when two of the attacking destroyers were sunk with all hands lost.…