‰ NOW 30 WPM ‰ TEXT IS FROM JANUARY 2015 QST PAGE 72‰ ALTHOUGH TWO OFFSHORE ANCHORAGES EXIST FOR LARGE SHIPS. THE ATOLL LIES 19 NORTH OF THE EQUATOR WITH A TROPICAL CLIMATE SIMILAR TO HAWAII. BECAUSE WAKE IS LOCATED WEST OF THE INTERNATIONAL DATE LINE, IT IS 1 DAY AHEAD OF US CONTINENTAL TIME. BECAUSE OF DEFENSE RELATED ACTIVITY THERE, WAKE IS A HIGHLY RESTRICTED AIRBASE OVERSEEN BY THE UNITED STATES AIR FORCE USAF. THE ROLE OF WAKE IN WORLD WAR II WAKE WAS FIRST SETTLED IN 1935 BY PAN AM AIRWAYS TO SERVICE TRANSPACIFIC CHINA CLIPPER FLIGHTS BETWEEN SAN FRANCISCO AND HONG KONG. AS THE STORM CLOUDS OF WORLD WAR II GATHERED IN LATE 1940, THE US NAVY BEGAN CONSTRUCTION OF A MILITARY BASE AND AIRFIELD. ON AUGUST 19, 1941, THE FIRST GARRISON LANDED. LESS THAN 4 MONTHS LATER, ON DECEMBER 7, 1941, THE JAPANESE ATTACKED PEARL HARBOR AND WAKE ISLAND SIMULTANEOUSLY. THE SMALL GARRISON HELD THEIR POSITION. ON DECEMBER 23, WAKE ISLAND SUCCUMBED TO FURTHER JAPANESE ATTACKS AND REMAINED OCCUPIED UNTIL THE END OF THE WAR. ALL US MILITARY AND CIVILIANS WERE SENT TO POW CAMPS IN ASIA, EXCEPT FOR 98 CIVILIAN CONTRACTORS, WHO BECAME KNOWN AS THE FORGOTTEN 98. FOR ALMOST 2 YEARS AS POWS, THE 98 CIVILIANS CONSTRUCTED BARRICADES, ‰ END OF 30 WPM TEXT ‰ QST DE W1AW ƒ