Wake Island Device

{{Short description|US WWII military award}} {{Infobox award | name = "W" Wake Island Device | subheader = | image = 'W' Wake Island Device.png | image_size = 150px | alt = | caption = Wake Island "W" Ribbon Device | awarded_for = Service on Wake Island (1941) | sponsor = | date = | location = | former name = | preshow_host = | acts = | campaign = | motto = | clasps = | reward = | year = | year2 = | holder_label = | holder = | most_awards = | most_nominations = | award1_type = | award1_winner = | award2_type = | award2_winner = | award3_type = | award3_winner = | award4_type = | award4_winner = | award5_type = | award5_winner = | type = Ribbon Device | website = | network = | runtime = | viewership = | producer = | director = | image2 = Wake Island Clasp.png | image2_size = 250px | alt2 = | caption2 = Wake Island Medal Clasp | precedence_label = | individual = | higher = | same = | lower = | related = | previous = | main = | next = | status = Not Currently Awarded | established = 1941 }} The '''Wake Island Device ("W" Device)''' is an award device of the United States military which is presented as a campaign clasp to both the Navy and Marine Corps Expeditionary Medals.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Navy/Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal Display Recognition |url=http://www.amervets.com/replacement/nmem.htm |access-date=2024-05-22 |website=www.amervets.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Pt 4 - Campaign and Service Medals |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/n/navy-mc-awards-manual-rev1953/pt4-campaign-service-medals.html |access-date=22 May 2024 |website=U.S. Navy}}</ref>

The Wake Island Device is authorized for any sailor or Marine who was awarded the Navy or Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal due to service during the defense of Wake Island during the opening days of U.S. involvement in the Second World War. To be awarded the Wake Island Device, a service member must have been awarded either the Navy Expeditionary Medal, or the Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal, and must have served on Wake Island between December 7 and December 22, 1941.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-12-23 |title=The Battle of Wake Island: Nation's Morale Lifted in 1941 |url=https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/battle-of-wake-island-1941 |access-date=2024-05-22 |website=The National WWII Museum {{!}} New Orleans |language=en}}</ref>

The Wake Island Device is worn as a campaign clasp, inscribed with the words “Wake Island”, centered on the upper portion of the Navy or Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal. When wearing the Expeditionary Medal as a ribbon, the Wake Island Device is annotated by a silver “W” device, centered on the decoration.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Military Awards |url=https://history.army.mil/html/forcestruc/docs/r600_8_22.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107110009/https://history.army.mil/html/forcestruc/docs/r600_8_22.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 7, 2019 |access-date=22 May 2024 |website=U.S. Army Center of Military History}}</ref>

A total of only 449 Marine Corps and 68 Navy personnel were eligible for the Wake Island Device, making it one of the rarest of United States military awards.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Wake Island Militia {{!}} Naval History Magazine |url=https://www.usni.org/magazines/naval-history-magazine/1997/december/wake-island-militia |access-date=22 May 2024 |website=U.S. Naval Institute|date=18 January 2023 }}</ref> As a point of comparison, there were a total of 472 Medal of Honor recipients during World War II.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jowdy |date=2020-09-01 |title=Remembering the End of WWII |url=https://www.cmohs.org/news-events/history/remembering-the-end-of-wwii/ |access-date=2024-05-22 |website=Congressional Medal of Honor Society |language=en-US}}</ref> {| class="wikitable" |+ ! colspan="2" |Wake Island Ribbon and Medal Devices |- |{{Center|Navy Expeditionary Medal}} |{{Center|Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal}} |- |center|200x200px |center|frameless|200x200px |- |center|frameless|421x421px |center|frameless|421x421px |}

== References == {{Reflist}}{{Wake}}

Category:United States military award devices Category:Battle of Wake Island