Midway Islands

The Midway Islands (also known as Midway Atoll; in English: Midway Atoll; in Hawaiian: Pihemanu Kauihelani originally in Spanish: Isla de Patrocinio) is one of the fourteen unincorporated territories of the United States of America.

The Midway Islands have no aboriginal inhabitants, and are an unincorporated territory of the United States, with the status of island area under the Department of the Interior. The economy is supported entirely by government funds, and both food and other manufactured goods have to be imported.

The Midway area is best known for the Battle of Midway, (June 4-7, 1942) which took place during World War II. The United States Navy repelled a Japanese attack, this victory marking a wind of change in the theater of the Pacific War.

History

The Midway Islands were probably discovered by the Spanish captain Miguel Zapiaín who in 1799 sighted these islands and named them Isla de Patrocinio. Midway has no indigenous inhabitants and was uninhabited until the 19th century

19th century

Commonly, although not all sources agree, the discovery is placed on July 5, 1859 by Captain N. C. Middlebrooks, aboard the whaler Gambia. The islands were then named Middlebrooks Islands.

Middlebrooks claimed the islands for the United States under the Guano Islands Act, under which Americans could temporarily settle on an uninhabited island to harvest guano.

On August 28, 1867, Captain William Reynolds of the USS Lackawanna formally took possession of the islands for the United States. Some time later, the name of the islands was changed to Midway. This atoll thus became the first portion of non-continental territory to be annexed by the United States. Midway is the only island in the Hawaiian archipelago that is not part of the state of that name.

The first attempt to establish a settlement occurred in 1871, when the Pacific Mail Steamship Company began a project to blast and dredge a navigable channel through the reef to the lagoon, using money contributed by Congress from United States. The purpose was to establish a coaling station in the middle of the ocean to avoid the high taxes that were imposed in the ports controlled by the Kingdom of Hawaii. The project was soon a complete failure, and the USS Saginaw evacuated the last of the canal project workers in October 1871. The ship ran aground on Kure Atoll, stranding everyone. All were rescued, with the exception of four of the five people who sailed to Kauai in an open boat to seek help.

The buildings of the Commercial Pacific Cable Company dating back to 1903.

20th century

In 1903, workers from the Commercial Pacific Cable Company settled on the island as part of efforts to lay a trans-Pacific telegraph cable. These workers introduced many non-native species to the island, including the canary, cicada, Norfolk Island pine, oak, coconut, and various deciduous trees; along with ants, cockroaches, termites, centipedes, and countless others.

On January 20, 1903, the United States Navy opened a radio station in response to complaints from cable company workers about Japanese squatters and poachers. Between 1904 and 1908, President Roosevelt stationed 21 Marines on the island to stop the destruction of bird life and keep Midway safe as a US possession, protecting the cable station.

In 1935, Martin M-130 flying boats operated by Pan American Airlines began operations. M-130s left San Francisco for China, providing the fastest and most luxurious route to the Far East and bringing tourists to Midway as late as 1941. Only the very rich could afford the trip, which in the 1930s cost more than three times their wages. yearly for an average American. With Midway en route between Honolulu and Wake Island, the seaplanes landed on the atoll and stopped at a floating jetty in the lagoon. Tourists would transfer to the Pan Am Hotel or the "Gooneyville Lodge," named for the ubiquitous "Gooney birds" (albatross).

World War II

In June 1942, the important and decisive battle of Midway took place in the vicinity of this archipelago, in which the US fleet defeated the Japanese.

Midway's Pacific location became important militarily. Midway was a convenient stop for refueling on transpacific flights, and was also an important stop for Navy ships. Starting in 1940, when tensions with the Japanese rose, Midway was considered second only to Pearl Harbor in protecting the West Coast of the United States. Airstrips, gun emplacements, and a seaplane base quickly materialized on the small atoll.

Japanese attack on Midway in 1942.

The canal was widened, and the Midway Naval Air Station was completed. Midway was also a major submarine base.

On February 14, 1941, President Franklin Roosevelt issued Executive Order 8682 to create naval defense areas in the central Pacific territories. The proclamation established the "Midway Island Naval Defense Zone," encompassing the territorial waters between the extreme high seas marks and the three-mile marine limits surrounding Midway. Also established was the "Midway Island Naval Airspace Reserve" to restrict access to airspace over the maritime defense zone. Only United States Government ships and aircraft were allowed to enter the Midway Atoll naval defense zones, unless authorized by the Secretary of the Navy.

Midway's importance to the US was revealed on December 7, 1941 when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Midway was attacked by two destroyers the same day, and the Japanese force was successfully repulsed in the first American victory of the war. A Japanese submarine bombarded Midway on February 10, 1942.

Four months later, on June 4, 1942, a major naval battle near Midway resulted in the US Navy inflicting a devastating defeat on the Japanese Navy. Four aircraft carriers from the Japanese fleet, Akagi, Kaga, Hiryū and Sōryū, were sunk, along with the loss of hundreds of Japanese aircraft, losses the Japanese would never be able to replace. The United States lost the aircraft carrier Yorktown, along with several of its carriers and land-based aircraft shot down by Japanese forces or ground bombarded at airfields. The Battle of Midway was, by most accounts, the beginning of the end of the Japanese Navy's control of the Pacific Ocean.

