MID-OCEAN SIGN POSTS An interesting little ceremony took place way back in 1937 that was destined to play a vital role in transoceanic travel although at the time most people did not realize its importance. Midway and Wake, coral atolls way out in the middle of the Pacific are separated even from each other by 1200 to 1600 hundred miles and from any other commonly-known geographical location by two to five thousand miles. So, when Clipper passengers started flying in and out of these bases, the designations "Wake Island, Pacific Ocean" and "Midway Island, Pacific Ocean" were not very meaningful for purposes of geographical location. So the little ceremony had to do with the raising of sign posts. The spots had been determined by celestial sights so that hereafter travelers passing back and forth would know exactly where they were. The signs read: MIDWAY ISLANDS United States Territory Latitude 28° 13'1" N Longitude 177° 22'25" W Airline Distance To: San Francisco . . . . Honolulu, T.H.   . . . . Wake Island . . . . . . Manila, P.I.  . . . . . 3790 miles 1380 miles 1252 miles 4423 miles WAKE ISLANDS United States Territory Latitude 19° 18'40" N Longitude 166° 35'20" E Airline Distance To: San Francisco . . . . Midway Islands . . . . Guam . . . . . . . . . . . Manila, P.I.  . . . . . . 4942 miles 1252 miles 1561 miles 3171 miles GENERAL INTEREST:   The Flying Clippers Main Page   TransOceanic Travel & Pan Am's Clippers   Pan American Clippers 1931 – 1946   Clippers In Time: Their Historical Context GETTING AROUND   FlyingClippers.com Site Map   Contact Us Copyright © 1999-2002 Flying Clippers All Rights Reserved All materials contained in http://www.flyingclippers.com are protected by copyright and trademark laws and may not be used for any purpose whatsoever other than private, non-commercial viewing purposes. Derivative works and other unauthorized copying or use of stills, video footage, text or graphics is expressly prohibited.