Rating: 
Summary: Navy smeared again?
Review: "Given Up for Dead" by Bill Sloan is a pretty good on detail from personal interviews of some of the heroes, both military and civilian, but the heart of the book takes Major James Devereux (Marine Detachment Commander) point of view on all aspects of the defence of Wake Island and makes the Island Commander, Winfield Scott Cunningham, out as a frightened child hiding in his bunker in the rear. Sloan quotes liberally from Devereux book "The Story of Wake Island." Devereux himself said his book, "The Story of Wake Island", was a romance novel and was never intended as historical fact. Sloan went out of his way to attack Cunningham personally and even called his mental condition into question. His comments concerning Cunningham are almost a word for word take off of an article by Peter Andrews in the July 1987 issue of 'American Heritage'. There was no 'rear' on Wake Island and every one deserves high praise for their courage and determination. Smearing the Navy Commander with falsehoods is only hurtful, not substantiated fact. The fact's of Cunningham's life proves that he was highly qualified to be Island Commander. He had intimate knowledge of the use, accuracy and limitations of the 3-inch and 5-inch batteries. His duties in destroyers, cruisers, and battleships included duty as battery officer, fire control officer and senior aviator in charge of observation, all of which made him thoroughly familiar with the very 5-inch guns which defended the shore line. He was a squadron commander on the USS YORKTOWN, which used the predecessor of the F4F-3 Wildcats. He had the courage and experience, from his World War I vicory medal, his service around the world including service as part of the Fourth China Patrol Force patroling the river delta from Hong Kong to Canton, China during yet another civil war, to command of three reserve aviation squadrons as Commander of the United States Naval Reserve Base in Oakland, California. This is not the experience of a novice, this is the experience of a leader. For a better, more balanced book, read 'Facing Fearful Odds: The Siege of Wake Island' by Gregory Urwin, published by University of Nebraska Press, 1997 or read the Navy Commanders book, 'Wake Island Command', 1961, Little, Brown & Co.
Rating: 
Summary: Why don't we know more about this heroic struggle?
Review: 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.
Rating: 
Summary: Forgotten Heroes Brought Back to Us
Review: By Bill Marsano. One reason World War II dramas keep filling books is that half the war has been mostly forgotten--the Pacific part. It was a full-scale war all by itself, and although the U.S. did most of the heavy fighting, these days we remember little more than Pearl Harbor and Hiroshima, and maybe Guadalcanal and Iwo Jima in a pinch.The problem, as in real estate, is location, location, location. The European theater was full of famous cities and works of art and people we knew, or thought we knew. At least had heard of. The Pacific was nothing but millions of square miles of ocean, empty except for Hawaii and large numbers of small islands and smaller tribes. Two of the smallest, least habitable islands were deemed of enormous by both Japan and the U.S., and much blood and treasure were expended on their defense and conquest. The first was Wake, a coral atoll in the middle of nowhere--perfect as a stopover for the old Pan Am Clipper flying boats, but little more. When war began it was populated by about 500 US servicemen--mostly Marines--and about 1000 civilian construction workers. The buildup was too late, the garrison too small (about 60 percent understrength), the guns too old--so naturally, when the Japanese attacked, the troops fought back like lions. For a while it was the biggest morale-building story of the war. And the only one: The Japanese had stunned us a Pearl Harbor, conquered the Philippines, taken over Guam--and here was this tiny force on a tiny island giving them hell. Indeed they actually beat back the first invasion attempt, sinking some Japanese ships and seriously damaging others. Bombed repeatedly for more than two weeks, the garrison, joined by nearly half the civilians, held out bravely and fought amazingly well. The second invasion attempt was by a truly enormous force; it succeeded, but only after the defenders had punished it severely. Even today questions remain. Could Wake's defenders have held out longer, even won? Who was responsible for the surrender order, so bitterly resented by most of the Marines? What did the relief fleet sail from Pearl Harbor--and then turn back? I won't go into that here--that's Bill Sloan's job. It is good to have him bring this battle and these heroes back to us. He plods a bit in the beginning and his writing is only workmanlike, but that's OK--he doesn't get in the way of the story or the men who played their parts it it. And once the shooting starts the story achieves its own momentum. As suggested above, there's controversy to spare in the Wake Island story, and Sloan does a good job of handling it fairly. This is a worthwhile read. In the end, Wake was of strategic importance to no one. The Japanese won it and probably wished they hadn't. US Navy ships heading elsewhere used to pound the hell out of it in passing, but we didn't bother trying to get it back. It was useless as a base of operations and almost impossible to supply--by war's end, the Japanese garrison was near starvation. Oh. The other small wretched island? That was Midway. About six months post-Wake the Japanese tried to take that, too, also without having much considered what good it might do them. In the subsequent Battle of Midway, Japan lost the war in about 10 minutes. The US would still have to win it, however, and that would about three more years.--Bill Marsano has been reading about WWII since he was too young to fight in it.
