Attu (
Atan in
AleutAleut is a language of the Eskimo-Aleut language family. It is the heritage language of the Aleut people living in the Aleutian Islands, Pribilof Islands, and Commander Islands. As of 2007 there were about 150 speakers of Aleut .- Dialects :Aleut is alone with the Eskimo languages in the...
) is the
westernmostThis is a list of the extreme points of the United States, the points that are farther north, south, east, or west than any other location in the country. Also included are extreme points in elevation.-Northernmost:...
and largest
islandAn island or isle is any piece of land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls are called islets. A key or cay is another name for a small island or islet. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot, .There are two main types of islands:...
in the
Near IslandsThe Near Islands are the smallest and westernmost group of the Aleutian Islands in southwestern Alaska, at about ....
group of the
Aleutian IslandsThe Aleutian Islands are a chain of more than 300 small volcanic islands forming part of the Aleutian Arc in the Northern Pacific Ocean, occupying an area of 6,821 sq mi and extending about westward from the Alaska Peninsula toward the Kamchatka Peninsula...
of
AlaskaAlaska is the largest state of the United States of America by area; it is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
, making it the westernmost point of land relative to
AlaskaAlaska is the largest state of the United States of America by area; it is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
and the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It was the site of the only
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
land battle on United States soil (the
Battle of AttuThe Battle of Attu took place May 11, 1943 – May 30, 1943 on Attu Island off of Alaska as part of the Aleutian Islands Campaign during the Pacific War of World War II...
), and its battlefield area is a U.S.
National Historic LandmarkA National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance. All NHLs are listed in the National Register of Historic Places...
.
Attu Station, the only inhabited area on the island, is actually located at 52°51'
northNorth is one of the four cardinal directions, specifically the direction that, in Western culture, is treated as the fundamental direction:* North is used to define all other directions....
latitudeLatitude, usually denoted by the Greek letter phi gives the location of a place on Earth north or south of the equator. Lines of Latitude are the imaginary horizontal lines shown running east-to-west on maps that run either north or south of the equator...
, 173°11'
eastEast is a direction in geography. It is one of the four cardinal directions or compass points, opposite of west and at right angles to north and south. East is the direction toward which the Earth rotates about its axis, and therefore the general direction from which the Sun appears to rise...
longitudeLongitude , identified by the Greek letter lambda , is the geographic coordinate most commonly used in cartography and global navigation for east-west measurement...
, making it by one definition one of the easternnmost points of Alaska (and the United States). Attu is nearly seven degrees east of the
180° longitude lineThe 180th meridian or antimeridian is the meridian which is 180° east or west of the Prime Meridian passing through the Royal Observatory, Greenwich. It is common to both east longitude and west longitude. It is used as the basis for the International Date Line because it for the most part passes...
. (Looked at it this way, another Aleutian Island,
Semisopochnoi IslandSemisopochnoi Island is part of the Rat Islands group in the western Aleutian Islands. The island is uninhabited and provides an important nesting area for maritime birds. The island is of volcanic origin, containing several volcanoes including Mount Cerberus...
at 179°46'E is the "westernmost" location in the United States and North America, since it sits only 14 minutes westwards of the 180° line.
Attu is nearly from the Alaskan mainland and northeast of the northernmost of the Kurile Islands of
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, and it is from the capital city, Washington DC. Attu is about in size with a land area of , making it
#23 on the list of largest islands in the United States. The population as of the
2000 censusThe Twenty-Second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...
was 20 people, all at the Attu Station.
, the only significant
treeA tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
s on the island were those planted by American soldiers at a
chapelA chapel is a building used as a place for fellowship and of worship for Christians. It may be attached to an institution such as a large church, a college, a hospital, a palace, a prison or a cemetery, or may be an entirely free-standing building, sometimes with its own grounds...
constructed after the 1943 battle with the Japanese was over.
History
The name
Attu is a transliteration of the
AleutThe Aleuts are the indigenous people of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska, United States and Kamchatka Krai, Russia.The name Aleut was given to the Unangan by Russian fur traders in the mid 18th century.-Location:The homeland of...
name of the island. It was called
Saint Theodore by the explorer
Aleksei ChirikovAleksei Ilyich Chirikov was a Russian navigator and captain who charted some of the Aleutian Islands and was deputy to Vitus Bering during the Great Northern Expedition efforts to Kamchatka and the Pacific.- Life and work :...
in 1742.
