What happens
Major Jeffrey Caton arrives at the tiny Pacific outpost of Wake Island to command a garrison of United States Marines. Among the men are Joe and Smacksy, two Marines who bicker constantly, and a civilian contractor, McCloskey, who resents the military's demands on his construction work. Caton's arrival brings friction with the men and with McCloskey as the garrison builds its defenses. The garrison's routine is disrupted by a Japanese envoy's visit and by news from Washington that tensions are rising. This part of the broadcast ends as word arrives of the attack on Pearl Harbor, leaving the Marines facing an enemy assault.
Wake Island in the Pacific Ocean, late 1941, and the Pan American clipper route from San Francisco.
Characters: Major Jeffrey Caton, Joe, Smacksy, McCloskey, Commander Roberts, Dr. Parkman, Patrick, Hogan
Listen for: The first Japanese air attack on the island and how the outnumbered Marines respond.
Written from the episode itself; it never gives away the ending. Every recording is remastered for the stream: cleaned of rumble, hiss and mains hum (and the old TV whine where we found it), then levelled in two passes to steady broadcast loudness, so one show is never quieter than the next.