On Midway, a Delicate Balance

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.

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.

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.

That doesn't mean public access will be restricted for good. A temporary contractor has been brought in to maintain core services at Midway until a long-term operator can be brought in.

Critics such as D'Angelo say the agency has an opportunity now to do more for the military while also maintaining standards for wildlife.

"The first step," he says, "would be for the atoll itself to be recognized as a national memorial with a visibility point, when you arrive off the plane, to a large, visible sign that says it's a wildlife refuge."

"We will honor, we will remember and above all we will thank you by what we do here both ecologically and historically," he told veterans.

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.

The Fish and Wildlife Service should study the attendance number over time for Grant's Tomb
in New York City.

Until about the 1920's the place was mobbed...and then the attendence steadily fell
until the point that very few people would drop by on a day.
This is because basically everyone who knew Grant, fought in his armies or against him
had died.

If the Fish and Wildlife Service was actually a patriotic part of the government,
not an ideological bureau serving the needs of wildlife, they'd have kept the tours going for about another 10-20 years.
At that time, sadly, but surely, interest in touring the island will be essentially gone
(except for WWII history buffs and a few faithful descendants of those who fought there).

(I saw the example of Grant's Tomb with Robert Krulwich on ABC News.)

Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't President Grant buried in a pretty rough neighborhood of NY?

That may be.
On the ABCNews piece by Krulwich (sp?) he did not that the tomb was at some distance from
the city center...but that it was such a popular destination that the major
hotels had (basically) commuter buses running to it.

Krulwich noted that from 1920 onward, the number of visitors has dwindled...because
anyone with first-hand experience with the life and times of US Grant had passed.

That's why I was a little peeved to hear that one of our guvmnint agencies is so much
more concerned with some flora and fauna, rather than making sure the old WWII vets can
make their last pilgrimages to Midway before they are "history" as well.

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