JANUARY 13, 2025
WHEREAS, in 1919, the Montana Legislature passed a bill that legalized boxing in Montana providing that a certain portion of the net proceeds of boxing matches should go for the benefit soldiers, sailors and marines. The Boxing bill generated in the following years $48,000 placed in a fund for the construction a Veterans Memorial building, and;
WHEREAS, as a result of this bill the fund was started with a landfall from the Dempsey-Gibbons championship fight at Shelby, Montana July 4, 1923, proving nucleus around the ideas of the veterans’ building was formed, and;
WHEREAS, from that day forward the bill provided that a percentage of admission to boxing matches to include the nationally televised Fulmer-Giardello championship fight held in Bozeman in 1960 which added $5,000 to this fund, and;
WHEREAS, the enabling Act by which the State of Montana was created provided that certain income from lands given to the State by the U.S. Government should be used for erecting public buildings at the state Capitol. This income went into the Capitol Building Land Grant Fund. It was from this fund that the greater part of the principal and interest in the new building was paid, and;
WHEREAS, the first legislature approving the erection of a veterans and pioneers building was in 1923. It was hoped that people would voluntarily donate money to erect the building; however, that did not materialize, and;
WHEREAS, the Act finally passed by the Legislative Assembly in 1941 was the one that really set in motion the program for the erection of the veterans and pioneers building, and;
WHEREAS many veterans’ and pioneer groups worked towards the promulgation of the program, to include the Montana Pioneers, the Veterans memorial Fund Commission established in 1941, the Spanish War Veterans established 1900, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, established around 1936, the Disabled American Veterans, established in 1932, and Th Americn Legion established in 1919, with Veterans’ at large representative, and;
WHEREAS, the chief problem was how to build, and where to get the funds for a veterans and pioneers building. It was decided to earmark certain funds in the Capitol Building Land Grant fund, with none of the funding being used for any purpose except building, and;
WHEREAS, after several meetings among interested groups, the Montana Pioneers, the Sons and Daughters of the Pioneers, the Spanish War Veterans, the World War I Veterans of Montana, the Americn Legion of Montana, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Disabled American Veterans decided to combine forces to erect building to be known as the Montana Veterans and Pioneers Memorial Building, and;
WHEREAS, not only the funds earmarked from Capitol Land Grant Fund but also the amount the veterans had on deposit in the State Treasury from the Boxing fund, the latter being used for items which could not be purchased from the Land Gant Fund, and;
WHEREAS to decide whether these funds could be co-mingled, a test case was taken to the Supreme of Montana. The decision of the Court that funds could be co-mingled was a major contribution towards achievement of the desired objective, and;
WHEREAS, finally in 1941, the Legislative Assembly passed an Act to be known as the “Montana Veterans and Pioneers Memorial Building.” The Act also provided for bonds to be issued in the amount of $250,000 and that there be a available for funds the bonds all money in the Veterans Memorial fund from the proceeds of boxing and sparing matches, and the remainder of the money for the repayment of the principle of the bonds and interest from the Capitol Building Land Grant fund, and;
WHEREAS, plans were immediately made to issue bonds in the sum of $250,000, however with Word War II starting the Programs temporarily stopped, and;
WHEREAS, the costs were materially increased during World War II an Act passed by the 1945 Legislative Assembly the amount earmarked for the building was increased from $250, 000 to $400,000, and;
WHEREAS, in 1948, the Sonds and Daughters acquired a tax sale deed on 63 lots just east of the Capitol Build, then given ceremoniously to the State of Montana by this group towards the erection of a new building and provision of a site, and;
WHERAS, the architect approved by the Board of Examiners in 1948, and likewise the Veterans and Pioneers organizations was A.V. McIver of Great Falls, Montana, and;
WHEREAS, then Governor John W. Bonner, a World War II veteran and Legionnaire, in in his message to the 31st Legislative Assembly in 1949, endorsed the Montana Veterans and Pioneers Memorial Building and recommended that there be set aside for the building an additional $350,000, bringing the total to $750,000.
