Lived there from 70 - 71. Step dad worked for the FAA then Mom ran the FAA Community Club. What a life altering experience. Found out about girls, Love, beach bumming, motorcycle riding, fishing, sailing and all other things preteens learn and get into. Incredible memories and set me on the path to a life of travel and adventure. Here I am at 65 and want to go back so bad!!
I lived there in 1968. My father was an air traffic controller. It was a 12 year old’s paradise. I still have 12 Japanese glass fishing balls or floats in my den.
Oh man! I was a teenage loadmaster on C-130s in the 80s. We had a crew hand-picked by the squadron commander, kind of an "attaboy". We had 2 pilots, 2 navs, 2 FEs, 2 loadmasters and a crew chief, and we flew the "Wing Commander's" airplane, 2132, you could eat off the cargo floor it was so clean, and the crew chief was the best there was. Of course we were available for cargo tasking and space available pax, but I can't recall ever carrying anything but ourselves. It was a 9-day PACAF "floater". We went from Dyess AFB, TX to overnight at Travis, AFB, then to Hickam AFB, HI, another overnight, then Midway Island, Wake Island and to Kwajalein Island for another overnight, where I got to take cover for a missile test (not fun), then to Guam, Kadena AFB, JP another overnight and on to Clark AB, RP where we spent a couple of days, which led me to put in for it on my "dream sheet" and I would get orders less than a year later, LOL. We picked up a plaque or something like that made in the Philippines for the Wing Commander, and then reversed course (I don't even remember our itinerary on the way back, I think it was different, I was exhausted by then). So all we carried was that damn plaque, but it was quite the adventure for a 19-year-old.
@@ewthmatth Yep, Kwajalein was a missile range, I don’t remember if they were intermediate or intercontinental, but everyone on the island had to take cover in case they went off course. No warheads, but a several ton rocket coming down will still do some damage. 🤷♂️
@@FloridaJack I worked with all the service branches and besides spec ops (SEALs, Green Berets, Rangers, Marine Force Recon, and USAF combat controllers, etc), among the "regular" military, the Army was the easiest to deal with and probably the most competent. I mean you can tell a Marine to do anything and they'll do it without question but they ain't the sharpest tool in the shed, and the Navy... uh... puhleeze, they refuse to change their ways from tradition and treat enlisted like crapola. In fact, I got my parachute rigger wings from an Army Quartermaster Corp cadre.
@@keithbrown9198 Yes, I worked with some folks that were contractors on Kwajalein during the 1960's. They had stories of missile tests landing in the lagoon, so the caution was well founded. 🤣 There's an article from the LA Times in 1989 explaining this in some detail, but apparently YT won't let me post the link. If you Google "Kwajalein Atoll missiles landing in lagoon" it's the second item from the top with the title "Raining Warheads".
I landed there in January of 1960 when I was a 12 year old dependent of my USAF father. We were relocating from Tokyo to NH in the states. We were in a Super Constellation and laned at Travis, AFB then continued on a few days later to NYC in a 707! Fond memories!
@@hennagaijin100 Hey are you a fellow AIr Force brat? Yeah, I think we departed from Tachikawa. I actually ended up at Pease with the NH ANG outfit some years later. Now I live with my wife in Uruguay! Go figure...where are you these days?
@@michaelfranz6937 Yep. Father was a SAC wing commander. We were at Andersen but took advantage of MATS flights to Yokota/Tachi every month. Went to Pease in 61 and stayed 5 years. Went to Portsmouth High all four years. Dad was put into TAC and sent to Dyess in 66 to fly C130s into Nam. I'm a native Texan and still here in San Antonio. Uruguay must be a unique lifestyle. How did you wind up in the mountains?
@@hennagaijin100 I lived in West TX at the old Webb AFB where dad was a flight instructor from 1952 - 1957 then on to Johnson AFB near Tokyo. I lived in Plano, Tx in the early 90s and really liked it. Your question about the mountains is curious as there aren't any in this very small country! Haha...
Passed through Wake on the way to Guam while ferrying F4 Phantoms from NAS Miramar to Vietnam in the late 60s. Went over and back on an R5D as part of the maintenance crew. I saw the greatest sunset ever while there.
Beautiful island, but you'd go nuts. A ton of history on this small but important piece of ground. I landed here around 2010 to deliver metal roofing material, spent day touring the island and then it was blast off time, back to Hickham AFB. It truly was amazing. C17 LM
I was diverted on my way to Hawaii due to weather on Philippine Airlines 50 years ago. Disembarked next to a B52 bomber. What an experience! Bought a Wake Island key chain in the gift shop, which I still have today.
