Wake Island

---

[ Taps ]

[ Man Narrating ]

Wake Island is a tiny dot

in the midst of the Pacific,

4,254 air miles from San Francisco.

Until 1941, it was known

only as a stepping stone

for the Pan American Clippers.

In June of that year,

the United States Marines landed.

Present arms!

[ Bugle Call ]

By the end of October, 1941,

they had made progress.

Six five-inch naval guns like these

had been emplaced.

In addition, they had 12 mobile

three-inch antiaircraft guns.

A squadron of 12 Grumann F4F3's,

nicknamed "wildcats," ere based at Wake.

And the 385 officers and men

of the First Defense Battalion,

United States Marine Corps...

were constantly on the alert,

patrolling the skies daily.

[ Indistinct Shouts ]

Left shoulder arms!

Right shoulder arms!

Late in 1941,

Headquarters Marine Corps...

assigned a new commanding officer

to this tiny garrison.

To the rear, march!

His name:
Major Geoffirey Caton.

His record:
long and active.

In Pearl Harbor on a November morning,

Major Caton makes his farewells.

[ Girl ]

With the compliments

of your daughter, sir.

Well! Say, this is something.

Open it.

"To Daddy from Cynthia,

November, 1941. "

It cost me

an awful lot of money.

I'll bet it did.

Practically all my savings.

You know, you are getting a little thin.

Better catch up on your ice cream sodas.

Thanks, Daddy.

I'll be gone a long time.

Thanks a lot!

Well, what goes with thanks?

Where is this old

Wake Island, anyhow?

Oh, it's just a little strip of sand

with a lot of water around it.

Good-byes are awful, aren't they?

Well, you let yourself in for a lot of them

when you married a marine.

I know.

What, again?

I'd feel like this

if you were going away overnight.

Next time I leave,

I'm gonna bring a bucket.

Here's where I leave ya.

Good-bye.

Good-bye.

Thanks for showin' me the town.

Aloha nui kako.

Oh, save it till I come back.

Here. Thanks, Charlie.

[ Sobs ]

Mr. McCloskey!

Mr. McCloskey!

Good morning.

Oh. Morning.

I don't suppose you got

a bar on this boat.

Can't even offer you

a cold shower.

Have we got there yet?

No. We won't be in

for some time.

Would you like

to slick up a little?

Look, General, you're a soldier

and I'm a civilian.

I got a government contract

with a mighty important job to do,

but there's not one word in it

about takin' orders from brass hats.

That goes for suggestions

about shavin' too.

Call me when we get there.

That's all I want from you.

Let me take another look

at our future home.

Yes, sir, I can see 'em

in me mind's eye--

big ones, little ones--

all guzzlin' and gruntin'...

and puttin'on weight.

Yes, sir. Hundreds of'em.

Hundreds of which?

Hogs.

Yes, sir.

That's what the ex-wrestling champ

of the Pacific Fleet has finally decided on.

Outta this outfit and into hogs.

That's me.

Last week it was turkeys.

Turks is out.

I just read a book.

Turks has got 2 49 pages

of diseases.

[ Plane Engines Droning ]

There she goes.

The old Clipper.

Ya great big beautiful

sweetheart, you.

A week, and I'll be aboard one of them.

Mr. Aloysius K. Randall,

United States citizen, tourist deluxe.

Monkeys like you

don't rate no Clippers.

Well, I got the dough,

and I got the old man's say-so.

Don't you worry, bub.

I'll be on it, all right.

Hey, look, Smacksie.

Right here I got 1 0 bucks,

and I'm gonna bet you the whole--

Where at did you

ever get 1 0 bucks?

I got it, all right.

And right now that 1 0 bucks

is sayin' that you don't leave.

'Cause why?

'Cause you'll ship over, that's why.

Ahhh. A float!

For me.

Oh, boy! One of them

hammer and sickles!

Let me have a look at it!

Get your hands away.

I seen it first!

Yeah, well, I got it first!

Gimme that!

Let go!

Why, you baboon-faced, no-good--

You see, you left yourself

wide open for an arm lock.

I don't wanna hear any of that

wrestling talk! I just wanna

punch you right in the nose!

Okay. There it is. Go ahead.

All right!

[ Bugle Call ]

Chow.

[ Whistles ]

Come on, Skipper! Come on!

Hey, you two. Just a minute.

What have you two guys

been up to?

We were swimmin', Sarge.

Swimmin'?

Yeah. You owe me a medal.

I just saved his life.

That bugler saved yours, pal.

All right, all right.

Get in the line.

Here we go.

Good old stew.

What do you think I am?

A canary?

Move on, my friend.

All right, wise guy.

One of these days you're going to find out

what I got these two stripes for.

Heil!

Who said that?

Somebody around here's a wise guy.

Only one of these days

I'm going to catch up with him, see,

and he's going to find out

that just because my name is Goebbels,

that doesn't make me a heinie.

My folks was Holland Dutch,

and if anybody doesn't think so,

all he's got to do is speak up.

Do you understand?

But I didn't say anything, Corporal.

Maybe you did

and maybe you didn't.

Anyway, I'm warning you.

Heil!

Who said that?

Heil!

Who said that?

Don't let 'em get you so hot, Corp.

You'll spoil your chow.

All right, Corporal.

Sit down and eat.

Sparks! Where have you been?

Just got off duty.

Oh, I got some hot news for you.

The new C.O.

will be here in an hour.

What's his name?

Caton.

Caton?

Must be Artillery Caton.

That guy eats 'em alive.

Tough, huh?

He had me in and outta the brig

so much, I wore it out.

Boys, the honeymoon's over.

From now on, you're marines.

Hello, Jeff.

How are you, Johnson?

Glad to see you.

Have a good trip?

Fine, thank you.

Well, nice to see you again.

Thank you.

Our commanding officer,

Commander Roberts, Major Caton.

Reporting, sir.

Major, we're glad to have you

share our exile with us.

Thank you, sir.

Nielson of Pan American.

How do you do, sir?

Parkman, our doctor.

Play bridge, Major?

I play at it, sir.

Certainly need new blood, sir.

Thanks.

Patrick, our squadron commander.

Happy to know you, sir.

And this is--

I know the major.

Hello, Lewis. How are you?

Captain Patrick, I brought you

a new man-- Lieutenant Cameron.

Bruce Cameron?

Yes, sir.

Come along, Patrick.

I'll introduce you.

I know his father.

Right, sir.

Excuse us.

Excuse us, Mr. Nielson.

There's a guard waiting for the major.

Certainly.

Guard, front!

[ Bugle Call ]

Guard, face front!

Present arms!

Lower arms!

Left face!

Right shoulder arms!

Forward march!

Mr. McCloskey?

Yeah.

I'm Hogan. Pete Hogan.

Your foreman.

How are ya?

I'm glad there's somebody

here to meet me, although I know

I don't rate no fancy parade.

Well, if I'd thought of it,

I'd have had some of our boys

lined up for you... with shovels.

How you been making out?

Oh, fair to middlin',

Mr. McCloskey.

Built quarters for the men and

spotted some of the ground work.

Maybe not as much as you'd expect,

but we've sorta been waitin'

around for you.

I'll take a look at what you've done, then

I'd like to meet the crew and get acquainted.

All right.

And you've gotta get

that excavating finished.

You better work three shifts.

I wanna start pouring concrete by Thursday.

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