WHEREAS, competitive grants was awarded to Carson Construction Company in 1950 and the building was completed and occupied in January 1951 by the Montana Department of the American Legion, the Montana Department of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Montana Department of the Disabled Americans, the Montana Veterans of Spanish-American War, World War Veterans, and the 163rd Infantry Regiment of World 1 and World War II famous well as the Mont Pioneers groups as the outstanding example of the strong heritage of Montana’s legendary Veterans and Pioneers, and;
WHEREAS, the Montana Veterans and Pioneers Memorial Building built just east of the Capitol Building with new quarters furnishing badly office and exhibit space for the Montana Historical Society (established in 1864) to include security vault space and a good-sized meeting Room known as the Boo Room, and;
WHEREAS, a Trophy Room was provided for the use of the Veterans organizations for the display of storied Montana military heritage to be supplied by the veterans organizations and veterans of Montana who were encouraged to loan or donate items for display in coordination with the State Historical Society and Library to determine on which military artifacts would make up a complete collection and once selected would be then displayed in specially built display cases, and;
WHEREAS, the Montana Veterans and Pioneers Building was formally dedicated on August 24, 1951. On that date members of Helena’s veterans’ organizations paraded the National, State and Service colors to the speakers stand’ and the municipal band played the National Anthem. Lester H. Lobel, then serving as the Chamber of Commerce president and former judge, and state legislator called the building a quarter century come true. Governor Bonner cited the Memorial Building as symbolic in appreciation and immense pride in Montana’s Veterans and Pioneers. Others also the highest praise for those who worked with unswerving zeal towards attainment of such an expedient objective and cited the building as a shrine to preserve the records of sacrifices and courage of our veterans and pioneers, and;
WHERAS the configuration of the four floors in the Memorial Building was as follows: The ground floor of the building consisting of a museum and gallery of art, the microfilm department and museum workshops. On the main floor was the formal museum, the Charles M. Russell room, art gallery and offices. The Montana Historical Library and historic stack areas were located on the second floor; and top floor is given over entirely to veterans’ offices, a meeting room and military Trophy hall. The first three floors were occupied by the Montana Historical Society, and;
WHEREAS, the Trophy Hall was controlled by the Montana department of the American Legion who undertook the primary role of assembling the collection. This development began in earnest in 1957 under the supervision of Department Adjutant General “Chet” K. Shore, and;
WHEREAS, the room was dedicated on Memorial Day 1958 with work continuing to add to and display the military heritage of Montana under Adjutant Shore’s supervision. He received numerous recognitions until his retirement in 1969.
WHERAS, on December 6, 1964, Legionnaire Tim Babcock, Associate Justice Stanley M. Doyle, and Department Adjutant Shore, the “Trophy Hall” was dedicated by the late Governor Donald G. Nutter and legionnaire on January 20, 1962, five days before the fatal airplane crash that took his life. In 1963 the State Legislature passed a joint resolution naming the hall in honor of the Late governor and Chet Shore as the Chet Shore & Governor Nutter Room. This resolution was passed through the efforts of the American Legion of Montana, and;
WHEREAS, the Fourth floor served as Veterans’ and Pioneers offices, security vaults, meeting rooms and military exhibits are from 1953 to 2001, when the existing Montana Veterans Offices initiated by the Montana Governor’s Office, the Montana Historical Office and the Department of Military Affairs to move the existing Veterans location (American Legion, VFW, and DAV0 to Fort Harrison and into the newly designed wing of the Helena Armed forces Center.