@@rodnabors7364 it's always open to any civilian aircraft in need of assistance or fuel. Wake Island is solely responsible because of Pan-American Airlines need for refueling stops required on their Hawaii to Manilla flights. Midway and Guam were the other two places they stopped for fuel and stays. Once planes could make the journey non-stop, it ceased to be a regular stopping place.
Thanks for the memories. I flew with my family in 1957 and landed to refuel at Wake Island on the way to live in Bangkok for three years. CIA mischief. I distinctly recall the beauty and isolation of the place, something so unlike the Virginia suburbs. We were flying in a Pan Am Stratocruiser, sleeping above the seating. Cheers.
The history of Wake Island during World War Two is incredible. I was fortunate enough to have a lay over in the mid 80’s during an aircraft emergency. We lost an engine on our way back to Hawaii. It took 2 days to get the parts but as all GI’s do we made it into an R & R adventure. The Navy were great host. Go Navy!
Landed there early 1966 on the way to Nam. Just refueling, but what a great half hour that was. From 48 chilly deg at MCAS El Torro, CA, to 74 balmy deg at 6 AM Wake Isl. Dropped a few quarters in the gedunk for some pogi bait, then stood at waters edge for a couple smokes. Too bad there wasn't enough time for a few beers. Sigh.
I was on a C-141 flying from Kadena to Hickam around 2000 and we stopped at Wake for fuel. I bought a coffee cup there that said "Where America's Day Really Begins".
My granddaddy was here. 3 days before he died, he gave his gold watch to a gunner named Wanake. A man he never met before. Took that watch home to my grandmother
Memories! I was an eight-year-old kid in June of 1962 when we landed using just the same approach vector on Wake Island, but about 2 in the morning - in an Air Force MATS C-118 (DC-6) as our second refueling stop on our way from the States to my father's new duty station in Japan for two years. I remember it was about 99° and 99% humidity. We were there just long enough to stretch our legs, have an omelet and continue on our way. A few days later after a few days playing tourist in Tokyo, we would hop aboard a C-130 at Tachikawa AB outside Tokyo to continue to our final destination in southern Japan, landing in about a foot of water at night during monsoon season. Just another day at the office for these guys and gals!
Visited Wake back in 2010 on a WC-130J Hurricane Hunter on the way back home after flying SuperTyphoon Megi out of Guam. Was only there for one night, but did get a chance to walk a ways from lodging along the beach before the sun went down. Sobering to see the remains of pillboxes looking seaward, knowing that so many gave their lives to defend the ground I was standing on.
Flew in and out of there many times during the 70's headed for SEA via C-141A. Crew rest there was fantastic! The old Drifter's Reef and the "new" Drifter's Reef. Snorkeling in the lagoon...
❤ absolutely! McChord, Wake Forest me. Did you ever hit steak night there? Definitely got the snorkeling stuff. Wake was up there in my favorite places to crew rest. One benefit of flying the A model with no inflight refueling
got to walk around some on Wake Island Nov 1970 on my way to Nam.....looking out the left side window as we landed.... the blue water was just gorgeous! Marine monument was quite humbling. I bet many an airman was glad to see that piece of real estate pop up in their windscreen....still have the Wake Is. post card in my Nam scrapbook
Our C-40 from Kaneoue Bay to Okinawa refuelled there in 2005. Base commander gave us a tour of the island. I got a container of sand from the beach as a memento, which I display alongside a container of sand I got at Iwo Jima.
I flew into Wake island a number of times in the late 60's on a C133a as a loadmaster out of Dover AFB. We would stop overnight on our way to Vietnam. From there we went on to Clark AFB.. On one occasion we lost an engine after passing the half way point and Clark had to send air rescue to follow us in. The flight engineer figured that if we lost one more engine we would be flying 50 feet below sea level. The thing I liked about wake Island was the old "Drifters Reef" which was on the shore. If I remember right it was made to look like an old grass hut. It was torn down and rebuilt it as a bowling alley, never was quite the same.
Lived there from '54 to 55 I was 11. Dad was an aircraft controller. Best time ever. lived in the water. Best part of my childhood. Love to go back for a visit but......
My dad's ship was an aog, tanker they hauled the jet fuel to wake island, it was a shallow draft ship that could get through the corral reefs, he had a lot of stories spending 4 years on that ship.
Two transpacs through Wake, once in 1986 flying an A-6 E and again in 1993 in a F/A-18D. I remember seeing a few 'Cubi O'Club' plaques on my second visit.
Thank you for the video. It reminds me of Diego Garcia during the 1970s, which I arrived at via a nuclear submarine and later departed from aboard a C-5A Galaxy cargo plane. I believe Diego Garcia may be a bit larger.
