Wakde is an island group in

Sarmi Regency Sarmi Regency is one of the regencies (''kabupaten'') in Papua Province of Indonesia. It was formed from the western districts then within Jayapura Regency with effect from 12 November 2002. It covers an area of 18,034.0 km2, and had a population ...

, Papua,

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

, between the districts of Pantai Timur and Tor Atas. It comprises two islands, Insumuar (the larger) and Insumanai (much smaller).

History

Occupied by

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese forces in April 1942, they built an airbase.

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

forces landed in May 1944 (the

Battle of Wakde The Battle of Wakde ''(Operation Straight Line)'' was part of the New Guinea campaign of World War II. It was fought between the United States and Japan from 17 May 1944 to 21 May 1944 in Dutch New Guinea (now Papua, in Indonesia). The operation ...

or Operation Straight Line) and renamed the facilities

Wakde Airfield Wakde Airfield is a World War II airfield located on Wakde Island, off the northern coast of New Guinea in Papua, Indonesia. The airfield was abandoned after the war and today is almost totally returned to its natural state. History The airfiel ...

. In September 2005, the remains of Japanese soldiers and Papuans were found in a cave on the uninhabited island. Article about remains

Geography

The island is located at , two miles off the northern coast of Papua, near the Tor River.

Notes

Uninhabited islands of Indonesia {{Papua-geo-stub