This was accomplished through a series of meetings culminating in an agreement of all parties to proceed. The Top Floor displays in the Chet Shore-Governor Nutter Room and the 163rd Infantry Regiment Offices were to stay in place. There was never an agreement to move them on the future, and;
WHEREAS, Montanans have supported, fought and have died and or have been wounded in all theaters of Wars and conflicts since 1864 to the present as stated in Joseph Kinsey Howards, Book, “High, Wide, and Handsome” which was “Proportionately near the top of all States. In World War II as in World War I, Montanans were quick to enlist and they were healthy, the proportion rejected because of physical defect, was smaller than the national average . Further the Montana Death rate in World War II was only exceeded by that of New Mexico in proportion to population. Montana had the record of oversubscribing first place in eight World War II Saving Bond drives-“’
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the 69th Legislative Assembly of the Montana Legislature that the Past Adjutant Chester “Chet” K. Shore- Governor Donald G. Nutter Room and the 163rd Infantry Regiment Room and vault space be restored retained on the Fourth Floor of the Veterans and Pioneers Building in accordance with Statutory Authority contained in Montana Code annotated, Title 22, Libraries, Art and Antiquities, Chapter 3, Antiquities , Part 3, Veterans’ and Pioneers’ Memorial Building. Specific reference to Paragraph 22-3-02 Use of the Building and Paragraph 22—20 Gifts for the Building.
Author: admin
“The Jungleers”
The 41st Division in World War II’s New Guinea Campaign
Edited by Connie and Dave Cole, Montana Military Museum Volunteers
Enjoy the 26th Annual Montana Military Museum Wine Fair: Dedicated to the Heritage of Montana’s Military
Helena (Fort Harrison, MT) April 9, 2025 — The Montana Military Museum’s 26th annual Wine Fair is Friday, May 2, 2024, from 6:30-10:00 p.m., at the Civic Center in Helena.
This is the annual fundraiser in support of the non-profit Montana Military Museum, located on historic Fort William Henry Harrison, on the west edge of Helena. The community-based Wine Fair Volunteer Committee members are hard at work in anticipation of a wonderful event.
The 26th Annual Wine Fair tickets are $30 in advance or $40 at the door. Ticket outlets include Leslie’s Hallmark Store, 1609 11th Avenue Suite F; M-T Glass Liquor Store, 1609 11th Suite H; Island Liquor, 1225 E. Custer, E. Helena, Island Liquor 109 S. Lane East Helena; Headwater Craft House, 2125 N. Last Chance; American Legion Post 2, 3095 Villard Ave and at the Montana Military Museum, Fort Harrison.
Wine Fair tickets are available online at 406TIX.COM/EVENTS and from the 2025 Wine Fair Committee members. Wine/Beer Tasting tokens are $1.00 at the door. For further information call 235-0290 / 458-9847 / 324-3550 (Msg).
By joining the Wine Fair, you can sample more than 80+ fine wines from Gusto Distributing. This includes several Micro Beers, along with water and soda are available by Pepsi Cola and Gusto Distributing. Hors- d’ Oeuvres by Savor and Graze.
You can place your bids on donated, Silent Auction items; listen to the spirited live Blue grass music by a community band. Enter to win a Wheelbarrow of fine Wines and other prizes. Purchase from the Mystery Wine Wall, where wine bottles are priced at $10 each. Additionally, view the Montana Military Museum heritage display. The Montana Military Museum continues its progress entering its 41st year. Museum professionally prepared volunteers are focused on the continuing expansion efforts, including the construction of the new exhibits and space.
The Montana Military Museum is continuing to enhance the historic 1930s/40s Fort Harrison Medical Dispensary at the Museum complex. This World War II period facility houses parts of the ever-growing collection of military artifacts, and an expanding advanced military research library and Museum workshop.
This year’s major theme is recognition of Montana’s proud military heritage, and we welcome our supporters back to celebrate this annual rite of Spring in Helena.
Recently completed exhibits highlight Montana’s WW I experiences, the early 20th century developments in the military, World War II participation, and post-World War II Military Heritage of the 163rd Regiment, Montana National guard. The exhibits include Operation Ruptured Duck, Post-World War II Reconstitution of Montana’s Military, the many causes and effects of the Cold War, Montana’s part in bringing down the Iron Curtain signaling a step forward in resolution of the World’s Cold War which began in 1945.
With the support of Diane Carlson Evans, the Founder of the Vietnam Women’s Memorial in Washington, DC, the Montana Military Museum has installed an exhibit in honor of the Vietnam Women veterans. This exhibit depicts the legacy of Women veterans and their full recognition into the military during the Vietnam War.
