Module 8-World War II 1939-1945 A turning Point in Alaska

Essential Question:  Explain how Alaska's location was considered 'strategic' during World War II.  What were the war activities/events that supported the perspective of 'strategic' Alaska? 

Alaska's location was considered strategic during World War II because of its proximity to Japan and  its central location in the Great Circle Route connecting North America to Asia by sea and air. It also became an important stopover for shipments, by both water and air, in the lend/lease program with Russia and the war with Nazi Germany.


 Alaska was primarily seen as the first line of defense against

Japanese Empire

Japanese empire building.  Japan had successfully extended its reach into China, Malaya and Thailand. It wanted to go further into the Pacific and Australia. After the attack on Pearl Harbor the United States, Japanese strategists felt they could further weaken the American fleet by diverting American attention to the Aleutians. There was competition between the United States and Japan over the Asian markets, especially trade with China.  They were also both interested in having Russia as an ally. 


There was a fear of Japan cutting off coastal shipping ad blocking war shipments to Russia in the lend-lease program. 

Alaska became a great stopover for aircraft going through Alaska and Siberia to fight the war with Nazi Germany.  Naval bases were built in Kodiak, Sitka and Dutch Harbor.   Air force bases were built in Fairbanks and Anchorage. 

Alaska-Siberia World War II Air route

Aircraft were beginning to be seen as military weapons and in 1920 it was shown that a plane could fly easily from Alaska to the United States and the United States to Alaska. As Alaska's Heritage says, Alaska is a "central location on global air routes."

Although, according to the Alaska Historical Society "the Japanese threat to mainland Alaska and to its coastal shipping never became that dire", the defensive build-up in Alaska actually helped the Americans to fight the war in Europe against Nazi Germany.  The airways and waterways were kept open so that American troops could be sent via Alaska to join with our Russian allies in fighting.

 

 Examine: Describe the major events in the Aleutian Campaign of World War II.

Aleutian Islands 1942-43 

June 1942 Japan attacked and occupied Attu and Kiska Attu, the furthermost point on the Aleutian Islands is only about 650 miles from Japan, an advantageous location for both sides.  The weather is so extreme and unpredictable on Attu that many people did not believe it was useful as a base or likely that the Japanese would ever attack there.

However, others believed it was a strategic move by the Japanese to divert American attention away from the Pacific. The occupation was also seen as a way to keep Americans from invading Japan.

This was the first and only occupation of American soil during World War II by a foreign invader.  Although it was believed that this could be a first step by the Japanese in occupying the United States, American troops were slow to respond.  The Japanese learned to acclimate themselves to the harsh weather and conditions of the islands

Clearing Weather in Adak where Americans first landed

May 1943 Americans land on Attu.  Because of the extreme weather conditions on Attu, the Americans, who were ill-prepared, suffered from a a lack of food as well as from frostbite and other weather-related illnesses.  What was supposed to take only a few days took two weeks until the Japanese finally surrendered. Many American lives were lost in this battle, the casualties were just "second to those at Iwo Jima"

. 

Troops hauling supplies to fight Japanese Chichagof area

Americans were better prepared with supplies and clothing, for the battle at Kiska.  However when they arrived, "the weather was strangely clear and the seas quiet". The Japanese had left under a fog that had enveloped the island. This Japanese evacuation had occurred, according to the Military history brochure,"almost three weeks before the Allied landing."


In August of 1943 the island was declared secure. This had a great affect on American morale since the Japanese no longer had a foothold in the Western Hemisphere.

 

Extend:  How did World War II affect Dillingham?

Dillingham was affected by World War II in a number of ways.  First, Japanese-American fisherman were sent to interment camps to wait out the war. Many had married Native women and felt betrayed by their country.  As Sylvia K. Kobayashi in I Remember What I Want to Forget said they were "herded like cattle" and had a "feeling of total rejection" ( p. 285 Alaska at War) Some of the younger Japanese-American men signed up to fight for the United States, even though they were not granted full citzenship.

Another affect on the Dillingham area was that the Japanese were barred from entering Alaska and so could not work in the canneries, leaving those jobs open to Alaska Natives.  Hiring of Natives in canneries in Bristol Bay doubled during the war.(from The Salmon Industry at War by Bob King,p. 212, Alaska at War)

Natives were also recruited in this area as lookouts for the U.S. military.  They were trained as observers and soldiers.  The Natives helped the other soldiers by teaching them how to survive in the woods, catching food and making snowshoes. Buck Delkettie in An Alaskan Scout Remembers (p. 43, Alaska at War), talks about going to Dillingham for rest and relaxation, "dancing and having fun."  Dillingham must have been more of a central location for entertainment back then with dance halls and a movie theater.

An air force base was built on King Salmon, not far from Dillingham.  So Dillingham, although not directly involved in the war, probably had a lot of people coming through.  Remnants of military paraphernalia have been found on the beaches in the area.

Resources: 

 Alaska at War, edited by Fern Chandonnet, 1995, Alaska War committee.

Aleutian Islands, U. S. Army brochure, 2012, retrieved from http://www.history.army.mil/brochures/aleut/aleut.htm

Battle of the Aleutian Islands, 2012, retrieved from http://www.history.com/topics/battle-of-the-aleutian-islands

Alaska's Heritage, Chapter 4-7: Alaskans and the World,  2012, retrieved from, http://www.akhistorycourse.org/articles/article.php? artID=172 How did World War II affect Alaska?, Alaska Historical  Society, 2012  retrieved from http://www.alaskahistoricalsociety.org/index.cfm/ discover-alaska/FAQs/12

 Evaluation:

 I had heard of the war in the Aleutians, but not much about removing the Aleuts from their homes or putting Japanese-Americans in interment camps,  although I had read  Heart Mountain by Gretel Erlich, about an internment camp in Wyoming.  There is a lot about war that is not very heroic or inspiring.

I enjoyed the resources in this module, there is a lot written about World War II.  I would like to read the two books about the teachers in Attu.

  Blogs I have visited:

Brenda in her blog, talks about trip she took on a mail carrier boat across the Katchemak Bay to the small village of  Little Tutka, a community of only four permanent residents.  She contemplated the danger and expense of delivering the mail.

 Niki  in her Explore Alaska Blog, wrote about the relationship of transportation and the economy.  She also wrote about Sheldon Jackson and his contribution to education in Alaska.

Heather related the sad treatment of Natives in boarding schools and in Alaskan education in general  which had as its goal the obliteration of Alaska Native culture.