The Forgotten Battle of World War II: Remembering the Aleutian Campaign

Townhall.com ^ | November 6, 2009 | Dr Paul Kengor

[AlaskaErik]

There was a massive Banzai charge on Attu that succeeded in breaking thru to a campsite where a squadron of USAAF pilots were sleeping.

Never heard that one before in regards to Attu. There wouldn't have been any pilots there anyway, since construction of a runway didn't begin until the island was secure. There was, however, such an occurrence on Iwo Jima.

[Marine_Uncle]

I can appreciate the weather you folks have to endure. Been in howling -40 conditions at the top of mountains earlier on in life. Perhaps that windsock becomes heavy as a chain at times!
Stay warm.

[Tallguy]

Even if the Japanese had taken the entire Aleutian Chain & gotten ashore in Alaska, I doubt that they could have accomplished anything. There were few roads suitable for moving inland or down the coast. Part of the campaign to defend Alaska involved a joint US-Canadian highway construction project that would allow defenders to move up supplies & men.

I think that the Japanese move into the western Aleutians was mostly defensive. They were well aware that the US was planning to sage long-range bombing raids against Japan from these islands. As it turned out the B29 raids came from China, then Guam & Tinian. There wasn’t any need to fight the elements in Alaska. We’d already lost so many aircraft up there.

[an amused spectator]

I ran into a Seabee who was in the Aleutians during the war.

I shook his hand, and thanked him for his service. He was still a spry old gentleman. :-)