Aerial photograph of the attack on Wake Island by aircraft from Carrier Air Group Five (CVG-5) from the U.S. aircraft carrier USS Yorktown (CV-10) on 5 October 1943. Unbeknownst to the attackers this led to a cruel war crime. Two days later, fearing an imminent invasion, Rear Admiral Shigematsu Sakaibara ordered the murder of the 98 captured American civilian workers remaining on the island since its capture in 1941, kept to perform forced labour for the Japanese. They were taken to the northern end of the island, blindfolded and machine-gunned. After the war, Sakaibara and his subordinate, Lieutenant-Commander Tachibana, were sentenced to death for this and other war crimes. Several Japanese officers in American custody had committed suicide over the incident, leaving written statements that incriminated Sakaibara. Tachibana’s sentence was later commuted to life in prison. Legend:
A: burning fuel dumps
B: Mitsubishi A6M2 and A6M3 Zero fighters
C: gun positions
D: trenches and barbed wire positions