The Annexation of Midway Island
December 28, 2017
One hundred and fifty years ago today, on Dec. 28, 1867, the United States formally annexed Midway Island, a small Pacific atoll that would be the site of a significant battle during World War II (1939-1945). The United States had taken possession of the largely barren atoll in August 1867. Midway, among the furthest points north and west of the Hawaiian archipelago, became a U.S. territory 33 years before the rest of the Hawaiian Islands. Midway is the only part of the archipelago that did not become part of the U.S. state of Hawaii in 1959.
Midway Island is made up of two islands in an atoll in the Pacific Ocean. The United States Department of the Interior controls the island. Credit: © Photo Resource Hawaii/Alamy Images
As its name suggests, Midway lies roughly halfway between Asia and North America. It lies 1,250 miles (2,010 kilometers) northwest of Honolulu. It is made up of two islands in an atoll 6 miles (10 kilometers) in diameter. It has an area of 2 square miles (5 square kilometers) and a total coastline of about 9 miles (15 kilometers). Midway has a population of about 40. United States companies built a telegraph cable relay station there in 1903, and an airport in 1935. A U.S. Navy air station operated on Midway Island from 1941 to 1993. The U.S. Department of the Interior now controls the island, which is part of the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge is part of the massive Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument.
The aircraft carrier USS Yorktown is hit by a Japanese aerial torpedo during an attack by planes from the Japanese carrier Hiryu on June 4, 1942, during the Battle of Midway. Black clouds of antiaircraft fire clog the surrounding sky. Yorktown was abandoned, sinking early on June 7 after being torpedoed by a Japanese submarine. Credit: NARA
The Battle of Midway was one of the main naval battles during World War II. From June 4 to June 6, 1942, U.S. land- and carrier-based planes attacked a Japanese fleet approaching the islands. They sank four Japanese aircraft carriers and one heavy cruiser. Japanese forces destroyed the U.S. destroyer Hammann and the aircraft carrier Yorktown.
The Battle of Midway was the first decisive U.S. naval victory over the Japanese in World War II. It crippled Japan’s naval air power and ended Japan’s attempt to seize Midway as a base from which to strike Hawaii. Many military experts believe it was the turning point in the Pacific campaign.