World War II
The Aleuts were the primary inhabitants of the island prior to
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. But, on June 7, 1942, six months after the USA joined the war, the 301st Independent Infantry Battalion of the Japanese Northern Army landed on the island, without opposition, one day after landing on nearby
KiskaKiska is an island in the Rat Islands group of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska located at . It is about long and varies in width from - Discovery :...
. Earlier, in response to Japanese aggression in the Pacific, American territorial authorities conducted a mandatory evacuation of about 880 Aleuts from villages elsewhere in the Aleutian Islands. These people were interned in civilian camps in the
Alaska PanhandleThe Alaska Panhandle, sometimes referred to as South east Alaska, is the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Alaska, which lies west of the northern half of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The majority of the panhandle's area is part of the Tongass National Forest, the United...
, where about 75 of them died of various infectious diseases over the two years.
However, Attu Village had not yet been evacuated when the Japanese attacked. At the time, Attu’s population consisted of 45 native Aleuts and two other Americans, Charles Foster Jones, 60, a schoolteacher, and his wife Etta, both originally from
Marion, OhioMarion is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Marion County. The municipality is located in north-central Ohio, approximately 50 miles north of Columbus.The population was 35,318 at the 2000 census...
. The village consisted of several houses around Chichagof Harbor. The 42 Attu inhabitants who survived the Japanese invasion were taken to a prison camp near Otaru,
Hokkaidō, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island and the largest, northernmost of its 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshū, although the two islands are connected by the underwater Seikan Tunnel...
. Sixteen of them died while they were imprisoned.
According to Gen. Hideichiro Higuda, the Commander of the Japanese Northern Army, the invasion of
KiskaKiska is an island in the Rat Islands group of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska located at . It is about long and varies in width from - Discovery :...
and
AttuAttu may refer to:*A common name for the Dosa in Telugu*Attu Island in Alaska*The Battle of Attu, the primary land battle in the Aleutian Islands campaign of World War II, which took place on Attu Island in May 1943....
was part of a threefold objective:
- To break up any offensives against Japan by way of the Aleutians.
- To place a barrier between the U.S. and Russia in case Russia decided to join the war against Japan.
- To make preparation for air bases for future offensive action.
In late September, 1942, the Japanese garrison on Attu was transferred to Kiska, and then Attu was essentially left unoccupied, but American forces made no attempt to occupy Attu during this time. On October 29, 1942, the Japanese reestablished a base on Attu at Holtz Bay under the command of Lt. Col. Hiroshi Yanekawa. Initially the garrison was about 500 troops, but through reinforcements, that number reached about 2,300 by March 10, 1943. No more reinforcements arrived after that time, owing mainly to the efforts of the U.S. naval force under
Rear AdmiralRear Admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a Commodore and Captain, and below that of a Vice Admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "Admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "Flag officers" and/or "Flag ranks"...
Charles "Soc" McMorrisCharles "Soc" Horatio McMorris was an American rear admiral during World War II, most notably commanding forces at the Battle of the Komandorski Islands and Aleutian Islands....
, and U.S. Navy submarines. McMorris had been assigned to interdict the Japanese supply and reinforcement convoys. After the sizable naval
Battle of the Komandorski IslandsThe Battle of the Komandorski Islands was one of the most unusual engagements of World War II. It was a naval battle which took place on 27 March 1943 in the North Pacific area of the Pacific Ocean, near the Komandorski Islands....
, the Japanese abandoned their attempts to resupply its Aleutian garrisons by surface ships. From then on, only
submarineA submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has only limited underwater capability...
s were used for the resupply runs.
On May 11, 1943, the operation to recapture Attu began. A shortage of landing craft, unsuitable beaches, and equipment that failed to operate in the appalling weather caused great difficulties in projecting any force against the Japanese. Many soldiers suffered from frostbite – because essential supplies could not be landed, or having been landed, could not be moved to where they were needed. Army vehicles would not work on the tundra. The Japanese defenders under Colonel
Yasuyo YamasakiColonel Yasuyo Yamasaki commanded the Japanese forces on Attu during the Battle of the Aleutian Islands.Yamasaki was a professional Army officer, promoted to colonel in March 1940...
did not contest the landings, but rather they dug in on high ground away from the shore. This resulted in bloody fighting: there were 3,929 U.S. casualties: 580 were killed, 1148 were injured, 1200 had severe cold injuries, 614 succumbed to infectious diseases, and 318 died of miscellaneous causes – largely from Japanese booby traps and from
friendly fireFriendly fire is an expression meaning fire from one's own side or allied forces, as opposed to fire coming from enemy forces, and was a tactic originally adopted by the United States military....
