WAKE ISLAND BOMBED

Timaru Herald, Volume CLIII, Issue 22470, 4 January 1943, Page 5

WAKE ISLAND BOMBED

Japanese Surprised

HONOLULU, Jan. 1

American bombers dropped 40 tons of bombs on Wake Island on Christmas Eve. All the aircraft returned. Huge fires were started. The Japanese were surprised and offered only erratic anti-aircraft fire. The Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet (Admiral Chester W. Nlmitz) disclosed that the raid on Wake Island was the largest mass Army heavy bomber raid during the Pacific war. The attack was made at a low level, and the fires were visible from a distance of 75 miles. The Associated Press of America reports that Lou Zamperini, describing the sensations of the bomber raid on Wake Island, said:—“Nobody was scared, but everybody was excited and jumpy the same as before a big race."

Zamperini, the national collegiate mile champion, represented America at the Berlin Olympia in 1936. Zamperini said that personally he was more scared before racing Venzke and Fenske. A raid bums up as much energy as a good mile race. The great thrill of seeing the bombs hit the targets Justified tlie risks.