1. Attu: Remembrance and Refuge
Sara Straub
SCA/Directorate Fellow
Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge

2. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service-Alaska Maritime NWR is telling this story because…
For thousands of years, Attu was home to people and wildlife. Long before the war, Attu was one of the earliest Federally protected wildlife resource areas. The Battle of Attu forever changed the island, its inhabitants, and the lives of those who waged battle there, leaving behind scars and stories scattered among the national wildlife refuge that exists today.

3. The Battle
May 2018 marks the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Attu - the only ground battle of WWII to take place on American soil.
Japanese occupation: June 7th, 1942; Battle: May 11-30, 1943
Why battle in the Aleutians?
Likely to divert U.S. forces during Japan’s Attack on Midway Island (June 4-7, 1942)
Could have been strategic location for future attacks on U.S. soil
Possibly Japan feared a U.S. attack and holding Attu and Kiska could prevent invasion in Japan

4. Attu Residents
Attu, a tiny village at the end of Alaska’s Aleutian chain
Home to 44 Aleut (Unangan)-lived peaceful, subsistence lifestyle
After bombing Dutch Harbor, on June 7, 1942-Imperial Japanese Army took up occupation of Attu (occupied neighboring Kiska same day)
 Aleuts from other islands were brought to camps in Southeast Alaska
After 3 months of Japanese occupation, Attuans taken as prisoners and sent to Japan for duration of the war
After the war, Attu residents never returned to live on the island
Chief Hodikoff and his family would become prisoners in Japan. The Chief and his son would both die there. Photo ca 1934, U.S. Navy

5. Attu Resident: Nick Golodoff
6 years old when taken from Attu
Of 42 Attu residents taken to Japan, Nick was one of only 25 survivors
“In 1942, before the war began, Attu was a nice, quiet place…”
(Nick Golodoff)
Reading from Attu Boy
Cover of Attu Boy, by Nick Golodoff (2012) shows the author on the back of Japanese soldier during occupation in 1942
Pre-war Attu Village, courtesy National Archives

6. Japanese The Bushido Code
Japanese soldiers on Attu. Photo: Creative Commons
The Bushido Code
The Japanese armed forces followed the “Bushido Code.” This Samurai warrior code found the highest honor in bravery and loyalty while condemning weakness. Surrender would bring profound dishonor to a soldier and his entire family. Soldiers were instructed to commit suicide to maintain their honor rather than be captured.

7. Japanese Soldier: Dr. Paul Nobuo Tatsuguchi
Trained and was licensed as a physician in U.S.
Returned to Japan for further training and became medical missionary , before being sent to Attu in
Killed on final day of battle after Japanese banzai charge
Kept a diary up to the final day of battle, which was later translated, revealing intimate detail from Japanese perspective.
"The last assault is to be carried out...only 33 years of living and I am to die here. I have no regrets. Banzai to the emperor...Good-bye, Taeki, my beloved wife, who loved me to the last, until we meet again...” From the diary of Paul Nobuo Tatsuguchi
Read from Tatsuguchi’s diary
Paul Nobuo Tatsuguchi  辰口 信夫 , photo: creative commons

8. United States Desert Troops: Bering Sea Bound
Just months before their deployment to Attu, the U.S. troops were organized as a motorized division, engaged in maneuvers on the Mohave Desert of California. Their training and personal gear left them vulnerable and ill-prepared for wet and cold Aleutian conditions.
U.S. troops trying to rest in sub-par gear. Photo: National Archives