Wake was my Dad's first combat(10/5 - 10/6/ '43). He was sqdron commander of VT-25( Avengers) off the Cowpens - CVL 25. I think there was another Independence class carrier involved, along with the Lexington. In the year that he fought( Wake, Truk, Carolines, Marianas, also Iwo Jima) they never lost an Avenger. However, at Wake, VF-25 lost a third(6) of their F-6s, and 4 pilots. The fighters did SO much. They would sweep in and strafe for AA suppression. I have no doubt that my Dad's life, AND my own existence owes a debt to those heros. I have a very poignant photo of one of them that went over the side upon attempted recovery. He did not get out. I also have maps, after action reports, and some photos taken during the October attack. I'm gonna have to dig them out and check against the view from the C-130.
@@dingo8babym20 Don't feed the know nothing trolls by responding. He even thumbed up his own comment. I was stationed in Hawaii from 05 to 08 and went out to Midway several times but never made it to Wake. Lots of history at both.
Just landed a 747 there in two months ago. It had been a dream of mine for a long time as I had seen it from there air several times. How fortunate that I was in the right place at the right time when the trip originated in Hono.
I landed there in the spring of 1963 in a World Airlines Super Constellation. Went non stop to Clark AFB and were so full of fuel we essentially used every foot of the runway getting airborne.
September 1963 on a C-135 landed Wake Island. It was dark went to Chow Hall. Waited few hours flew to Atsugi Naval Base in Japan. I recall it was very warm at Wake Island. Note of interest I flew facing BACKWARS across Pacific Ocean to Japan. Tom Y 1963 to Dec.1965. I was in 8th Tac Fighter Wing Sep 1963 to May 1964 Itazuki AB then to Yokota AB in 67th SRL Fussa Machi till Dec 1965 Best assignment in 8 years in USAF.
Landed there for refueling on my way to Korea in 1962, when we landed, waves were breaking on the end of the runway, never left the plane. On my return in1963 on C-121, came byway of Midway, during refueling was able to deplane and walk around the Island.
I remember that runway quite well. I drove the base commander's dark blue 1982 Ford Fairmont station wagon across it while making a beer run back to Base Ops from the picnic spot... 😆
I’ve stayed overnight there twice. It’s so quiet and warm, just so far away from anything. Flew in the first time on our bird, a C-130T and the second time on a C-20G. I might have been there a third time but can’t quite remember.
Woke up on final approach when I was headed home from Yokota air base in Japan with a stop in Honolulu back in December 1970. At first all I saw was the ocean and thought I missed the ditching briefing.🤗
I would agree that Shemya was bleak. A stop over was easy. Kudos to the folks who were there 6 months to a year. At least Wake was tropical. My bleak award goes to Johnston Atoll. I believe only a handful of marine biologists are at Johnston doing an ongoing six month rotation out of the University of Hawaii.
Fantastic video! This is something we don't get to see every day, the aircraft or the location. I am assuming it was a visual approach - probably no other options out there.
Looks serene and beautiful. Can't imagine what if felt like for those Marines left to battle the Japanese landings and occupation. The execution of the civilian contractors should never be forgotten. Have you visited the 98 Rock?
The US killed tens of thousands of civilians who had nothing to do with the war effort in WW2 with inaccuracies in their bombing raids, don't forget about that, either.
@@mikemulligan5731 Are you trying to excuse the extremely numerous, well documented, and quite deliberate-as-a-policy Imperial Japanese atrocities against not just the Allies, but against the Chinese, the Koreans, and many others as well before and during WW2 with your "whataboutism"? If not then what is the real point? That civilians die in wars? That no matter how careful you are it is impossible to avoid those in (especially major and intensive) conflicts like a World War?
That looks like quite a tricky landing and takeoff given the size and shape of the island. I remember in 1967 en-route from Travis AFB to Clark AFB in Philippines landing there for refueling then taking off.. We were a large group of Navy and Air Force men in quite a large transport plane....the pilot got a big round of applause from us!
@@schoolssection I guess over 250 of us guys just appreciated his abilities......just as people applaud good performers in a show.......but, there are those who just always sit on their hands.
My 1st response here are the severe conflict with Japanese in WWII, the great fight back (w/o much people and resources) , and the final being left back by the order from someone to Halsey. Hats off to the brave.
@@schoolssection Don't know what you mean by "no resources." It was the Western-most military resource the US had in the Pacific at the time, which is highly-likely the reason the Japanese attacked it one day after Pearl Harbor. Originally it was a stopover for commercial aviation flying from California to Japan and the Far East. As political conditions soured between the US and Japan, the military used it as a forward Western outpost.
Landed there is a P-3, 1973. Gooney bird left a dent in the fuselage right above the left-side wind screen; the one I was looking through during landing. Yowee-wow.