Beginning in July 1942, a submarine launch was always stationed on the atoll to support U-boats patrolling Japanese waters. In 1944, a floating drydock was created at the site. After the Battle of Midway, a second airfield was developed, this one on Sand Island. This work required expanding the size of the island using earth fill techniques, which, when completed, doubled the size of the island.

Geography

Map of the Midway Islands.

They are a 6.2 km² atoll located in the North Pacific, near the northwestern tip of the Hawaiian archipelago. The name Midway refers to its geographical position, as it is halfway between America and Asia.^{[citation required]}

Its latitude is 28º13' N and its longitude 177º22' W, the islands being approximately one third of the distance from Honolulu to Tokyo.

The atoll consists of a ring-shaped barrier reef and numerous islets and shoals. The two largest islands in terms of size are Sand Island and Oriental Island, habitat for thousands of seabirds, polluted by garbage.

Location

As its name suggests, Midway is roughly equidistant between North America and Asia, and lies nearly halfway around the globe longitudinally from Greenwich, UK. It is near the northwestern tip of the Hawaiian archipelago, about a third of the way from Honolulu, Hawaii, to Tokyo, Japan. Midway Island is not considered part of the State of Hawaii due to the passage of the Hawaii Organic Act, which formally annexed Hawaii to the United States as a territory, only defined Hawaii as "islands acquired by the United States United States of America by virtue of an Act of Congress entitled 'Joint Resolution to Provide for the Annexation of the Hawaiian Islands to the United States,' passed July 7, one thousand eight hundred and ninety-eight.' Although it could be argued that Midway became part of Hawaii when Middlebrooks discovered it in 1859, it was assumed at the time that Midway was independently acquired by the United States when Reynolds visited in 1867, so it was not considered part of the Territory.

By defining which islands the State of Hawaii would inherit from the Territory, the Hawaii Admission Act clarified the issue, specifically excluding Midway (along with Palmyra Island, Johnston Island, and Kingman Reef) from the jurisdiction of the State.

Midway Atoll is approximately 140 nautical miles (259 km; 161 mi) east of the International Dating Line, about 2,800 nautical miles (5,200 km; 3,200 mi) west of San Francisco, and 2,200 mi nautical (4,100 km; 2,500 mi) east of Tokyo.

Features

View of the Coast of one of the Atolon Islands (Eastern Island).

The Midway Islands are part of a series of volcanic islands and atolls that stretches from Hawaii to the tip of the Aleutian Islands. Midway was formed approximately 28 million years ago, when the submarine floor on which it sits was at the same height as the volcanic basement of Hawaii. In fact, Midway was once a volcanic shield apparently as extensive as the island of Lana'i. Over millions of years, the island underwent a process known as isostatic adjustment. The barrier reef that formed around the volcanic island was able to maintain itself at sea level by growing upwards as the entire basement gave way. Currently, the barrier is about 400 meters thick, and the atoll has shallow water for about 10 kilometers.

The islands of Midway Atoll were heavily affected as a result of human settlement. As early as 1869, when a project was presented to destroy part of the corals and build a port on Sand Island, the ecology of the place suffered changes. Birds native to other islands such as Laysan Rail and Laysan Finch were released on site. Trees native to Australia were planted as windbreaks. About 75% of the plant species found in Midway are exotic.

The atoll has 32 kilometers of roads, 7.8 kilometers of pipelines, a port (located on Sand Island, and closed to public use) and two airstrips (both paved, with an extension close to 2000 meters). The FWS (Fish and Wildlife Service) planned to cancel all airport operations as of November 22, 2004, which would no longer allow public visits of any kind.

Unofficial flag of the Midway Islands.

National Wildlife Refuge

Midway was designated as an Overlay National Wildlife Refuge on April 22, 1988, while still under the primary jurisdiction of the US Navy.

Since August 1996, the general public could visit the atoll via study ecotours. This program ended in 2002, but another visitor program was approved and began operating in March 2008. This program operated until 2012, but was suspended for 2013 due to budget cuts.

On October 31, 1996, President Bill Clinton signed Executive Order 13022, which transferred jurisdiction and control of the atoll to the United States Department of the Interior. The FWS took over the management of the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge. The last contingent of Navy personnel left Midway on June 30, 1997 after an ambitious environmental cleanup program was completed.

Albatros (Diomedeidae) in the Midway Atoll.

On September 13, 2000, Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt designated the Wildlife Refuge as the Battle of Midway National Memorial. The refuge is now called the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge and the Battle of Midway National Memorial.

On June 15, 2006, President George W. Bush designated the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands a national monument. The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument encompasses 105,564 square nautical miles (139,798 sq mi; 362,074 km²), including 3,910 square nautical miles (5,178 sq mi; 13,411 km²) of coral reef habitat. The Monument also includes the Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge and the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge.

In 2007, the name of the Monument was changed from Papahānaumokuākea (Hawaiian pronunciation: [ˈpɐpəˈhaːnɔuˈmokuˈaːkeə]) to Marine National Monument. The National Monument is administered by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Oceanic Administration and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the State of Hawaii. In 2016 President Obama expanded the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument and added the Office of Hawaiian Affairs as a fourth co-financier of the monument.