Dr. Joseph Rizza
Joseph Rizza
For those SaddleBrooke residents who customarily peruse the contents of the SaddleBrooke Progress, they are accustomed to reading the occasional article written by their very own “Dr. Odyssey.” Dr. Joe Rizza, a resident of SaddleBrooke since 2010 and a licensed M.D., has been for 32 years a cruise ship doctor, expedition voyage doctor, and a flight surgeon, in addition to practicing internal medicine and emergency medicine for over 50 years. The readers have read of his expedition adventures to both Polar regions. He has been fortunate to stand for days among emperor penguins and observe polar bears from no more than 20 yards (from the deck of an icebreaker vessel, obviously). He is always ready for an adventurous medical assignment. One was offered in June of 2025. Dr. Rizza was asked to man the small medical clinic situated on the northwest tip of the Island (affectionately called “Downtown”) and looking after the well-being and medical needs of the 120 or so civilian contractors and three Air Force personnel on the very remote Pacific atoll of Wake Island. At times, because of military exercises by the U.S. Navy, the population would double.
For those who are military history buffs, Wake is a very familiar World War II name, as this small atoll of about 5.5 square miles was the scene of fierce resistance by the 1,200 civilians and little more than 500 Marines, sailors, and soldiers to the Japanese invasion that began on the same day Pearl Harbor was attacked. The Japanese attackers eventually overcame the resistance in a matter of a few weeks and controlled Wake until after the Nippon forces formally surrendered on the battleship USS Missouri on Sept. 2, 1945.
Wake Island lies roughly 2,300 miles west of Honolulu and is part of the Marshall Islands, although the United States claimed it in 1899. It is operated by the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Department of the Interior. It was first sighted by Spanish navigators in 1568. It sits on the other side of the International Dateline and claims, “Where America’s Day Really Begins.” Today, it is of immense strategic importance because of its location and the 10,000-foot runway that is operated regularly for military and government aircraft on the southwestern part of the horseshoe-shaped island. In the 1930s Pan American Airways used it as a refueling stop on its transpacific routes and actually operated a hotel there.
Dr. Rizza spent two months there, and one of the daily pleasures was to enjoy his morning coffee overlooking the beautiful lagoon that separates the main island from the smaller Peale and Wilkes Islands. Seabirds are proliferating there now that the rat infestation has been eradicated. It was estimated that there were as many as two million rats there at one time. The weather and rainbows are perfect!