Throughout 1942 and into 1943, Japanese planes attacked Hawaii with relative impunity. After the failed attempt to liberate Wake, it once again became the forward defence post for the Navy, until it too fell to Japan in late 1941. When Japan entered World War II in January 1941, Midway became the forward defense post for the Navy after the fall of Wake Island. Midway Island was an important air base for the US Navy. In 1943, after defeating Japan's carrier task force in the waters around Midway, the island was retaken by US forces, unopposed, after the Japanese disengaged from the war with the United States, to attack Britain's Asian colonies. Afterwards, the IJN used the island to launch bombing attacks against the Sandwiches, but due to the large fighter presence on the islands, these were nothing more than nuisance raids. When the war ended, the island was recognized as a US territory.Дuring the Second Great War, the island was lost when the Japanese destroyed the US Pacific Fleet's only carrier, forcing the US back to the Sandwiches. Midway was a British possession until the Great War, when the island was lost to the United States after they successfully invaded the Sandwich Islands. The loss of Midway was the final straw for many and was seen as the last nail in the coffin for the besieged US President, Franklin Roosevelt.

The loss of Midway was seen as a catastrophe for the war against Japan as it now threatened the whole life line in the Pacific Ocean. However, these proved nothing more than nuisance raids, and only achieved a guarantee that the island would be the next target for the US Marines.ДЄfter the disaster at the Battle of Midway, the Japanese Navy was able to invade and conquer Midway island proper. In 1943, when the Hawaiian islands were liberated, Japanese forces where pushed back to Midway, and started using the air base there to bomb Hawaii. It was conquered not long after the island fell and became a stop over point for planes coming to and from Japan. Drop the orange person on the blue line path that interests you.When Japan invaded Hawaii in December of 1941, Midway was left isolated, after the fall of Wake Island, while the US Army on Oahu slowly crumbled.

Left click hold and drag the orange person icon over the map (this will light up the Streetview paths).At the top of the zoom bar on the map is an orange 'Streetview' person icon.Go to Google Maps and type in 'Midway Islands' (we are in the process of correcting this to 'Midway Atoll').We hope for a continued partnership with Google to capture other sites within the Monument.

This mapping effort provides a valuable interpretive tool for PapahДЃnaumokuДЃkea's unique treasures and demonstrates the need to protect this remote and special place. In addition to being part of PapahДЃnaumokuДЃkea Marine National Monument, Midway Atoll is a National Wildlife Refuge, established in 1988, and site of the Battle of Midway National Memorial. The atoll and surrounding seas were the site of a pivotal battle of World War II, and Midway was an active Navy installation during the Cold War. Midway boasts the largest nesting colonies of Laysan and Black-footed albatrosses in the world, and supports the first successfully reintroduced population of endangered Laysan ducks - the most endangered waterfowl in the Northern Hemisphere. In a project spearheaded by the Monument, a team consisting of PMNM staff and a Google technician spent two weeks on Midway this summer, capturing more than 9,200 panoramic images of 60 different natural and historic sites along 21 miles of roads and paths on the island. PMNM teamed up with Internet giant Google using digital imagery and Web technology to bring PapahДЃnaumokuДЃkea to a broader audience in a way never before done, making good on our commitment to 'bring the place to the people.' Internet users can now virtually stroll among the millions of seabirds and various historic sites on Midway Atoll (or, to use its Hawaiian name вЂ“ ' Pihemanu') using Google StreetView. Credit: Google MapsД«ringing 'the place to the people' with Google Streetview Screenshot of Midway Atoll on Google Streetview.

Midway atoll map