The Montana Military Museum is continuing to document the State’s military participation in Desert Shield/Desert Storm in early 1990-91 and subsequent Global Warfare operations.
The storyline includes Montana’s experience with Peacekeeping throughout the World and the transformation of the Montana National Guard from a Strategic Reserve to a fully Operational Reserve force. Montana’s participation in world-wide operations such as Southern Watch and post 9/11 operations including The Global War on Terrorism, in theater operations to include Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, and Operation New Dawn.
The Museum continues to receive artifacts and soldier stories which reflect Montana’s historic world-wide military service. Donations of Montana military related items, including oral histories, are genuinely appreciated.
The Montana Military Museum is open each Thursday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. or by appointment. The Staff of military veterans and community volunteers are available to assist. We welcome all volunteers who want to help tell the story of Montana’s rich military history.
For more information about the 26th annual Montana Military Museum Wine Fair, tickets, or about the Montana Military Museum, please call 406-324-3550 / 406-235-0290.
Native American Code Talkers
Today (March 27) marks the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. The 69th Montana Legislature is honoring that date with Senate Joint Resolution No. 20. SJ No. 20 which recognizes the end of World War II and Montana’s veterans who served during that war. Over 75,000 Montanans served with distinction. Montana’s 163rd Infantry Division, 41 st Sunset Infantry Division, also known as the Fighting Jungleers, included over 230 Native Americans, representing eight tribals nations located in Montana. Kept as a national secret for decades after the war, we are now learning of the significant contribution some of these veterans played as Code Talkers, who used their native languages for communications in support of military operations. Members of the Crow, Assiniboine, Sioux, and Fort Peck tribes conveyed information that stymied German and Japanese troops with efficient coded messages.
The following articles further decribe the members of this elite group and celebrate their venerable part in the Allies’ victory over German and Japan.
Honoring an ARSOF Legend
Robert T. Frederick, Commanding General, First Special Service Force (1907-1970)
Members of the 163rd Regiment Buried at the State Veterans Cemetery
The 163rd Regiment was composed of Montana National Guard soldiers who served in both the European and Pacific Theaters.
Special thank you to Mike Connelly, a long-time volunteer at the Military Museum for compiling this data from many and various sources.
World War II in Montana
Battle of Monte Cassino – Allied Mistake, or Brutal Necessity?
The Battle of Monte Cassino began on January 17, 1944. The area was a stronghold for Germany, which held the Garigliano, Uri, and Rapido valleys, forming the Gustav Line. The rugged terrain created a natural fortress, giving the town the defensive high ground and creating a strategic nightmare for the Allies.
The Arsenal of Democracy’s Oversized Training Guns
Our friends at the Fort Harrison Military Museum in Helena, Montana, contacted us about an interesting discovery they made while searching through one of their storage sheds. Sorting through dust-covered artifacts, our friends at the museum stumbled across a small treasure-trove of unique pieces of American firearms history they put on display: a group of the double-sized training aids representing key U.S. small arms of World War II and the immediate post-war period.
The Little Known Battles of Attu And Kiska: Retaking The Only US Soil Lost During WWII
Jinny McCormick, Guest Author
War History Online
In the cold, desolate Arctic near Alaska in 1942, Japanese troops quietly invaded and took over two of the Aleutian Islands, considered to be North American soil, with barely any resistance. First, on June 6, they took nine Americans prisoner at a naval weather station on the island of Kiska, and the very next day, on the island of Attu, they captured 45 native Aleuts and an American couple from Ohio.
These two islands are so remote and barren that Attu, according to archeologists, had only a maximum of 5000 inhabitants in the several hundred years preceding its discovery by more recent Russian fur traders. Even when they arrived, one stranded Russian waited seven years before any other ship arrived and he could leave.
