The Hawaiian name for Midway Atoll is Pihemanu, which means “the loud din or sound of birds.” Two million birds can indeed make a cacophony of calls, whistles and groans.
Major efforts are underway to control alien species and restore native habitats.
These include weeds, ornamental shrubs, exotic vegetables, and trees such as coconut palms and ironwood. Three-fourths of Midway's plant species were introductions. One of the rarest visitors is the endangered short-tailed albatross. Other birds include black-footed albatross, red-tailed tropicbirds, white terns, black and brown noddies, shearwaters, and Bonin petrels. The atoll has the largest Laysan albatross colony in the world. Nearly two million birds of 19 species nest on Midway. The wreck of the Macaw, a 250-foot submarine rescue vessel lost in 1944, marks the site of one such historic wartime event in Midway's waters. Today a fulltime Refuge staff administers a small visitor program, cares for its wildlife, restores native plant life, and protects historic resources. Navy clean up prior to their departure removed tons of debris, leaky fuel tanks, and lead paint, as well as rats. Fish and Wildlife Service to be managed as Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge. With the increasing use of satellite observation, such patrols became unnecessary, and in 1996 the once strategic naval base was turned over to the U.S. The atoll was designated as the National Memorial to the Battle of Midway in 2000.ĭuring the Cold War era, Midway served as the staging point for defensive air patrols along the Distant Early Warning (DEW) Line. Though the major carrier-based actions took place to the north, a fierce air battle was waged over Midway and Eastern Islands themselves. Many interpret this battle as the watershed moment in the tide of the Pacific War. A successful American intelligence operation tipped the US forces to the planned attack, and a small US task force was able to surprise and defeat the Japanese invasion fleet bound for the atoll. The atoll was attacked twice, first on December 7th 1941, and again during the pivotal Battle of Midway, June 4th-6th 1942.
Work began on the military facility at Midway in March 1940.ĭuring World War II, Midway served as an important naval air station and submarine refit base. It was clear that Midway’s geographical position as a “stepping tone across the Pacific” made the island a critical link in cable communications (1903) and as an early transpacific Panamerican seaplane stop (1935). The United States recognized the strategic importance of Midway as early as 1870, when efforts were begun to clear a southern channel into the calm lagoon. Other people made their way to Midway during the late 1800's promarily to collect feathers and eggs. Survivors built low huts on the treeless island and awaited rescue by (infrequent) passing vessels.
Early visitors included the castaway crews of several large sailing vessels, such as the American-built bark Carrollton. After Brooks, the United States annexed it as the first insular possession to be claimed outside the U.S. Brooks of the Gambia sailed to the atoll in 1859. While its land area is small, about 1,535 acres, the atoll has approximately 85,929 acres of reef area.Ĭaptain N.C. Midway, the best known of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI), is a circular-shaped atoll with three small islets (Sand, Eastern, and Spit) on the southern end of a lagoon.
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