The Magnificent Fight - by John D. Shaw

The Magnificent Fight
by John D. Shaw

The Desperate siege of Wake Island took place December 8 through 23, 1941. With only several hundred Marines, Naval personnel and civilian American contractors to defend against this concentrated onslaught with marginal weaponry, the spirit of heroism within this group has never been surpassed. Shown here are F4F Wildcats of VMF-211 preparing for battle. In the cockpit of one of the only four flyable aircraft available, Capt. Hank Elrod confers with fellow pilots John Kinney and Frank Tharin, before embarking on a mission December 11, in which he inflicted damage sufficient to sink the enemy destroyer Kisaragi.
On this same date the gallant defenders of Wake repulsed a Japanese amphibious landing, the only time such an attempt was
thwarted during World War II. Inevitably, the defenders of Wake Island, isolated, out of ammo and on the brink of starvation, became prisoners-of-war of the Japanese, but only after one of history’s most truly magnificent stands.

Overall size: 22" x 36"

Available in the following editions

Total edition size: 850

425	Pilots edition	Signed by three F4F pilots.	$225
425	Main edition	Signed by a minimum of 30 defenders of Wake Island	$295