Had years within Oceania. On islands smaller than Wake. But no less vital for the United Nations and USA. The US Army is still there. Protecting considerable assets.
In the 50s going from guam to hawaii we had to land there for refueling. I must have landed there numerous times while flying pan am. Not much to see though. I was just a kid.
At first the Closure Rate on the Field looked like if was going to be a few hours, then suddenly you are there. Nature of Blue Water. Nice Short Field takeoff. 6 Blades starting to look like Screws.
Back in the day when I was playing BF2, I was an AH-64 Apache Pilot.... and an approach like this would have been totally ripe for me and my gunner to have a cup of tea and decide how and when we wanted to bring this down. If I wasn't flying AH-64's... I was on the ground, getting some R&R, and eyeing off an opportunity to load up a car full of my teammates and driving it towards an approaching or parked plane... naturally I would bale out before it hit the plane though. Fond memories.
I seent you folks doing touch and go’s out here in Missoula and Malmstrom, I would really like to go for a ride. Technically I have paid for more than one ticket by now.
I was 9 years old when I fought there in Battlefield 1942. I remember playing as the Axis. We had to spawn on the battleship and get there by plane or the boats. Man it used to be so annoying needing to wait for a plane to spawn. Because everyone would use to rush for it. The trick was to hold E as soon as seconds before you spawn.
Lived there from 70 - 71. Step dad worked for the FAA then Mom ran the FAA Community Club. What a life altering experience. Found out about girls, Love, beach bumming, motorcycle riding, fishing, sailing and all other things preteens learn and get into. Incredible memories and set me on the path to a life of travel and adventure. Here I am at 65 and want to go back so bad!!
post some films
I lived there in 1968. My father was an air traffic controller. It was a 12 year old’s paradise. I still have 12 Japanese glass fishing balls or floats in my den.
Is there a reef in the middle lagoon?
@@Moondoggy1941 The reef lies around the outer region of the island. However, there are coral heads inside the lagoon.
@@derekdangerfield187 Is there any trace of the Pan Am hotel left?
@@AJ67901 From what I saw of the hotel back then was just remnants of a concrete frame. Not much else was left.
Is there any ship wrecks
Oh man! I was a teenage loadmaster on C-130s in the 80s. We had a crew hand-picked by the squadron commander, kind of an "attaboy". We had 2 pilots, 2 navs, 2 FEs, 2 loadmasters and a crew chief, and we flew the "Wing Commander's" airplane, 2132, you could eat off the cargo floor it was so clean, and the crew chief was the best there was. Of course we were available for cargo tasking and space available pax, but I can't recall ever carrying anything but ourselves. It was a 9-day PACAF "floater". We went from Dyess AFB, TX to overnight at Travis, AFB, then to Hickam AFB, HI, another overnight, then Midway Island, Wake Island and to Kwajalein Island for another overnight, where I got to take cover for a missile test (not fun), then to Guam, Kadena AFB, JP another overnight and on to Clark AB, RP where we spent a couple of days, which led me to put in for it on my "dream sheet" and I would get orders less than a year later, LOL. We picked up a plaque or something like that made in the Philippines for the Wing Commander, and then reversed course (I don't even remember our itinerary on the way back, I think it was different, I was exhausted by then). So all we carried was that damn plaque, but it was quite the adventure for a 19-year-old.
"take cover for a missile test" ?
@@ewthmatth Yep, Kwajalein was a missile range, I don’t remember if they were intermediate or intercontinental, but everyone on the island had to take cover in case they went off course. No warheads, but a several ton rocket coming down will still do some damage. 🤷♂️
@@keithbrown9198 ...... Great story and typical US Military. GO ARMY !
@@FloridaJack I worked with all the service branches and besides spec ops (SEALs, Green Berets, Rangers, Marine Force Recon, and USAF combat controllers, etc), among the "regular" military, the Army was the easiest to deal with and probably the most competent. I mean you can tell a Marine to do anything and they'll do it without question but they ain't the sharpest tool in the shed, and the Navy... uh... puhleeze, they refuse to change their ways from tradition and treat enlisted like crapola. In fact, I got my parachute rigger wings from an Army Quartermaster Corp cadre.
@@keithbrown9198 Yes, I worked with some folks that were contractors on Kwajalein during the 1960's. They had stories of missile tests landing in the lagoon, so the caution was well founded. 🤣
There's an article from the LA Times in 1989 explaining this in some detail, but apparently YT won't let me post the link. If you Google "Kwajalein Atoll missiles landing in lagoon" it's the second item from the top with the title "Raining Warheads".