By the time WWII came around, the islands were sparsely inhabited, but the growing fear of Japanese in the Pacific sadly prompted American territorial authorities to move the native Aleut inhabitants to internment camps in Alaska. Of the 880 moved, 75 died in the camps due to infectious disease during the two years of internment. Sadly, it wasn’t only the evacuees that suffered. The U.S. didn’t evacuate all of the civilians from the islands – the 43 Native Aleuts and the American couple were still on Attu. When the Japanese took the island of Kiska, they killed two men, captured seven, and one escaped – for a while. He hid in a cave, subsisted on earthworms, and lost 80 lbs. After fifty days of starvation in a frozen wasteland, Senior Petty Officer William C. House finally surrendered himself. His surviving Navy brothers had since been moved to Japan and he soon followed. They remained there for the duration of the war.
Why Did Japan Want the Aleutians?
The Aleutian Islands are very remote (1200 miles from Alaska), barren, volcanic islands that are plagued by harsh weather can change on a dime from cold, still, and dense with fog to blasting winds that can drive a person down at 100 mph. There are few if any trees and they are almost unlivable.
Japan’s interest in the Aleutians was strategic. A few years before, U.S. General Billy Mitchell had said, “I believe that in the future, whoever holds Alaska will hold the world. I think it is the most important strategic place in the world.”
The Aleutians aren’t exactly Alaska, but Imperial Japan’s General Higuchi Kiichiro had a similar notion. He believed that if he controlled the Aleutians, Kiska and Attu specifically, he would control Northern Pacific sea routes. He wanted to prevent offensive attacks on Japan, separate and create a boundary between Russia and the U.S. (just in case Russia decided to gang up with the Americans and together attack the Japanese), and to create air bases from which to make offensive attacks.
Japanese troops raise the Imperial battle flag on Kiska after landing on 6 June 1942. Japanese troops raise the Imperial battle flag on Kiska after landing on 6 June 1942.
Taking the Islands The Japanese, under the command of Colonel Yasuyo Yamasaki, arrived in Kiska on June 6, 1942.
They easily took the island, and the next day began invading Attu as well. The prisoners they took there were transported to a prison camp at Otaru, Hokkaido, where sixteen of them would die.
The soldiers, who would eventually number 2300-2500, were from Northern Japan and were accustomed to the cold and wind and had little difficulty working in Aleutian conditions.
From June to September the initial occupation numbering 500 or so Japanese soldiers was growing and preparations were being made. From September to October, the Japanese moved all operations to Kiska, leaving Attu undefended, but the Americans weren’t positioned to take the opportunity to act.
At the end of October, the Japanese returned to Attu under the command of Lt. Col. Hiroshi Yanekawa who established a base at Holtz Bay, where they remained undisturbed by Allied forces for 11 months.
Why Didn’t the U.S. Respond?
Part of the huge U.S. fleet at anchor, ready to move against Kiska. Part of the huge U.S. fleet at anchor, ready to move against Kiska. The Japanese attacks on Kiska and Attu occurred just six months after their attack on Pearl Harbor. U.S. forces were still reacting to the devastation and were trying to build up defenses in the Southern Pacific while simultaneously dealing with the European conflicts.
The U.S. did fly from other nearby Aleutian Islands to conduct minor bombing raids, but they didn’t have the ability to bring in ground troops until their victory in March of 1943 in the Battle of the Komandorski Islands in the Bering Sea.
That battle opened the sea lanes enough to finally respond to the Japanese invasion of Kiska and Attu.
Operation Landgrab
Battle of the Aleutian Islands Two months after Komandorski, the U.S. was ready to act. The Japanese had had limited supplies brought in – and only by submarine – once the sea lanes had been cut off. Still, the Japanese had knowledge of and acclimation to the island on their side. They may have been somewhat prepared, but they only numbered 2300 – certainly no advantage there.
Major General Albert Brown and 11,000 17th Infantry soldiers initiate Operation Landgrab on May 11, 1943. They landed at the north and south ends of Attu and had to make their way to Yamasaki’s position on the high ground that was further inland.
