File:Wake island 1945 surrender.jpg

Summary
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wake_island_1945_surrender.jpg Description Surrender of Wake Atoll, 4 September 1945: Raising the U.S. flag over Wake Island on 4 September 1945, as a U.S. Marine Corps bugler plays "Colors". This was the first time the Stars and Stripes had flown over Wake since its capture by the Japanese on 23 December 1941. The officer saluting in the right foreground is Rear Admiral Shigematsu Sakaibara, Japanese commander on Wake. Colors carried by the U.S. party, right background, include the U.S. Marine Corps flag. Date	4 September 1945 Source	Official U.S. Navy photo NH 96813 from the U.S. Navy Naval History and Heritage Command Author	R.O. Kepler, USMC Other versions US-NationalParkService-ShadedLogo.svg This is an image of a place or building that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places in the United States of America. Its reference number is 85002726 More images Object location	19° 18′ 00″ N, 166° 38′ 00″ E Kartographer map based on OpenStreetMap. View this and other nearby images on: OpenStreetMap - Google Earth	info Licensing[edit] Public domain	This image is a work of a U.S. military or Department of Defense employee, taken or made as part of that person's official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, the image is in the public domain in the United States. Català | Čeština | Deutsch | Ελληνικά | English | Español | Eesti | فارسی | Suomi | Français | Galego | Magyar | Italiano | 日本語 | 한국어 | Македонски | മലയാളം | Malti | Nederlands | Polski | Português | Português do Brasil | Română | Русский | Sicilianu | Slovenčina | Slovenščina | Српски / srpski | ไทย | Türkçe | Українська | Tiếng Việt | 中文 | 中文（简体）‎ | 中文（繁體）‎ | +/−

The atoll's encircling coral reef prevented the ship from entering and anchoring in the shallow lagoon itself. The only suitable location for ferrying supplies and workers ashore was at nearby Wilkes Island; however, the chief engineer of the expedition, Charles R. Russell, determined that Wilkes was too low and at times flooded and that Peale Island was the best site for the Pan American facilities.