I landed there in January of 1960 when I was a 12 year old dependent of my USAF father. We were relocating from Tokyo to NH in the states. We were in a Super Constellation and laned at Travis, AFB then continued on a few days later to NYC in a 707! Fond memories!
Me too. We left Yokota in '61 to Guam, Wake, Travis and on to Pease. C54 was quite the trip.
@@hennagaijin100 Hey are you a fellow AIr Force brat? Yeah, I think we departed from Tachikawa. I actually ended up at Pease with the NH ANG outfit some years later. Now I live with my wife in Uruguay! Go figure...where are you these days?
@@michaelfranz6937 Yep. Father was a SAC wing commander. We were at Andersen but took advantage of MATS flights to Yokota/Tachi every month. Went to Pease in 61 and stayed 5 years. Went to Portsmouth High all four years. Dad was put into TAC and sent to Dyess in 66 to fly C130s into Nam. I'm a native Texan and still here in San Antonio. Uruguay must be a unique lifestyle. How did you wind up in the mountains?
@@hennagaijin100 I lived in West TX at the old Webb AFB where dad was a flight instructor from 1952 - 1957 then on to Johnson AFB near Tokyo. I lived in Plano, Tx in the early 90s and really liked it. Your question about the mountains is curious as there aren't any in this very small country! Haha...
Passed through Wake on the way to Guam while ferrying F4 Phantoms from NAS Miramar to Vietnam in the late 60s. Went over and back on an R5D as part of the maintenance crew. I saw the greatest sunset ever while there.
Thank you for your service, sir!
Got a pic ..?
It’s probably still there…
Beautiful island, but you'd go nuts. A ton of history on this small but important piece of ground. I landed here around 2010 to deliver metal roofing material, spent day touring the island and then it was blast off time, back to Hickham AFB. It truly was amazing. C17 LM
I was diverted on my way to Hawaii due to weather on Philippine Airlines 50 years ago. Disembarked next to a B52 bomber. What an experience! Bought a Wake Island key chain in the gift shop, which I still have today.
Thats pretty cool. I don't think its open to public access at all now days.
@@rodnabors7364 it's always open to any civilian aircraft in need of assistance or fuel.
Wake Island is solely responsible because of Pan-American Airlines need for refueling stops required on their Hawaii to Manilla flights.
Midway and Guam were the other two places they stopped for fuel and stays. Once planes could make the journey non-stop, it ceased to be a regular stopping place.
Thanks for the memories. I flew with my family in 1957 and landed to refuel at Wake Island on the way to live in Bangkok for three years. CIA mischief. I distinctly recall the beauty and isolation of the place, something so unlike the Virginia suburbs. We were flying in a Pan Am Stratocruiser, sleeping above the seating. Cheers.
My father flew Stratocruiser's. Remember him saying landing at Wake was an experience. His plane went down in November 1957.
I miss being a Crew Chief and flying to different places. High quality video, thank you.
The history of Wake Island during World War Two is incredible. I was fortunate enough to have a lay over in the mid 80’s during an aircraft emergency. We lost an engine on our way back to Hawaii. It took 2 days to get the parts but as all GI’s do we made it into an R & R adventure. The Navy were great host. Go Navy!
Landed there early 1966 on the way to Nam. Just refueling, but what a great half hour that was. From 48 chilly deg at MCAS El Torro, CA, to 74 balmy deg at 6 AM Wake Isl. Dropped a few quarters in the gedunk for some pogi bait, then stood at waters edge for a couple smokes. Too bad there wasn't enough time for a few beers. Sigh.
are you still alive?
I was on a C-141 flying from Kadena to Hickam around 2000 and we stopped at Wake for fuel. I bought a coffee cup there that said "Where America's Day Really Begins".
My granddaddy was here. 3 days before he died, he gave his gold watch to a gunner named Wanake. A man he never met before. Took that watch home to my grandmother
Memories! I was an eight-year-old kid in June of 1962 when we landed using just the same approach vector on Wake Island, but about 2 in the morning - in an Air Force MATS C-118 (DC-6) as our second refueling stop on our way from the States to my father's new duty station in Japan for two years. I remember it was about 99° and 99% humidity. We were there just long enough to stretch our legs, have an omelet and continue on our way. A few days later after a few days playing tourist in Tokyo, we would hop aboard a C-130 at Tachikawa AB outside Tokyo to continue to our final destination in southern Japan, landing in about a foot of water at night during monsoon season. Just another day at the office for these guys and gals!
Visited Wake back in 2010 on a WC-130J Hurricane Hunter on the way back home after flying SuperTyphoon Megi out of Guam. Was only there for one night, but did get a chance to walk a ways from lodging along the beach before the sun went down. Sobering to see the remains of pillboxes looking seaward, knowing that so many gave their lives to defend the ground I was standing on.
