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K9W REMEMBERING THE FORGOTTEN 98  A DXPEDITION TO WAKE ATOLL IN MEMORY OF
THE 98 CIVILIAN CONSTRUCTION WORKERS WHO DIED THERE DURING WORLD WAR II.
JOHN MILLER, K6MM, AND LOU DIETRICH, N2TU  THE 2013 K9W DXPEDITION TO WAKE
ATOLL WAS UNIQUE IN THAT ITS PURPOSE WASNT JUST TO PUT A RARE ONE ON THE
AIR, BUT TO COMMEMORATE AN IMPORTANT EVENT IN HISTORY, AN EVENT THAT TOOK
PLACE IN A PART OF THE UNITED STATES THAT MOST AMERICANS WILL NEVER SEE
WAKE ISLAND ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL AND ISOLATED CORAL ATOLLS IN THE
WORLD.  OVER THE LAST 30 YEARS, THERE HAS BEEN LIMITED AMATEUR RADIO
ACTIVITY FROM WAKE ISLAND.  THE LAST DXPEDITION WAS IN 1998.  SINCE THEN,
ACTIVITY FROM THIS RARE DXCC ENTITY HAS BEEN INTERMITTENT, MOSTLY FROM
MILITARY PERSONNEL ON TEMPORARY ASSIGNMENT.  IN OCTOBER 2012, THE CLUB LOG
MOST WANTED LIST RANKED WAKE ISLAND AS 14 AND DX MAGAZINE HAD IT AT 21.
WAKE ATOLL OVERVIEW WAKE IS A WISHBONE SHAPED ATOLL, CONSISTING OF THREE
ISLANDS PEALE, WAKE, AND WILKES SURROUNDED BY A CORAL REEF ENCLOSING A
CENTRAL LAGOON.  ITS SITUATED IN THE NORTHERN PACIFIC OCEAN ABOUT 2300
MILES WEST OF HAWAII SEE FIGURE 1.  WAKE OCCUPIES AN AREA OF 2R8 SQUARE
MILES.  ITS SURFACE CONSISTS OF DISINTEGRATED CORAL WITH BOULDERS, TREES,
AND SHRUBS.  THE BEAUTIFUL BEACHES ARE A COMBINATION OF WHITE CORAL SAND
AND JAGGED CORAL ROCKS.  THERE IS A 9800 FOOT LONG RUNWAY BUT NO PORTS,
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