Rating:
Summary: A fantastic narrative history of little known Wake Island
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: One of the first tough fights for the American army in WWII
Review: Everybody knows about Pearl Harbor, and the sneak attack by the Japanese that helped usher the Americans into World War II. On the other hand, not that many people know about Wake island, the heroic stand of less than 1000 U.S. Marines and the civilian contractors who were there to help build it up, which began very shortly after Pearl Harbor and ended two days before Christmas. With Given Up For Dead, Bill Sloan has done his part to rectify this lack of knowledge. With powerful prose and words from the men who served there (and even a few from the invaders), Sloan tells us the story of these men and what they went through. The book is riveting, relatively easy to read, and quite thorough.
Wake island is a sleepy little atoll out in the middle of the Pacific, but it is strategically located. It was originally supposed to be built up during the 1930s, but lack of funding hampered this, until the coming of Pan Am, who wished to use it as a base for transoceanic travel. The island is mostly coral, scrub and trees, and is pretty desolate. For these men, however, it would become a crucible, and it would also gain the American army its first victory over the Japanese, though it was short-lived. The final defeat is shown to be completely unnecessary, as only a few miscues by the commanders (both on the island itself and back in Hawaii) result in the premature ending of a battle that was actually going fairly well for the Americans.
Sloan has interviewed most of the survivors from this battle, and he references the books written by the two commanders who died in the 1980s. This gives a very vivid view of the battle, right on the ground watching as the 3-inch gun crews manage to blow up two Japanese destroyers who ventured too close to land. We see the maneuvering during the second invasion, as Captain Wesley Platt manages to clear Wilkes island (one of the three islands that make up Wake Atoll) of all Japanese invaders, just prior to being ordered to surrender. Sloan pulls no punches, with the occasional description of battle that is quite graphic, but he doesn't go overboard. Instead, he makes it real.
The book begins with the history of the Wake atoll, from its discovery until its use as a military base, culminating in the pre-war years of build-up through Pan-Am and the military. This sets up the rest of the battle, as many of the civilian contractors who were on the island for this construction end up playing pivotal roles in the defense of the island. Some of the most heroic men who died were the civilians who volunteered to do whatever they could to help the Marines who were dying for them. Sure, some of the contractors fled to the jungle and survived on their own for two weeks, though strangely enough we never really hear about them again. Sloan mentions them in passing, but we never know exactly what happened to them. They were presumably killed, but if they were captured, Sloan never mentions them. Most of the civilians, however, took part in the defense.