They faced little human opposition, but the island proved a formidable foe. This wasn’t a simple march to the inner parts of the island. The Americans were searching every nook and cranny for their enemy, and they were doing it in the snow, wind, and wet and they were not clothed for it. Neither did they have the equipment they needed for such a search. The powers that be thought this would be a simple in and out sort of mission and, thusly, didn’t take those precautions. They didn’t even bring enough food.
Many soldiers began to suffer from trench foot and gangrene and they were losing morale and physical strength due to extreme cold and hunger. When they did find Japanese soldiers, they were forced to fight the hardier men in intense small battles. The enemy soldiers lived by the Bushido Code, Way of the Warrior that forbid surrender and added to their fierceness in battle. They were warmer, better fed, and had more drive to fight.
Hauling_supplies_on_Attu American troops hauling supplies on Attu in May 1943 through Jarmin pass. Their vehicles could not move across the island’s rugged terrain. Still, it was the weather that was the biggest threat with driving winds, drenching rain showers, and freezing temperatures, causing more U.S. soldiers to suffer casualties from cold than from battle.
Somehow the bedraggled American troops were able to push the Japanese to Chichagof Harbor where they hid in caves or underground dugouts. The U.S. had the upper hand, and higher numbers and fortunes were looking poor for Yamasaki and his men.
The Japanese commander, to go forth in honor, decided to risk an attack on the U.S. His plan was to charge on the Americans, take their artillery, and then return to the cliff side hideaways and caves. They would then wait it out until the Imperial Army sent backup.
He launched his banzai charge in the early morning light of May 29th, to the shock of American troops – all the way through the posts to the rear of the American camp – hand to hand combat all the way. Once the Americans began using firepower, the Japanese had no chance, and those that had survived to make it nearly to the end began to commit suicide – many by grenade. A doctor from the field hospital had killed his patients, so they were gone too. He wrote in his diary, “The last assault is to be carried out.… I am only 33 years old and I am to die…. I took care of all patients with a grenade.”
A few very small groups of Japanese continued to fight until July, refusing to give up. Fewer than 30 survived to be taken prisoner. Around 1,000 of the 15,000 U.S. troops were killed.
Meanwhile, on Kiska, the Japanese holding that island heard of the mass suicide on Attu. When Americans arrived in August – better equipped with airplanes and Canadian bomber assistance – the bombs they dropped and in 95 ships they stormed Kiska with over 34,000 American and Canadian troops to take out the 5200 Japanese they expected to be there.
But the Japanese had left in July in a hurry with freshly brewed coffee still sitting in cups on the base.
Even though there was no enemy to fight, 200 Allied soldiers died in this non-battle. Some were victims of friendly fire, and others had unfortunate run-ins with booby traps and live ordnance.
What’s Left
Troops march up the beach at Adak Island, during pre-invasion loading for the Kiska Operation, 13 August 1943. The LCM behind the soldiers is from USS Zeilin (APA-3). USS Pennsylvania (BB-38) is in the far right distance. Note the troops’ packs and M1 rifles. Troops march up the beach at Adak Island, during pre-invasion loading for the Kiska Operation, 13 August 1943. The LCM behind the soldiers is from USS Zeilin (APA-3). USS Pennsylvania (BB-38) is in the far right distance. Note the troops’ packs and M1 rifles. Seventy years later, both islands are like portals in time. Indentations from Allied tents can still be seen on the ground; cups of coffee are still there, and more than coke bottles litter the ground. The military occasionally makes an effort to remove live artillery and unexploded bombs from the island, but that task isn’t finished.
Archeologists and war historians are making an effort to study the sites because they are the only untouched battlefields that have been preserved completely. Because of the arctic conditions, decay is slow or non-existent, giving researchers a window into the past.
War History Online
In the cold, desolate Arctic near Alaska in 1942, Japanese troops quietly invaded and took over two of the Aleutian Islands, considered to be North American soil, with barely any resistance. First, on June 6, they took nine Americans prisoner at a naval weather station on the island of Kiska, and the very next day, on the island of Attu, they captured 45 native Aleuts and an American couple from Ohio.