I'm only 19 but I love learning about the history of this island and hearing all the stories from others here.
Flew in and out of there many times during the 70's headed for SEA via C-141A. Crew rest there was fantastic! The old Drifter's Reef and the "new" Drifter's Reef. Snorkeling in the lagoon...
❤ absolutely! McChord, Wake Forest me. Did you ever hit steak night there? Definitely got the snorkeling stuff.
Wake was up there in my favorite places to crew rest. One benefit of flying the A model with no inflight refueling
Battlefield aint real life, though.
got to walk around some on Wake Island Nov 1970 on my way to Nam.....looking out the left side window as we landed.... the blue water was just gorgeous! Marine monument was quite humbling. I bet many an airman was glad to see that piece of real estate pop up in their windscreen....still have the Wake Is. post card in my Nam scrapbook
Never got to Wake Island during my Navy days from 1970-76, but did spend a year on Midway Island.
Our C-40 from Kaneoue Bay to Okinawa refuelled there in 2005. Base commander gave us a tour of the island. I got a container of sand from the beach as a memento, which I display alongside a container of sand I got at Iwo Jima.
I flew there in 1988 on a C-141 on my way to Okinawa from Hawaii "G" Co, 2/3 Weapons Platoon.
I flew into Wake island a number of times in the late 60's on a C133a as a loadmaster out of Dover AFB. We would stop overnight on our way to Vietnam. From there we went on to Clark AFB.. On one occasion we lost an engine after passing the half way point and Clark had to send air rescue to follow us in.
The flight engineer figured that if we lost one more engine we would be flying 50 feet below sea level.
The thing I liked about wake Island was the old "Drifters Reef" which was on the shore. If I remember right it was made to look like an old grass hut. It was torn down and rebuilt it as a bowling alley, never was quite the same.
Lived there from '54 to 55 I was 11. Dad was an aircraft controller. Best time ever. lived in the water. Best part of my childhood. Love to go back for a visit but......
My dad's ship was an aog, tanker they hauled the jet fuel to wake island, it was a shallow draft ship that could get through the corral reefs, he had a lot of stories spending 4 years on that ship.
I was privileged to pilot a Herk to Wake (Hickam-Wake-Guam) once in the mid 80s. The C-130E instrument panel was much more primitive. LOL!
Two transpacs through Wake, once in 1986 flying an A-6 E and again in 1993 in a F/A-18D. I remember seeing a few 'Cubi O'Club' plaques on my second visit.
Thank you for the video. It reminds me of Diego Garcia during the 1970s, which I arrived at via a nuclear submarine and later departed from aboard a C-5A Galaxy cargo plane. I believe Diego Garcia may be a bit larger.
Wake was my Dad's first combat(10/5 - 10/6/ '43). He was sqdron commander of VT-25( Avengers) off the Cowpens - CVL 25. I think there was another Independence class carrier involved, along with the Lexington. In the year that he fought( Wake, Truk, Carolines, Marianas, also Iwo Jima) they never lost an Avenger. However, at Wake, VF-25 lost a third(6) of their F-6s, and 4 pilots. The fighters did SO much. They would sweep in and strafe for AA suppression. I have no doubt that my Dad's life, AND my own existence owes a debt to those heros. I have a very poignant photo of one of them that went over the side upon attempted recovery. He did not get out. I also have maps, after action reports, and some photos taken during the October attack. I'm gonna have to dig them out and check against the view from the C-130.
liar
@@beryanbeyaan8047 care to elaborate?
@@dingo8babym20 Don't feed the know nothing trolls by responding. He even thumbed up his own comment. I was stationed in Hawaii from 05 to 08 and went out to Midway several times but never made it to Wake. Lots of history at both.
@@beryanbeyaan8047
Dimocrat troll FJB!!!!!!
@@dingo8babym20 liar
Great vid. I spent a week on Wake in the late 90's with a P-3 Det from Barbers Pt, Hi. Had a great time.
Just landed a 747 there in two months ago. It had been a dream of mine for a long time as I had seen it from there air several times. How fortunate that I was in the right place at the right time when the trip originated in Hono.
Who still operates 747s?
@@jshepard152 Cargo mostly. UPS, Atlas Air, Kalitta Air.
@@jamesallen278
Oh right. I misread and thought you were a passenger. Thanks.
Didn’t realize we still go there and have resources there!
I landed there in the spring of 1963 in a World Airlines Super Constellation. Went non stop to Clark AFB and were so full of fuel we essentially used every foot of the runway getting airborne.
