Survivors of Wake, Guam and Cavite, Inc. papers

The Survivors of Wake, Guam and Cavite, Inc were actively engaged in lobbying, for recognition and benefits, to the U.S. Government. Due to their status as prisoners of war and resulting medical conditions from their captivity they sought government services and aid. They were successful in achieving recognition as veterans and received medical benefits from the Veterans' Administration. In the collection are several letters to and from Idaho Senators and Representatives as well as letters to other Members of Congress from states many other members lived in.

The organization was also successful in lobbying to have their plight memorialized. In the 1980's they began a campaign to erect a monument on Wake Island in honor of the civilian workers near the memorial recognizing the Navy and Marine defenders of Wake. With the help of the military and the Morrison-Knudsen Corporation the memorial was developed and transported to Wake Island. The Survivors of Wake, Guam and Cavite, Inc also received an official recognition from President Reagan.

In addition to the letters and documents dealing with the business of the organization there are several folders of general information about Wake Island, government benefits and correspondence from friends of the group.

Wake Island is an atoll in the Central Pacific Ocean, 2200 miles West of Hawaii. In 1941 the United States began fortifying the island that had long been held as a naval refueling point. Civilian contracts were awarded to build an airfield and a submarine base on the island. One of the contractors was Morrison-Knudsen Inc. of Boise, Idaho. Pan Am Airlines also had a station on the island as a refueling point for trans-Pacific flights. On December 8, 1941 the Japanese attacked Wake with the same fleet that had attacked Pearl Harbor the day before. The island had a defense force of 500 Marines and sailors and almost 1200 civilian workers. The defenders repulsed the first attack, sinking the first Japanese ships of the war. Some civilians participated in the defense by taking up arms next to the Marines most of the others helped improve fighting positions and move the guns from place to place to confuse the Japanese. The island held out for sixteen days without resupply or reinforcements.

When the defenders surrendered on December 23, 1941, the civilians entered captivity along with the Marines and sailors. The prisoners were later taken off the island and transported to prison camps in Japan and China. 92 of the civilians were kept on Wake and executed in 1943 by the Japanese garrison. The POW's spent the war as slave laborers in mines and factories. After the Japanese surrender on September 2, 1945, the prison camps were liberated and the survivors made their way home. Less than a quarter of those taken prisoner survived.