Geography of Wake Island
Wake Island, a coral atoll in the Pacific Ocean, about 2,400 miles (3,900 km) west of Hawaii. The name usually includes the nearby islands of Peale and Wilkes. The area of Wake Island is three square miles (8 km2). Wake had no native inhabitants when it was discovered by the British in 1796. The United States claimed the islands in 1900 and made them a naval reservation in 1934. There was no permanent settlement until 1935, when Pan American World Airways made Wake a landing station for trans-Pacific planes.
Because Wake is a steppingstone across the Pacific, the United States began constructing naval air and submarine bases there in 1939. Large Japanese forces attacked the islands on the morning of December 8, 1941 (December 7, Hawaiian time). After a heroic defense by 450 U.S. Marines and 1,200 civilian workers, Wake Island was surrendered on December 23. It was bombed by United States planes from 1942 until the Japanese surrender in September, 1945.
There is no permanent population.