September 1963 on a C-135 landed Wake Island. It was dark went to Chow Hall. Waited few hours flew to Atsugi Naval Base in Japan. I recall it was very warm at Wake Island. Note of interest I flew facing BACKWARS across Pacific Ocean to Japan. Tom Y 1963 to Dec.1965. I was in 8th Tac Fighter Wing Sep 1963 to May 1964 Itazuki AB then to Yokota AB in 67th SRL Fussa Machi till Dec 1965 Best assignment in 8 years in USAF.
Landed there for refueling on my way to Korea in 1962, when we landed, waves were breaking on the end of the runway, never left the plane. On my return in1963 on C-121, came byway of Midway, during refueling was able to deplane and walk around the Island.
The video is neat but the comments are awesome, very cool to see that this many people have been at this island in their youth.
What a cool thing to see again. Where Americas Day really begins! Hope you got to stop by Drifters Reef!
I remember that runway quite well. I drove the base commander's dark blue 1982 Ford Fairmont station wagon across it while making a beer run back to Base Ops from the picnic spot... 😆
I’ve stayed overnight there twice. It’s so quiet and warm, just so far away from anything. Flew in the first time on our bird, a C-130T and the second time on a C-20G. I might have been there a third time but can’t quite remember.
Woke up on final approach when I was headed home from Yokota air base in Japan with a stop in Honolulu back in December 1970. At first all I saw was the ocean and thought I missed the ditching briefing.🤗
I would agree that Shemya was bleak. A stop over was easy. Kudos to the folks who were there 6 months to a year. At least Wake was tropical. My bleak award goes to Johnston Atoll. I believe only a handful of marine biologists are at Johnston doing an ongoing six month rotation out of the University of Hawaii.
Hi all ! I arrived on a plane F-15 EX Eagle II , with tail number: ET
FTS 40
AF20 001. In 2025 .😅😂😆
We landed there in 1969 on the way to Vietnam. It looks very small from the air through a port hole.
A friend of mine served on wake island during WW2. Brought home some cool stuff I still have.
And how old are you ?
@@daviddigital6887 I'm 58 He would probably be over 100 now if he were alive.
stopped there once in 72, coming back from TDY in Thailand. in a C-130.
C-130 pilots are are whole other breed of pilots.
Great vid, thanks for posting.
Landing is the easy part. Finding it isn't. 😬 Dropped in in 60 to deliver the mail and refuel on the way to my first assignment, Itazuke!!
Fantastic video! This is something we don't get to see every day, the aircraft or the location. I am assuming it was a visual approach - probably no other options out there.
No ILS.
Looks serene and beautiful. Can't imagine what if felt like for those Marines left to battle the Japanese landings and occupation. The execution of the civilian contractors should never be forgotten. Have you visited the 98 Rock?
The US killed tens of thousands of civilians who had nothing to do with the war effort in WW2 with inaccuracies in their bombing raids, don't forget about that, either.
@@mikemulligan5731that was done to force them to surrender.
@@mikemulligan5731 Are you trying to excuse the extremely numerous, well documented, and quite deliberate-as-a-policy Imperial Japanese atrocities against not just the Allies, but against the Chinese, the Koreans, and many others as well before and during WW2 with your "whataboutism"? If not then what is the real point? That civilians die in wars? That no matter how careful you are it is impossible to avoid those in (especially major and intensive) conflicts like a World War?
Japan kicks ass.
@@wmiller1000 yes he is
That shot of the island after takeoff from 4:40 is beautiful.
I served here in Battlefield 2
It was my favorite battlefield 2 map. Looks like a beautiful place, but would go crazy after 6 months
Had that view a few times TDY Crew Chief on C-130e. 1968
Feels like you could have a party in that giant C-130 cockpit
Did you have to fix the dent in the runway before taking off again? 🤣🤣
NIce.. this made me startup MSFS2020 and shoot some touch and goes out at Wake.. !!
Can you imagine flying around searching for the island before modern navigation tools?
I vaguely remember as a 7 year old, a refueling stop on the way to Japan on a JAL DC-8
That looks like quite a tricky landing and takeoff given the size and shape of the island. I remember in 1967 en-route from Travis AFB to Clark AFB in Philippines landing there for refueling then taking off.. We were a large group of Navy and Air Force men in quite a large transport plane....the pilot got a big round of applause from us!
you are pretty clueless, simple straight in approach with no obstacles, nice 10,000' runway.
@@bob80q So, I'm clueless, but all of us on the plane were surely impressed.
@@dudley5533 Why??
@@schoolssection I guess over 250 of us guys just appreciated his abilities......just as people applaud good performers in a show.......but, there are those who just always sit on their hands.
@@bob80q
How rude.
"be with you in a minute"
Truman and MacArthur were on this island in 1950.
