"Kitkun Bay" brought a number of freed Allied prisoners on board to return them to their homes and loved ones. Many of the men included survivors of the Wake Detachment, First Defense Battalion, USMC, which had served under Maj. James P.S. Devereux, USMC, and Marine Fighting Squadron (VMF) 211, Maj. Paul A. Putnam, USMC, during their epic defense of Wake Island against the Japanese (8–23 December 1941). Both Devereux and Putnam received the Navy Cross for their valiant defense of the island, and were freed and returned home by separate means. Additional liberated prisoners included sailors and marines captured by the Japanese at Shanghai, China, in 1941, and merchant seamen taken from their ships in several other ports. The newly released men savored their freedom, and praised the food, coffee, and cigarettes the planes had dropped to them.