These two islands are so remote and barren that Attu, according to archeologists, had only a maximum of 5000 inhabitants in the several hundred years preceding its discovery by more recent Russian fur traders. Even when they arrived, one stranded Russian waited seven years before any other ship arrived and he could leave.
By the time WWII came around, the islands were sparsely inhabited, but the growing fear of Japanese in the Pacific sadly prompted American territorial authorities to move the native Aleut inhabitants to internment camps in Alaska. Of the 880 moved, 75 died in the camps due to infectious disease during the two years of internment. Sadly, it wasn’t only the evacuees that suffered. The U.S. didn’t evacuate all of the civilians from the islands – the 43 Native Aleuts and the American couple were still on Attu. When the Japanese took the island of Kiska, they killed two men, captured seven, and one escaped – for a while. He hid in a cave, subsisted on earthworms, and lost 80 lbs. After fifty days of starvation in a frozen wasteland, Senior Petty Officer William C. House finally surrendered himself. His surviving Navy brothers had since been moved to Japan and he soon followed. They remained there for the duration of the war.
Why Did Japan Want the Aleutians?
The Aleutian Islands are very remote (1200 miles from Alaska), barren, volcanic islands that are plagued by harsh weather can change on a dime from cold, still, and dense with fog to blasting winds that can drive a person down at 100 mph. There are few if any trees and they are almost unlivable.
Japan’s interest in the Aleutians was strategic. A few years before, U.S. General Billy Mitchell had said, “I believe that in the future, whoever holds Alaska will hold the world. I think it is the most important strategic place in the world.”
The Aleutians aren’t exactly Alaska, but Imperial Japan’s General Higuchi Kiichiro had a similar notion. He believed that if he controlled the Aleutians, Kiska and Attu specifically, he would control Northern Pacific sea routes. He wanted to prevent offensive attacks on Japan, separate and create a boundary between Russia and the U.S. (just in case Russia decided to gang up with the Americans and together attack the Japanese), and to create air bases from which to make offensive attacks.
Japanese troops raise the Imperial battle flag on Kiska after landing on 6 June 1942. Japanese troops raise the Imperial battle flag on Kiska after landing on 6 June 1942.
Taking the Islands The Japanese, under the command of Colonel Yasuyo Yamasaki, arrived in Kiska on June 6, 1942.
They easily took the island, and the next day began invading Attu as well. The prisoners they took there were transported to a prison camp at Otaru, Hokkaido, where sixteen of them would die.
The soldiers, who would eventually number 2300-2500, were from Northern Japan and were accustomed to the cold and wind and had little difficulty working in Aleutian conditions.
From June to September the initial occupation numbering 500 or so Japanese soldiers was growing and preparations were being made. From September to October, the Japanese moved all operations to Kiska, leaving Attu undefended, but the Americans weren’t positioned to take the opportunity to act.
At the end of October, the Japanese returned to Attu under the command of Lt. Col. Hiroshi Yanekawa who established a base at Holtz Bay, where they remained undisturbed by Allied forces for 11 months.
Why Didn’t the U.S. Respond?
Part of the huge U.S. fleet at anchor, ready to move against Kiska. Part of the huge U.S. fleet at anchor, ready to move against Kiska. The Japanese attacks on Kiska and Attu occurred just six months after their attack on Pearl Harbor. U.S. forces were still reacting to the devastation and were trying to build up defenses in the Southern Pacific while simultaneously dealing with the European conflicts.
The U.S. did fly from other nearby Aleutian Islands to conduct minor bombing raids, but they didn’t have the ability to bring in ground troops until their victory in March of 1943 in the Battle of the Komandorski Islands in the Bering Sea.
That battle opened the sea lanes enough to finally respond to the Japanese invasion of Kiska and Attu.
Operation Landgrab
Battle of the Aleutian Islands Two months after Komandorski, the U.S. was ready to act. The Japanese had had limited supplies brought in – and only by submarine – once the sea lanes had been cut off. Still, the Japanese had knowledge of and acclimation to the island on their side. They may have been somewhat prepared, but they only numbered 2300 – certainly no advantage there.
