Battle of Wake Island in the context of "Marine (military)"

The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Empire of Japan on the United States Pacific Fleet at its naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941. At the time, the U.S. was a neutral country in World War II. The air raid on Pearl Harbor, which was launched from aircraft carriers, resulted in the U.S. declaring war on Japan the next day. The Japanese military leadership referred to the attack as the Hawaii Operation and Operation AI, and as Operation Z during its planning.

The attack on Pearl Harbor was preceded by months of negotiations between the U.S. and Japan over the future of the Pacific. Japanese demands included that the U.S. end its sanctions against Japan, cease aiding China in the Second Sino-Japanese War, and allow Japan to access the resources of the Dutch East Indies. Japan sent out its naval attack group on November 26, 1941, just prior to receiving the Hull note, which stated the U.S. desire that Japan withdraw from China and French Indochina. Isoroku Yamamoto, commander of the Japanese Combined Fleet, planned the attack as a pre-emptive strike on the Pacific Fleet, based at Pearl Harbor since 1940 in order to prevent it from interfering with Japan's planned actions in Southeast Asia. Yamamoto hoped that the strike would enable Japan to make quick territorial gains and negotiate peace. In addition to Pearl Harbor, over seven hours Japan launched coordinated attacks on the U.S.-held Philippines, Guam, and Wake Island; and on the British Empire in Malaya, Singapore, and Hong Kong.

The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War or the Pacific Theater, was the theater of World War II fought between the Japan and the Allies in East and Southeast Asia, the Pacific and Indian Oceans, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the Pacific Ocean theater, the South West Pacific theater, the Second Sino-Japanese War, and the brief Soviet–Japanese War, and included some of the largest naval battles in history. War between Japan and the Republic of China had begun in 1937, with hostilities dating back to Japan's invasion of Manchuria in 1931, but the Pacific War is more widely accepted to have begun in 1941, when the United States and United Kingdom were brought into the war, after being attacked by Japan.

Japan invaded French Indochina in 1940, and extended its control over the entire territory in July 1941. On 7–8 December 1941, Japan attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii; the U.S.-held Philippines, Guam, and Wake Island; and the British colonies of Malaya, Singapore, and Hong Kong, followed by a Japanese declaration of war. The Japanese achieved great success over the next 6 months, allying with Thailand and capturing the listed territories (except for Hawaii) in addition to Borneo, New Britain, the Dutch East Indies, Burma, the Solomon and Gilbert Islands, and parts of New Guinea. In May 1942, Japanese and Allied aircraft carriers fought at the Battle of Coral Sea, resulting in the retreat of a Japanese invasion force headed for Port Moresby. In June, Japan invaded the Aleutian Islands, and in the central Pacific was defeated at the Battle of Midway, considered a key turning point in the war. After this point, the Japanese experienced great difficulty replacing their losses in ships and aircraft as the U.S. produced ever increasing numbers of both.

Wake Island (Marshallese: Ānen Kio, lit. 'island of the kio flower'), also known as Wake Atoll (Chamorro: Islan Wake), is a coral atoll in the Micronesia subregion of the Pacific Ocean. The atoll is composed of three islets – Wake, Wilkes, and Peale Islands – surrounding a lagoon encircled by a coral reef. The nearest inhabited island is Utirik Atoll in the Marshall Islands, located 592 miles (953 kilometers) to the southeast.

The island may have been found by prehistoric Austronesian mariners before its first recorded discovery by Álvaro de Mendaña de Neira in 1568. Ships continued visiting the area in the following centuries, but the island remained undeveloped until the United States claimed it in 1899. Significant development of the island did not begin until 1935 when Pan American Airways constructed an airfield and hotel, establishing Wake Island as a stopover for trans-Pacific flying boat routes. In December 1941 at the opening of the Pacific Theatre of World War II Japan seized the island, which remained under Japanese occupation until the end of the war in September 1945. In 1972, Pan American Airways ceased using the island for trans-Pacific layovers, instead using Boeing 747 aircraft, which could cross the ocean without stopping. With the withdrawal of Pan American Airways, the island's administration was taken over by the United States Air Force, which later used the atoll as a processing location for Vietnamese refugees during Operation New Life in 1975.

United States Naval Construction Battalions, better known as the Navy Seabees, form the U.S. Naval Construction Forces (NCF). The Seabee nickname is a heterograph of the initial letters "CB" from the words "Construction Battalion". Depending upon context, "Seabee" can refer to all enlisted personnel in the USN's occupational field 7 (OF-7), all personnel in the Naval Construction Force (NCF), or Construction Battalion. Seabees serve both in and outside the NCF. During World War II they were plank-holders of both the Naval Combat Demolition Units and the Underwater Demolition Teams (UDTs). The men in the NCF considered these units to be "Seabee". In addition, Seabees served as elements of Cubs, Lions, Acorns and the United States Marine Corps. They also provided the manpower for the top secret CWS Flame Tank Group. Today the Seabees have many special task assignments starting with Camp David and the Naval Support Unit at the Department of State. Seabees serve under both Commanders of the Naval Surface Forces Atlantic/Pacific fleets as well as on many base Public Works and USN diving commands.

Naval Construction Battalions were conceived of as replacements for civilian construction companies in combat zones after the attack on Pearl Harbor. At the time civilian contractors had roughly 70,000 men working U.S.N. contracts overseas. International law made it illegal for civilian workers to resist an attack. Doing so would classify them as guerrillas and could lead to summary execution. The formation of the Seabees amidst the aftermath of the Battle of Wake Island inspired the backstory for the World War II movie The Fighting Seabees. They also feature prominently in the wartime musical drama (and subsequent film) South Pacific.

The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War or the Pacific Theater, was the theater of World War II fought between Japan and the Allies in East and Southeast Asia, the Pacific and Indian Oceans, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the Pacific Ocean theater, the South West Pacific theater, the Second Sino-Japanese War, and the brief Soviet–Japanese War, and included some of the largest naval battles in history. War between Japan and the Republic of China had begun in 1937, with hostilities dating back to Japan's invasion of Manchuria in 1931, but the Pacific War is more widely accepted to have begun in 1941, when the United States and United Kingdom were brought into the war, after being attacked by Japan.

Japan invaded French Indochina in 1940, and extended its control over the entire territory in July 1941. On 7–8 December 1941, Japan attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii; the U.S.-held Philippines, Guam, and Wake Island; and the British colonies of Malaya, Singapore, and Hong Kong, followed by a Japanese declaration of war. The Japanese achieved great success over the next 6 months, allying with Thailand and capturing the listed territories (except for Hawaii) in addition to Borneo, New Britain, the Dutch East Indies, Burma, the Solomon and Gilbert Islands, and parts of New Guinea. In May 1942, Japanese and Allied aircraft carriers fought at the Battle of Coral Sea, resulting in the retreat of a Japanese invasion force headed for Port Moresby. In June, Japan invaded the Aleutian Islands, and in the central Pacific was defeated at the Battle of Midway, considered a key turning point in the war. After this point, the Japanese experienced great difficulty replacing their losses in ships and aircraft as the U.S. produced ever increasing numbers of both.

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