JPAC Mission
A significant discovery of skeletal remains occurred on Wake Island in the spring of 2011 when the beach eroded on the north shore. The Joint POW-MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) sent a team of forensic anthropologists to recover the bones and examine the site. JPAC, based at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, sends forensic anthropologists all over the world to investigate and recover remains from our nation’s wars. DNA analysis is employed to identify the victims and bring closure to their families. JPAC has reason to believe that the remains...
read moreDiving Wake
I promised myself that if I ever got to Wake Island I would do just about anything to dive there. Not only is it a diverse and robust marine environment, but much of Wake’s history is tied to that obstinate coral reef, especially on the south side. The encircling reef comes closest to shore off Wilkes and Wake, making it the only viable option in 1941 for the close approach of ships – both friend and foe. On December 1, 2011, our two small dive boats left the sheltered marina and headed seaward through the Wilkes channel that my grandfather...
read morePostwar Wake Island
After the Japanese surrendered Wake Island at the end of World War II, the United States Navy resumed authority over the atoll. Within a couple of years the navy turned administration over the Department of Commerce, and the CAA (FAA after 1958) maintained airfield operations from 1947 to 1972, paving and extending the runway. Commercial airlines including Pan American Airways and Transocean Airlines established facilities on Wake and military and other aircraft regularly stopped in for fuel. Numerous government agencies and commercial...
read more