On December 19th, perilously close to Christmas, I had the pleasure of participating in another Fire & Maneuver demonstration wargame at the new wargames facility at Brookhurst Hobby in Westminster This time, the subject was the first Japanese assault on Wake Island on December 9, 1941 just after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
The beautiful set and all of the battlefield details and troops were again provided by the designer of Fire & Maneuver. What made the game very special for me was that my son John assisted me with the Japanese forces under my general command. My grandson Jack took the role of commander of the Imperial Japanese air forces present in the form of a squadron of Mitsubishi G3M3 (Nell) bombers and a Kawanishi flying boat.
My eldest son William was overall commander of the US Marine Corps garrison and attached naval and civilian personnel.
Once again, the game was exciting and visually very appealing. The Brookhurst Hobby hall is a great venue for a large game and they were excellent hosts.
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| Jack ready for action |
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| Jack handles Aerial Recon |
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| William prepares his forces |
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| John considers a landing site |
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| The Pan Am hotel, built by Frank Patterson |
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| The Game Master coaches Jack |
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| I designed the Hotel signage |
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| The Japanese have a toe-hold |