My 1st response here are the severe conflict with Japanese in WWII, the great fight back (w/o much people and resources) , and the final being left back by the order from someone to Halsey. Hats off to the brave.
I am a filipino youtuber myfriend connecting you done fullwatch
I flew KC-10’s for 17 of my 22 years in the USAF…Retired out of Travis AFB in 2011….I’ve flown into Wake a thousand times…
Super cool. Love the fact there's no music. And, one can understand why the Japanese would have chosen this outpost for their first attack.
Makes no sense,,,,,no resources.
@@schoolssection Don't know what you mean by "no resources." It was the Western-most military resource the US had in the Pacific at the time, which is highly-likely the reason the Japanese attacked it one day after Pearl Harbor.
Originally it was a stopover for commercial aviation flying from California to Japan and the Far East. As political conditions soured between the US and Japan, the military used it as a forward Western outpost.
Landed there is a P-3, 1973. Gooney bird left a dent in the fuselage right above the left-side wind screen; the one I was looking through during landing. Yowee-wow.
Crew from the 79th RQS!!!! RESCUE!!!!
The -30 variant is due to be delivered to our RNZAF next year….2024. Five of them to replace our aging ones. Thanks Laurie. NZ.
Stopped there on the way home from NAM in 1970 (Kadena Hawaii)
.
Was there in the late 90s for about a month when I was int he Coast Guard. Beautiful place.
I love the US military! All just badass!, I am a Navy Vet and just have nothing but good memories!
Had years within Oceania. On islands smaller than Wake.
But no less vital for the United Nations and USA. The US
Army is still there. Protecting considerable assets.
Congrats, medal is in the mail...
Beautiful vidéo,more please if you Can Bye from french riviera,Franco
Good stuff! Thank you!
I landed there in 1969 sitting in tail section of DC 8.
Passed through Wake in May ‘60 in a Pan Am Stratocruiser on my way to Manila
Thank you for that.
In the 50s going from guam to hawaii we had to land there for refueling. I must have landed there numerous times while flying pan am. Not much to see though. I was just a kid.
At first the Closure Rate on the Field looked like if was going to be a few hours, then suddenly you are there. Nature of Blue Water.
Nice Short Field takeoff. 6 Blades starting to look like Screws.
Landed on Wake Island in 1972 on Flying Tigers airline. 😊
Been there once for an overnight riding a C-40 to Japan, would have loved to spend a few days.
Been there several transpacs, very cool place.
I've been fighting battles here since 1942 through 2142
Got to see it in person to really appreciate it.
Awesome Waffs
If I'm ever needing to say w again, it is no longer whisky, but waffles.
Back in the day when I was playing BF2, I was an AH-64 Apache Pilot.... and an approach like this would have been totally ripe for me and my gunner to have a cup of tea and decide how and when we wanted to bring this down. If I wasn't flying AH-64's... I was on the ground, getting some R&R, and eyeing off an opportunity to load up a car full of my teammates and driving it towards an approaching or parked plane... naturally I would bale out before it hit the plane though. Fond memories.
🤣
It’s a shame Halsey couldn’t rescue those Marines. Our fleet was a little gun shy so soon after Pearl Harbor.
Is that Co wearing a ring? Used to be forbidden when I flew them.
I seriously thought it was FS2020 for the first seconds
Love that view!?
... Are you asking?
Am i missing something or seeing things? Why are they displays flashing off and on during the critical process of landing?!
What’s in front of pilots? HUD?
Seeing the cockpit displays fade in and out like that gives me anxiety! 😅
Was that a 'touch and go' with a stop? They didn't take on fuel, let off strippers or nothing... Thanks for the post though.
I seent you folks doing touch and go’s out here in Missoula and Malmstrom, I would really like to go for a ride. Technically I have paid for more than one ticket by now.
why are the displays fading in and out, is that the camera doing that?
C130s are now fitted with HUDs ?????
I use to think Diego Garcia was small and a boring place to crew rest, Wake island takes the cake.
1963 made a refueling and breakfast stop there on our way to Tachikawa AB, Japan.
@LB-ty6ks ANY PATSIES still aroun ...?
It's beautiful but I wouldn't want to be there in a huge storm.
cool! Post more videos when you can!
I was 9 years old when I fought there in Battlefield 1942. I remember playing as the Axis. We had to spawn on the battleship and get there by plane or the boats. Man it used to be so annoying needing to wait for a plane to spawn. Because everyone would use to rush for it. The trick was to hold E as soon as seconds before you spawn.
I wonder how they get good water with salt water all around?
Why is he right of center line for most of the approach?
Wind?
We flew the Tacan approach which is angled about 10 degrees off to the right
@@Waffles4_U Roger that...I was about to toss that out as a possibility...(GA pilot for 31 years)