MIDWAY ATOLL (AP) — To World War II veterans, these remote islands one-third of the way from Honolulu to Tokyo always will be known as the site where the fortunes of war in the Pacific shifted in favor of the United States.
But ever since the Navy closed its air base here in 1993, more attention has been paid to the birds, turtles, seals and other wildlife that inhabited the atoll long before the military.
Since March, when an environmental tour operator shut down, public access to Midway has been very limited. Officials hope to restart such a service soon that can both protect the ecology and provide some visitation to the historic atoll of three tiny islands.
Today, historians, veterans and government officials are left to balance Midway’s standing as both a national wildlife refuge and a military memorial.
“In a sense, that is a monument in and of itself to the veterans of Midway and World War II, because only in a free, prosperous America could such a thing exist,” Assistant Interior Secretary H. Craig Manson said during a recent trip to Midway to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Battle of Midway.
“I’d like to think that giving us the ability to do those two things here on this island, surrounded by these seas, is part of what you (veterans) were fighting for and is part of the legacy that you have left us.”
Not everyone agrees. At least one Midway historian says not enough is being done to honor those who fought and died during the fighting from June 4-6, 1942.
“American lives were lost, blood was shed and clearly, this is a very important part of America’s culture and history,” said James D’Angelo, who founded the International Midway Memorial Foundation to raise awareness of the battle.
“Recognition is very important today because of the values that the men who fought in the Battle of Midway exemplified,” he added. “I personally believe that, without these values, in all probability we would not have won the battle.”
Midway played a key role in World War II as a location the Japanese sought to establish as a forward outpost. For three days, American dive bombers and fighter pilots fended off the Japanese naval fleet’s attempt to secure Midway, sinking four of the fleet’s carriers.
The atoll provided a key port for U.S. ships and submarines that allowed them to remain in the theater of battle without having to return to Pearl Harbor or the U.S. mainland for maintenance.
But Midway’s strategic importance has diminished over time.
The Naval Air Facility on Midway was closed in 1993 and the atoll was turned over in 1996 to the Interior Department to be managed as a wildlife refuge.
Part of the wildlife refuge experience included ecotours — a chance for the public to experience firsthand the pristine beaches, crystal-blue lagoons and even get up close with the ever-present gooney birds.
But contractor Midway Phoenix Corp. ceased operations in March, citing U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service restrictions that make it too difficult to be profitable.
Barbara Maxfield, a spokeswoman for the Fish and Wildlife Service, has said the agency tried to work with Midway Phoenix since it began operations in 1996, but that wildlife is the agency’s primary concern.