. The Japanese were defeated in Massacre Valley (with some soldiers led by Sergeant Morgan Sinclair). The death count for the Japanese was 2035. The Americans then built "Navy Town" near Massacre Bay.
On May 29, the last of the Japanese forces suddenly attacked near Massacre Bay in one of the largest
banzai chargeBanzai totsugeki was a name applied during World War II by the Allied forces to human wave-style attacks mounted by infantry forces of the Imperial Japanese Army. The name Gyokusai was however used by the Naikaku Johōkyoku and the media of the Imperial Japanese regime...
s of the Pacific campaign. The charge, led by Colonel Yamasaki, penetrated U.S. lines far enough to encounter shocked rear-echelon units of the American force. After furious, brutal, close-quarter, and often hand-to-hand combat, the Japanese force was killed almost to the last man: only 28 prisoners were taken, none of them officers. U.S. burial teams counted 2,351 Japanese dead, but it was presumed that hundreds more had been buried by naval, air, and artillery bombardments over the course of the battle.
The other Japanese forces in the Aleutians, after realizing that their position was now vulnerable, evacuated Kiska three months later.
The USAAF built a larger airfield, and then used that on July 10, 1943, as the base for an air attack on the Japanese-held Kurile Islands, now a part of
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. This was the first air attack on the Japanese "homelands" since the famous
Doolittle RaidThe Doolittle Raid, 18 April 1942, was the first air raid by the United States to strike a Japanese home island during World War II. It demonstrated that Japan itself was vulnerable to Allied air attack and provided an expedient means for U.S. retaliation for Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor on 7...
in 1942. Other attacks followed.
Postwar
After the war, the survivors of the Otaru prison camp were shipped to other Aleutian islands or to the mainland of Alaska, and the United States government decided to construct a
LORANLORAN is a terrestrial radio navigation system using low frequency radio transmitters that uses multiple transmitters to determine location and/or speed of the receiver. The current version of LORAN in common use is LORAN-C, which operates in the low frequency portion of the EM spectrum from 90...
station on the southern tip of Attu, at Theodore Point. This installation is currently manned by the
United States Coast GuardThe United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of seven uniformed services. It is unique among the military branches in that it has a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency mission as part of its mission set...
. The equipment to build the station came out of
Holtz BayHoltz Bay is an inlet on the northeast coast of the island of Attu in the Aleutian Islands in Alaska.Holtz Bay was among the landing sites of United States Army troops in the Battle of Attu on 11 May 1943, which led to the recapture of the island from the Japanese during World War II....
and was ferried on barges and landing craft to Baxter Cove, about one mile east of the station. Bulldozers were used to cut a road from Baxter Cove to Theodore Point.
In 1954, the station was moved to Casco Cove, near the former Navy Base at Massacre Bay. In 1960 it was moved to Massacre Bay.
The battlefield area and subsequent military sites were declared a
National Historic LandmarkA National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance. All NHLs are listed in the National Register of Historic Places...
in 1985.
In 1987, with the approval of the U.S. Department of the Interior, the government of Japan placed a monument on Engineer Hill, site of the hand-to-hand finale of the battle against the Japanese. An inscription, in Japanese and English, reads: "In memory of all those who sacrificed their lives in the islands and seas of the North Pacific during World War II and in dedication to world peace." In February, 2008, a group of American veterans led by John E. Jonas TSGT USAF (Ret.) began a petition to have the Japanese memorial removed or relocated from the island and replaced with two U.S. funded markers: one to the Japanese soldiers who died on the island and one to the Americans. The Battle for Attu veteran Bill Jones and others were upset to find out that the Japanese memorial on Attu was erected near the site of a massacre of wounded American soldiers by the Japanese on the battle's final day.
Jones, along with fellow Attu survivor Andy Petrus, were featured in the 2006 documentary film
Red White Black & Blue. It is directed by Tom Putnam, and debuted at the 2006 Locarno International Film Festival in Locarno, Switzerland on August 4, 2006.
There is currently a search being conducted to find any remains of Japanese soldiers that are there.
Weather
The weather on Attu is typical Aleutian weather: cloudy, rainy, and foggy. High winds occur occasionally. Five or six days a week are likely to be rainy, and there are only about eight or ten clear days a year. The rest of the time, even if rain is not falling, fog of varying density is the rule rather than the exception. There are of annual rainfall & other
precipitationIn meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that is deposited on the Earth's surface. The main forms of precipitation include rain, snow, ice pellets, and graupel...
, with the heaviest rains in the autumn and early winter. Attu is in a maritime climate zone.
External links