Hello everyone, I have yet another WW2 effects for you all today, this time for the "last frontier", Alaska. The only state in the union, (though not a state yet) to have been bombed while also having enemy infantry on it's soil, along with actual combat, both land and sea. Hope you enjoy!! Previous WW2 effects :WW2 effects: Delaware Alaska Pre-WW2 Alaska, the last frontier of the Americas. The state is so large, if you placed it in the middle of the United States, it would stretch from Savannah Georgia, to L.A. Oh I almost forgot, if Alaska was a country it would be the 6th largest in the world, so yeah it's massive. Alaska before WW2 was not a state, but a territory of the U.S. Alaska was bought off the Russian empire in 1867 for 7.2 million U.S dollars (In today's amount!). Before the turn of the 20th century, there wasn't really an incentive to go to cold, harsh, and rugged Alaska, that is until Gold entered the picture in 1899. Thousands of Americans and Canadians rushed to The Yukon territories and Alaska to share in the wealth, the vast amount of people pushed Congress to make Alaska a U.S territory in 1912. From that point forward more and more people began to make the trek North to Alaska. By 1940, there were 70,000 Americans in the territory. Alaska's pre-war economy relied solely on Gold, Timber, and Fur, these industries were only slightly effected by the Great Depression, and because of the "self-reliant spirit" of Alaskan's, most were able to provide food and shelter for themselves without having to rely on little, if any income, meaning Alaskan's experience in the Great Depression was drastically different than most other states at the time. Fun fact, Jimmy Doolittle grew up in Nome, Alaska. Alaska WW2 With Military bases in Dutch Harbor and Anchorage, Alaska was ready for any sort of threat in the Pacific. In 1941, the threat was the Japanese Empire. After the attack on Pearl Harbor and many other U.S Army and Naval bases across the Pacific, Alaska prepared for a potential invasion of the Aleutian islands, an invasion that would come in June of 1942. However before this invasion came, the U.S military realized the importance of having a means of bringing supplies and troops to Alaska when the weather didn't permit flying, so work on the Alaskan Highway began in February of 1942. One of the most impressive construction feats in American history in my opinion. The Highway took 10 months to build and was 1,387 miles long, it started in Delta Junction Alaska, and ended in Dawson Creek British Colombia, Canada. Before the highway was complete however, the Japanese invaded the Aleutian island of Attu and Kiska, and launched an air raid against Dutch Harbor on the 3rd of June, invading the islands on the 6th right around the time of the Critical battle at Midway to act as a diversion. From that point on a year long struggle began for both the invading Japanese, and the defending Americans and Canadians. Initially the battle was restricted to a sea and air affair, as the Allies tried to Starve the Japanese out, but most of the Aircraft and ships the Allies needed were elsewhere in the pacific, allowing the Japanese to re-enforce and re-supply their forces on the islands. During the fighting a Japanese A6M Zero was captured almost completely intact, laying upside down in a grassy field. U.S Engineers and pilots alike, repaired the aircraft and learned of it's deadly secrets, passing them on to flyers and AA men across the Pacific, the info provided helped Grumman build the "Zero Killer", the F6F Hellcat. By March of 1943, the Japanese abandoned surface ship re-supply missions due to their high losses, and instead used Submarines, but by then the Japanese fighting on the islands, were doomed. The Horrible winter conditions, mud, and cold took a serious toll on the Japanese, along with daily air and naval strikes. In May of 1943, the U.S prepared to take the islands back. Kiska was found to be abandoned, but Japanese defenders of Attu didn't go without a fight, "On May 29, 1943, without warning the remainder of Japanese forces attacked near Massacre Bay. This was recorded as one of the largest banzai charges of the Pacific campaign. Led again by Colonel Yamasaki, the attack penetrated so deep into US lines that Japanese soldiers encountered rear-echelon units of the Americans. After furious, brutal, often hand-to-hand-combat, the Japanese force was virtually exterminated. Only 28 Japanese soldiers were taken prisoner, none of them officers. American burial teams counted 2,351 Japanese dead, but it was thought that hundreds more Japanese bodies had been buried by bombardment during the battle." (Wikipedia, Alaska). Alaska was once again, fully under U.S control, but it came at the cost of 880 KIA with another 1,300 dying from non-combat related incidents, 1,700 WIA, and 1,200 suffered from disease and frostbite. Along with military deaths, 1 Aleut Native American was killed in an accidental bombing incident, and 46 were temporarily captured by the Japanese in the Summer of 1942, being the only U.S citizens captured by a foreign military force in WW2. Alaska Post WW2 437 Alaskans joined the Armed forces during the war, 19 of whom were killed, and 41 wounded. Alaska's population would steadily grow after the war all the way to the territories statehood in 1959. Along with vast amounts of Gold, oil was soon discovered in Prudhoe bay, causing the "Oil Rush". Alaska has thrived economically since then, and it's people have also enjoyed low unemployment and poverty rates. The States population has gone from 70,000 to 700,000 in 70 years. Kodiakbeer, I expect to hear from you....
There is a fascinating book called 'The Thousand-Mile War' that is the go-to source for all things Alaska in WWII. Of course most people are familiar with Kiska and Attu, but there were significant air and sea wars going on as well. Kodiak, where I lived for many years, became a major (by Alaska standards) naval and air hub. Dutch Harbor, a thousand miles west was the forward base, and Kodiak was the rear logistics hub and also a refueling point for aircraft hopping into Russia on lend-lease. One interesting anecdote about Kodiak was that they built a miniature faux base a few bays south of the actual base. They laid out the outline of the base with lights and even placed disused barges lit in the pattern of warships offshore. There were several raids on Kodiak, but unfortunately the Japanese planes became lost in the fog before even finding the island, so nobody ever had the satisfaction of watching the Japanese bomb this false base. Another anecdote I love is about the forming of Castner's Cutthroats. This small unit was drawn from natives and trappers who could live off the land, to be dropped on islands in the Aleutians to spy and report on Japanese activities. Well, a true story about finding volunteers is the landing in some remote village in NW Alaska, and Castner making a long boring speech while his interpreter relayed it in Yupik (or perhaps Inuit). After the speech, which had a lot of "fighting for your country" stuff they had to go into long explanations because nobody in the village knew what country they were in. This information was all new to them, but after being assured that they were indeed Americans (and possibly liberal gifts of canned Spam), they got patriotic enough to hand over a couple of young hunters to join Castner's Cutthroats. .
The Soviet Union is a pretty nasty place to live, let alone fight in, but I feel like Alaska is even worse. The Japanese, and even Americans and Canadians, learned that the hard way. One of the less talked about aspects of the war for some reason, the casualties the U.S suffered fighting for Alaska is only a thousand men fewer than casualties suffered in the whole of the North African campaign.
This map demonstrates just how huge Alaska really is........ Gold Miners during the Klondike Gold rush in 1901......... Downtown Juneau in the 1940's Downtown Anchorage 1940......... Dutch Harbor burning after being bombed by Japanese aircraft in 1942....... Clearing off the Alaskan Highway......the vital supply route to Alaska........ The A6M Zero captured in the Aleutians would allow the U.S to study the aircraft and pave the way for the "Zero Killer".......the F6F Hellcat Americans troops arriving at Massacre Bay....1943 A Japanese painting titled "the Forgotten Battle" remembers the tragic fighting in Alaska....... American artillery firing during the Banzai Charge at Massacre Bay....... A View of Juneau Alaska.......... Anchorage, the most beautiful City scape in the world......... An absolutely beautiful place........
