Victory in defeat : the Wake Island defenders in captivity, 1941-1945 / Gregory J.W. Urwin.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Urwin, Gregory J. W., 1955-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Wake Island, Battle of, Wake Island, 1941.

World War, 1939-1945--Prisoners and prisons, Japanese.

World War, 1939-1945.

World War, 1939-1945--Concentration camps--Japan.

World War, 1939-1945--Concentration camps--China--Shanghai.

World War, 1939-1945--Wake Island.

Prisoners of war--United States--Biography.

Prisoners of war.

Prisoners of war--Wake Island--Biography.

Wake Island--History, Military--20th century.

Wake Island.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (512 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Annapolis, Md. : Naval Institute Press, 2010.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Told here for the first time in vivid detail is the story of the defenders of Wake Island following their surrender to the Japanese on December 23, 1941. The highly regarded military historian Gregory Urwin spent decades researching what happened and now offers a revealing look at the U.S. Marines, sailors, soldiers, and civilian contractors in captivity. In addition to exhaustive archival research, he interviewed dozens of POWs and even some of their Japanese captors. He also had access to diaries secretly kept by the prisoners. This information has allowed Urwin to provide a nuanced loo

Contents:

"Issue in doubt" : the siege of Wake Island

"The emperor has ... presented you with your lives" : the shock of capture

"Very odd people indeed" : the first twenty-four hours in captivity

"The Japanese continue to treat us with respect" : a deceptively gentle transition to POW life

"A real hell ship" : from Wake Island to Yokohama on the Nitta Maru

"Never had I felt so desolate or so weary" : from murder at sea to despair on land

"The most painful days we spent in prison camp" : hitting bottom at Woosung

"The Japanese Army ... will improve your conditions" : turning the corner at Woosung

"Without Red Cross help ... we would never have pulled through" : the impact of outside aid

"I thought they handled themselves reasonably well" : Japanese-POW relations at Woosung

"You God damn Americans don't understand anything" : strains, outrages, and departures

"This camp is the best one that the Japs have" : a new commandant and a new camp

A hellacious damn deal till we finished" : pushed to the edge on Mount Fuji

"Optimism ... is running high" : hope revives at Kiangwan

"The pleasure of raising our flag over the enemy's homeland" : to Japan and liberation

"98 US PW, 5-10-43" : the Wake Island diaspora, 1942-1945

"We had a bond there that's still going" : why so many came home.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

ISBN:

1-283-04960-0

9786613049605

1-61251-004-3

OCLC:

707067954