Major General Albert Brown and 11,000 17th Infantry soldiers initiate Operation Landgrab on May 11, 1943. They landed at the north and south ends of Attu and had to make their way to Yamasaki’s position on the high ground that was further inland.
They faced little human opposition, but the island proved a formidable foe. This wasn’t a simple march to the inner parts of the island. The Americans were searching every nook and cranny for their enemy, and they were doing it in the snow, wind, and wet and they were not clothed for it. Neither did they have the equipment they needed for such a search. The powers that be thought this would be a simple in and out sort of mission and, thusly, didn’t take those precautions. They didn’t even bring enough food.
Many soldiers began to suffer from trench foot and gangrene and they were losing morale and physical strength due to extreme cold and hunger. When they did find Japanese soldiers, they were forced to fight the hardier men in intense small battles. The enemy soldiers lived by the Bushido Code, Way of the Warrior that forbid surrender and added to their fierceness in battle. They were warmer, better fed, and had more drive to fight.
Hauling_supplies_on_Attu American troops hauling supplies on Attu in May 1943 through Jarmin pass. Their vehicles could not move across the island’s rugged terrain. Still, it was the weather that was the biggest threat with driving winds, drenching rain showers, and freezing temperatures, causing more U.S. soldiers to suffer casualties from cold than from battle.
Somehow the bedraggled American troops were able to push the Japanese to Chichagof Harbor where they hid in caves or underground dugouts. The U.S. had the upper hand, and higher numbers and fortunes were looking poor for Yamasaki and his men.
The Japanese commander, to go forth in honor, decided to risk an attack on the U.S. His plan was to charge on the Americans, take their artillery, and then return to the cliff side hideaways and caves. They would then wait it out until the Imperial Army sent backup.
He launched his banzai charge in the early morning light of May 29th, to the shock of American troops – all the way through the posts to the rear of the American camp – hand to hand combat all the way. Once the Americans began using firepower, the Japanese had no chance, and those that had survived to make it nearly to the end began to commit suicide – many by grenade. A doctor from the field hospital had killed his patients, so they were gone too. He wrote in his diary, “The last assault is to be carried out.… I am only 33 years old and I am to die…. I took care of all patients with a grenade.”
A few very small groups of Japanese continued to fight until July, refusing to give up. Fewer than 30 survived to be taken prisoner. Around 1,000 of the 15,000 U.S. troops were killed.
Meanwhile, on Kiska, the Japanese holding that island heard of the mass suicide on Attu. When Americans arrived in August – better equipped with airplanes and Canadian bomber assistance – the bombs they dropped and in 95 ships they stormed Kiska with over 34,000 American and Canadian troops to take out the 5200 Japanese they expected to be there.
But the Japanese had left in July in a hurry with freshly brewed coffee still sitting in cups on the base.
Even though there was no enemy to fight, 200 Allied soldiers died in this non-battle. Some were victims of friendly fire, and others had unfortunate run-ins with booby traps and live ordnance.
What’s Left
Troops march up the beach at Adak Island, during pre-invasion loading for the Kiska Operation, 13 August 1943. The LCM behind the soldiers is from USS Zeilin (APA-3). USS Pennsylvania (BB-38) is in the far right distance. Note the troops’ packs and M1 rifles. Troops march up the beach at Adak Island, during pre-invasion loading for the Kiska Operation, 13 August 1943. The LCM behind the soldiers is from USS Zeilin (APA-3). USS Pennsylvania (BB-38) is in the far right distance. Note the troops’ packs and M1 rifles. Seventy years later, both islands are like portals in time. Indentations from Allied tents can still be seen on the ground; cups of coffee are still there, and more than coke bottles litter the ground. The military occasionally makes an effort to remove live artillery and unexploded bombs from the island, but that task isn’t finished.
Archeologists and war historians are making an effort to study the sites because they are the only untouched battlefields that have been preserved completely. Because of the arctic conditions, decay is slow or non-existent, giving researchers a window into the past.
