Massacre on Wake Island
By Major Mark E. Hubbs, U.S. Army Reserve (Retired)
A contractor for the U.S. Army on Wake Atoll recently happened upon an obscure memorial to 98 American construction workers who died there in 1943. The simple boulder pictured at right, beyond a plaque listing their names, is the stark remnant of a disturbing World War II incident. Soon after lining up for this photo, taken during the Japanese surrender of Wake in September 1945, Rear Admiral Shigimatsu Sakaibara— at left, front row—and 15 other Japanese officers and men who had acted under his orders were arrested for war crimes.
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Major Hubbs is a Cultural Resource Analyst at Teledyne Solutions Inc. He thanks Mike Timmons of the Chugach Development Corporation, which manages the island under contract to the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command, and the command's Paul Fusco. They provide the time and resources to ensure that the POW Rock and other memorials on the atoll are cared for. Thanks also go to Lou Hitchcock of Chugach, the "official, unofficial historian" at Wake Island, who provided many of the resources for this article.
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