The 2024-25 Community Lecture Series, hosted by Lander University and the Arts Center of Greenwood, kicks off Tuesday, September 3, with a lecture from Dr. William Ramsey, professor of history at Lander. Titled, “Fighting Infamy: A Marine Fighter Pilot’s Epic Stand at the Battle of Wake Island,” Ramsey’s lecture draws on research from his new book, “Wake Island Wildcat,” available for pre-order now on Amazon or wherever good books are sold. The lecture will begin at 6 p.m. at the Arts Center of Greenwood, with complimentary refreshments and a cash bar opening at 5:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.
When the Japanese attacked Wake Island in December 1941—the same day as the attack on Pearl Harbor—Marine pilot Henry T. Elrod took to the skies in his F4F Wildcat fighter to defend the American military base on the tiny Pacific atoll, battling swarms of enemy planes and ships with rare courage and skill for the next two weeks. Captain Elrod, who had attended Yale and spent his freshman year playing football at the University of Georgia, had arrived mere days before as part of a fighter squadron of twelve pilots.
On December 10 and 11, Elrod had two of the most remarkable days of the war for any pilot in any theater: he took on a group of twenty-two Japanese planes—shooting down two—and then bombed and strafed the destroyer Kisaragi, sinking the vessel with all hands and becoming the first American pilot to sink a warship with small caliber bombs delivered by a fighter plane in World War II. Then, once American aircraft were too damaged to fly, the pilots joined the ground defense against Japanese invasion forces. Elrod assumed command of one sector of the beach and led the repulse of repeated enemy assaults until he was killed on the last day of the battle, just before the American surrender.
Though unsuccessful, the against-the-odds battle for Wake Island buoyed American morale during a dark period of World War II. Elrod, who became known as “Hammerin’ Hank,” was a key figure in the defense. For his gallantry, he was posthumously promoted to major and awarded the Medal of Honor. A US Navy frigate and a street at Marine Base Quantico were named for him, and a piece of his plane is on display at the National Air and Space Museum. Drawing on research in military archives and materials from Elrod’s family, William L. Ramsey tells Hammerin’ Hank’s full story—which is not only the history of the battle for Wake Island but also the experiences that led him to become a Marine fighter pilot—with drama and verve.
William L. Ramsey is an historian, poet and professor of history at Lander. He received his Ph.D. from Tulane University in 1998, and in addition to Lander, has taught at Tulane, SUNY Oswego and the University of Idaho. In 2005, he received the Martin Luther King, Jr. Distinguished Service Award from the University of Idaho and Washington State University, acting jointly, for public activism in defense of civil rights and racial tolerance, and he was awarded the Outstanding Faculty Award in 2007 by the Student Association of the University of Idaho. His historical articles have appeared in the Journal of American History, Georgia Historical Quarterly, and the South Carolina Historical Magazine. His first book, “The Yamasee War: A Study of Culture, Economy and Conflict in the Colonial South,” received the 2008 George C. Rogers Jr. Award for best book of South Carolina history, sponsored by the South Carolina Historical Society.
Please visit www.lander.edu/events for updates and to confirm event times and venues. For questions, please contact Interim Assistant Provost Dr. Mark Rollins at 864-388-8563 or mrollins@lander.edu.