Given Up for Dead: America's Heroic Stand at Wake Island

by Bill Sloan

Book Overview

A gripping narrative of unprecedented valor and personal courage, here is the story of the first American battle of World War II: the battle for Wake Island. Based on firsthand accounts from long-lost... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0553803026
• ISBN13: 9780553803020
• Release Date: September 2003
• Publisher: Bantam Books
• Length: 412 Pages
• Weight: 1.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.2" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Well researched, clearly written, excellent sources, a valuable historical reference.

There seems to be three types of books when it comes to the Wake Island saga: the personal account, the scholarly analysis, and the journalistic story. Bill Sloan's book is the latter, a tapestry comprising personal stories, academic research as well as critical historical as well as tactical analysis. Sloan introduces the characters as the story evolves, piecing together many of the inconsistencies found in earlier published works. Sloan is highly critical of CDR Winfield Cunningham's role in both the command of the garrison as well as his responsibility for the garrison's surrender. Also criticized is the more heralded MAJ James Devereux, whose shortcomings, albeit much more limited, are also realized. This is an exceptional book which shall serve as a valuable anthology of some less heard stories of Wake's survivors and dead alike. Truly an homage to these men, so many of whom we are in the midst of losing today, whose gallantry will hopefully not be lost to the fickle memory of American History. REVIEW EVERY BOOK YOU READ, AUTHORS DESERVE YOUR THOUGHTS, OPINIONS AND CRITIQUES!

A fantastic narrative history of little known Wake Island

Every high school student knows about the events of December 7, 1941 ("Yesterday, December 7, 1941, a date which will live in infamy..."), but almost nobody knows what happened on the other side of the globe only a few hours after that surprise attack on Pearl Harbor started - the Japanese attacked a tiny island of coral in the midst of the Pacific Ocean known as Wake Island. Starting on December 8 (local time) and ending on December 23, the Japanese attempted to overrun Wake Island, but the Marine bastion stationed there resisted with passion and courage unknown to most. For 2 weeks, these marines held out against superior odds, and that is the crux of this book. Sloan does a fabulous job of describing the history of the battle - it's more than a recant of the military posturing or the general's orders; it is a true narrative history of the soldiers that participated intertwined with the civilians that were unlucky enough to be on Wake when the attacks started and the actions of the commanding officers. Publishers Weekly called this "The best account yet of the battle for Wake Island", and I would agree wholeheartedly with that sentiment. This is indeed an awesome book, and every student of World War II history should read this to better understand why Wake is so important in our history. It may have ended in the surrender of American troops on the island, but it was important from a psychological perspective - it proved to the Japanese and the world that America would not die quietly; we would indeed persevere even in the face of tough odds.

The Alamo of the Pacific

The heroic defenders of Wake Island have often been compared to the band of soldiers who defended the Alamo , and in this fine book, author Bill Sloan describes the battle for Wake Island from early on December 8 until the Marines finally and grudgingly surrendered to the overwhelming Japanese forces on December 23, 1941. The first bombs began to fall on Wake just five hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Eight of the twelve aircraft from Marine fighter squadron VMF-211 were destroyed on the ground and the airfield was left pot-holed, but the Marines' spirit was never broken. A few days later, the Japanese tried an amphibious landing, but the Marines, led by Major James Devereux, succeeded in replusling the invasion attempt. Wake had three twin batteries of five inch naval guns, and these batteries succeeded in sinking two Japanese destroyers and heavily damaging a light cruiser and several other ships. For the next two weeks, the brave Marines endured daily bombing raids by the Japanese, but the Marine anti-aircraft gunners managed to put up a tremendous volume of flak and succeeded in downing several Japanese planes. However, on the 22nd and 23rd of December, the Japanese, supported by two aircraft carrier groups detached from the returning Pearl Harbor strike force, managed to successfully land troops on Wake. For the next few days, the Japanese faced the wrath of the greatly outnumbered Marines and civillian workers. Japanese casualties were horrendous, while the greatly outnumbered Americans fought with bravery and gallantry right up until the controversial surrender order was given. Many of the Marines on Wake thought the order must have been a mistake. The Japanese were being pushed back into the sea at many points, but the overly conservative Commander Winfield Cunningham thought that there was no way to stop the advancing Japanese. Many men contimplated mutiny and vowed to continue fighting the Japanese, but, in the end, the valiant Wake defenders surrendered to the Japanese after having inflicted many more casualties on the enemy than they suffered. These heroic defenders were now condemned to finish the war as prisoners of the Japanese. I've read dozens of books about the Pacific war, and this is one of the best I've read. Bill Sloan has done an amazing job in bringing the heroic struggle for Wake to life. The book reads like a novel, and I definitely felt like I came to know each Marine mentioned in the book. Sloan tells it all; from the American's decision to turn Wake into a military base in the late 1930's, the attack by the Japanese, the aborted rescue mission by an American task force in which many American airmen came dangerously close to mutiny, and to the final surrender. I give this book my absolute highest recommendation. From the day the Japanese landed until the surrender, the Marines fought with gritty determination against vastly superior forces, yet they didn't waiver in the face of battle. This ba

When heroism mattered they delivered

If you've elected to read Given Up for Dead: America's Heroic Stand at Wake Island then you're in for a treat. It has been a long time since anything like it has appeared on the shelves in American bookstores.Within hours of the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, the Japanese strike at Wake Island. Thinly defended by a few companies of Marines and a very small Marine Air Squadron VMF-211, Wake Island was in the process of being fortified. Beside the small military detachment, there was large numbers of civilian construction crews on the Island that were sent to Wake to build various bunkers, hospitals, and barracks. PanAm also has a facility on Wake to service it's clippers that stop periodically on there way to the orient and back again. It is this small population of Americans that must face the Japanese assault that has not met defeat yet.Bill Sloan is a master storyteller. In Given Up for Dead he tells the story in a way that will stir your admiration for the defenders, both military and civilian. He uses standard sources but also mixes in information from the few survivors that are still alive. Primary sources, especially eye witness accounts, form the backbone of this book.Ultimately the American Marines are forced to surrender, but not until they give the Japanese a preview of what's in store for them in the subsequent months. It was the Marines at Wake Island that stopped the Japanese for the first time. It was also the Marines of Wake Island that sank the first Japanese naval vessel of WWII.This is a pivotal book both in the history of the Marine Corps and the history of WWII. If you're a history buff then you'll want this book on your own bookshelf.

Why don't we know more about this heroic struggle?

Bill Sloan accomplishes for me everything he set out to do--which is to give the reader a close-up, on-the-ground view of what it must have been like to endure the siege and the aftermath of this little-known struggle that represented the first face-to-face combat between the Japanese soldier and the American Marine. The endurance of these men is an everlasting tribute to both the Marine Corps and to the American spirit. And similar to what one finds when reading "Ghost Soldiers" or "Flag of our Fathers", one sees here the corruption of the bushido code by the Japanese military and the horrific consequences of this corruption--to both the Japanese foot soldier and later to US POW's. Credit to author Sloan for presenting a moving and enduring tribute to the brave men on both sides. And some welcome contrast to the conventional wisdom by restoring the reputation of that benighted scapegoat, Admiral Kimmel. How about a few more belated medals to these men who were every bit as courageous and effective in the performance of their duty as Alvin York and Audie Murphy.