Even more important than a detailed description of the battle, however, is the aftermath. Sloan tells us about the horrifying sea voyage of some of the prisoners, from Wake to Japan and then to a camp near Shanghai, about the desolate conditions on the ship and the brutality of their captors. There is no mention of any deaths on this voyage, except for the five who were beheaded up on the deck for no apparent reason (and Sloan states that the reason for this has never been revealed), so I'm not sure if that's glossed over or if it's just a fact that nobody died. The journey was horrible, though. Sloan also shows a few "good" Japanese soldiers, including Doctor Ozeki, who saved the life of Wiley Sloman back on Wake. Sloman had taken a bullet in the head, and Ozeki eventually saved him. None of the men had anything bad to say about him, and he even met with some of the survivors in 1995. Ed Borne even called Ozeki his best friend after years of correspondence with him.
In addition to all of this, Sloan examines the surrender and why it happened. A relief fleet was sailing toward Wake, but it was going too slow because of both the slowest ship's speed and the ambivalence of the new temporary commander of the Pacific Fleet, Admiral Pye, toward the relief effort. Add this to the severed communications between the commanders of the Wake defense and the troops giving the commanders a wrong impression of what was going on and you get a recipe for a premature surrender. Platt had cleared one island and was looking to go help on one of the others. The Marines could probably have held out for two or three more days, but the relief convoy was aborted as soon as Commander Cunningham, commander of the garrison, indicated to the Pacific Fleet headquarters (in a cryptic, though dramatic message) that Japanese troops were on the island and the situation was grim. What could have been a major American victory turned into another defeat.
Given Up For Dead is a book that's hard to put down. The book is well-researched, with most of the sources being interviews or the books written by men who fought there. There are a few details missing, as mentioned above, but overall this is quite the comprehensive work. It will keep any military history reader turning the page, and it is an important book for bringing to light a forgotten battle. Everybody remembers the Alamo, but hardly anybody seems to remember the Alamo of the Pacific.
David Roy
Rating:
Summary: Superb
Review: Given Up for Dead is popular history at its best: powerful, moving narrative; accurate and well-researched. A reviewer notes Sloan's hard words for Cunningham--but I think they are well deserved. Cunningham was a weak commander: incapable of leading by example. In battle we need leaders who "can sweat, get mad, and think at the same time." That was Devereux. And I have read Urwin's book, which is comprehensive, but dry and uninspired.
Rating:
Summary: When heroism mattered they delivered
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: When heroism mattered they delivered
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Well-Written and Perceptive
Review: In 2003, major commercial publishers released three different books on the Battle of Wake Island. _Given up for Dead: America's Heroic Stand at Wake Island_ is the best of that trio. It is well-written, perceptive, and contains many useful insights. Bill Sloan did an excellent job in capturing the spirit of the Marines, sailors, soldiers and civilians who defended Wake from December 8 to 23, 1941. If anyone were to ask me for a Stephen E. Ambrose-style introduction to the Wake saga, I would steer him or her to Sloan's book. Another thing that impressed this university-employed military historian was Sloan's intellectual honesty in acknowledging the scholarly treatments of the Wake Island Campaign from which he drew much of his information. He also went beyond the work of others in conducting his own interviews with the ever-shrinking band of valiant Wake veterans. This is good read by a skilled and conscientious journalist. I look forward to purchasing and reading Sloan's future forays into military history.
Rating:
Summary: Well-Written and Perceptive
Review: In 2003, major commercial publishers released three different books on the Battle of Wake Island. _Given up for Dead: America's Heroic Stand at Wake Island_ is the best of that trio. It is well-written, perceptive, and contains many useful insights. Bill Sloan did an excellent job in capturing the spirit of the Marines, sailors, soldiers and civilians who defended Wake from December 8 to 23, 1941. If anyone were to ask me for a Stephen E. Ambrose-style introduction to the Wake saga, I would steer him or her to Sloan's book. Another thing that impressed this university-employed military historian was Sloan's intellectual honesty in acknowledging the scholarly treatments of the Wake Island Campaign from which he drew much of his information. He also went beyond the work of others in conducting his own interviews with the ever-shrinking band of valiant Wake veterans. This is good read by a skilled and conscientious journalist. I look forward to purchasing and reading Sloan's future forays into military history.
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