9. United States Soldier: Joe P. Martinez
U.S. Army solider in 7th Infantry Division, landing on Holtz Bay on May 26, 1943…also died that day.
Posthumously received the Medal of Honor — the United States' highest military decoration
First Hispanic-American to receive the Medal of Honor during World War II.
The only Medal of honor recipient in the Aleutian Campaign
Read Medal of Honor Citation:
“For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action with the enemy. Over a period of several days, repeated efforts to drive the enemy from a key defensive position high in the snow-covered precipitous mountains between East Arm Holtz Bay and Chichagof Harbor had failed. On 26 May 1943, troop dispositions were readjusted and a trial coordinated attack on this position by a reinforced battalion was launched. Initially successful, the attack hesitated. In the face of severe hostile machine gun, rifle, and mortar fire, Pvt. Martinez, an automatic rifleman, rose to his feet and resumed his advance. Occasionally he stopped to urge his comrades on. His example inspired others to follow. After a most difficult climb, Pvt. Martinez eliminated resistance from part of the enemy position by BAR [Browning Automatic Rifle] fire and hand grenades, thus assisting the advance of other attacking elements. This success only partially completed the action. The main Holtz-Chichagof Pass rose about 150 feet higher, flanked by steep rocky ridges and reached by a snow-filled defile. Passage was barred by enemy fire from either flank and from tiers of snow trenches in front. Despite these obstacles, and knowing of their existence, Pvt. Martinez again led the troops on and up, personally silencing several trenches with BAR fire and ultimately reaching the pass itself. Here, just below the knifelike rim of the pass, Pvt. Martinez encountered a final enemy-occupied trench and as he was engaged in firing into it he was mortally wounded. The pass, however, was taken, and its capture was an important preliminary to the end of organized hostile resistance”
Private Joseph P. Martinez, photo: Creative Commons
“In the face of severe hostile machine gun, rifle, and mortar fire, Pvt. Martinez, an automatic rifleman, rose to his feet and resumed his advance. Occasionally he stopped to urge his comrades on. His example inspired others to follow.” From Medal of Honor Citation

10. U.S. Images of Battle
Original drawing by US troops of Japanese movement
U.S. troops disembarking at Attu, May 11, 1943
Unloading supplies at Massacre Valley
Colonel Zimmerman, Comdr, Southern Force directs attack against Jarmin while Lt W.H. Mapes mans telephone
U.S. Military returning fire
Stripping equipment from a U.S. soldier who lost his life
Attu village burning
Flying the U.S. flag and evacuating the wounded after the battle

11. The Aftermath:
549 Americans died, thousands more wounded, diseased, and suffering from severe cold injuries; nearly 2,400 Japanese lives lost, 28 captured
Only 28 of the roughly 1,400 Japanese who had been on Attu on the final day of battle survived
The Battle of Attu ranks as the second deadliest battle in the Pacific Theatre (in proportion to the number of troops engaged) falling just behind Iwo Jima
The surviving Attuans released from Japan after the war embarked on a long journey back to Alaska, but would not return to live at Attu ever again
The battlefield area on Attu was designated a National Historic Landmark in The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service owns and manages Attu as a part of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge.
On May 30, only 28 of the roughly 1,400 Japanese who had been in the valley the day before survived. The rest had been killed in battle or had committed suicide by holding hand grenades to their chests.
When the surviving Attuans were released by Japan in 1945, they embarked on a long journey home via the Phillipines, San Francisco, and Seattle. When they reached Seattle, they were told that they would not be allowed to return to Attu, as the U.S. government had decided that the cost to rebuild their devastated village was prohibitive.
The battlefield area on Attu was designated a National Historic Landmark in The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service owns and manages Attu as a part of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge.
The remains of Japanese soldiers after the final day of battle. Photo: National Archives

12. Attu Today Forever changed Clean-up and healing Return to Attu
Return to Wildlife
Remembrance

13. Events & Products www.attu75.org Storymap
Facebook page:
Video clip by Lisa Hupp, Outreach Specialist:
Refuge Week events in Anchorage and Homer (October 2017)
USFWS Attu Exhibit
IOVC focused events
Upcoming events in Anchorage May 17-19th

14. THANK YOU Friends of Alaska Wildlife Refuges!
Support the Friends at:

15. References Aleutians Homepage retrieved at www.hlswilliwaw.com
Cloe, J. H. (1990).The Aleutian Warriors: A History of the 11th Air Force and Fleet Air Wing 4. Anchorage, AK and Missoula, MT: Anchorage Chapter, Air Force Association and Pictorial Histories Publishing Co., Inc.
Garfield, Brian. (1988) The Thousand Mile War: World War II in Alaska and the Aleutians. New York and Toronto: Bantam Books.
Golodoff, Nick. (2015). Attu Boy: a young Alaskan’s WWII memoir. Fairbanks, AK. University of Alaska Press. Retrieved at
The battle of Attu: 60 years later. (n.d.). National Park Service.
Van Orden, Mike (2014) "The Forgotten Battle of Attu," Saber and Scroll: Vol. 3: Iss. 4, Article 9. Retrieved at: