On occasion, I find a worthwhile cause that I firmly believe in and feel justified to right a wrong. This is such a case so please be patient with my verboseness as this is a story that needs to be told and a wrong that needs to be righted.
Since the very earliest days of the establishment of the colonies in the "new world", the American Indian has played a vital role in our military services. Most often serving as advance scouts or working independently to collect information. Most often they were volunteers, not being recognized as "ordinary soldiers" nor receiving the credit they deserved for their services. The colonies and western exploration would not have been accomplished without their expertise and knowledge. In World War I, they were the advanced scouts and horse soldiers. In World War II, the Navajo Indian was used as "code talkers" in every major battle in the Pacific. They relayed messages from the field in their native tongue. Their unwritten language was a code that the military services of Imperial Japan could not break.
The majority of the Americans today have no concept that our sovereign territory was invaded and held by an organized military of a foreign government. Even I, as a child following World War II, this fact was never revealed to us in our history books. Each year, we properly recognize and memorialize the attack on Pearl Harbor. However, no mention is ever made of the Japanese forces that invaded and controlled the soils of Alaska during World War II.
The battle to regain control of our territory is known as the "Forgotten War". On June 3, 1942 Japanese bombers attacked Dutch Harbor on Unalaska Island. These war planes came from the Japanese carriers Junyo and Ryujo. The Japanese invasion of Kiska on June 6, 1942 and Attu on June 7, 1942 being met with little resistance. The reason for these invasions is argued on two points. Some
historians believe that the invasion and occupation occurred in order to protect the Japanese northern flank. The popular historical belief is that the invasion was a diversionary tactic used by Admiral Yamamoto as it simultaneously occurred the same time as the Battle of Midway. Admiral Yamamoto was wanting to lure the carriers from Pearl Harbor to go north. Instead, our carrier forces were waiting for him at Midway.
U.S. Army Colonel Lawrence Castner, an Army Intelligence Officer, created a unit that was fully functional with only minimal outfitting. Castner chose men skilled at living in tough conditions, the majority of this small unit were native Aleuts and Eskimos. Being a special unit, the typical military procedures were relaxed and in a short time the unit earned the nickname of the "Castner's Cutthroats". They were given a great deal of freedom to get the job done. An Army Lieutenant, Earl Acuff was stationed on a remote Aleutian Island to spy on the Japanese movement and their aircraft. Several months passed without hearing from him, "Castner Cutthroats" went ashore from a submarine to recover his body. However, they found him alive and well, having lived on King Crab and birds. Asked why he had not contacted anyone during the time, his reply was that he did not want to break radio silence. He would become a member of the Alaskan Scouts.
The story of "Castner's Cutthroats" and the Alaskan Scouts is long and makes a very interesting read. When the U.S. Army invaded the islands of Kiska and Attu, the Alaskan Scouts were the first to go ashore to scout out mine fields, and enemy strongholds. They trained our Army how to fight and survive in the harsh environments of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. The Alaskan Scouts were the first to go ashore on Adak Island, finding no Japanese occupation on the island they were dispatched to find a suitable place to build an airfield. Due to the terrain, the only site that was possible was a slough in Kuluk Bay. The Scouts, showed the engineers how to drain the slough and in time, the airfield was established and continues to to be used to this date.
On May 11, 1943 "Castner's Cutthroats" led the allied forces ashore on Attu Island. The Japanese chose not to confront the allied forces on the beaches, instead retreated into the mountians to hold up in caves and entrapment's. On May 29, the last of the Japanese forces suddenly attacked near Massacre Bay in one of the largest banzai charges of the Pacific Campaign. Following this charge which ended up in hand to hand combat, only 28 Japanese prisoners were taken and none of those were officers. Over two thousand Japanese soldiers were killed and many more believed to be killed but not recovered from the bombings of the allied forces.
On August 7, 1943 an invasion force of 34,000 Allied forces invaded Kiska Island led by the Alaskan Scouts, only to find the island had been evacuated by the Japanese. American territory was once again held by our military forces. In the "Forgotten War", there were a total of 3,929 U.S. casualties. In the years that followed, Commanders on site testified before Congress that the operation would have been more difficult and that the causalities would have been much higher, if it had not been for the Alaskan Scouts and their ability to adapt to the environment. Instead of the military pack and firearms, the Alaska Scouts equipped themselves with a Trapper Nelson pack, hunting knife, .22 caliber pistol and a sniper rifle.
On Thursday, January 22nd an article was published in the Anchorage Daily News which is available on line. The lead in story reads as follows: "The Army has decided to cut off retirement pay for veterans of a largely Native militia formed to guard the territory of Alaska from the threat of Japanese attack in World War II." Currently, there are 26 surviving members of the Alaskan Scouts. Most of these men are in their 80's and the petty amount of $557 retirement pay per month will end on February 1st. One of the men interviewed made a brief statement, "We did not get one cent being in the territorial guard" "And we worked hard"
Our Congressional delegation is going to pursue this according to the news article. However, like I have already done, I would encourage each of you to write or email our representatives in Washington D.C. to insure that they indeed follow through and get this decision reversed.
The men of "Castner's Cutthroats", Alaskan Scouts or Territorial Guard deserve much more than a meager government check. They deserve our respect and admiration as they were truly our "First Line of Defense".
The majority of the Americans today have no concept that our sovereign territory was invaded and held by an organized military of a foreign government. Even I, as a child following World War II, this fact was never revealed to us in our history books. Each year, we properly recognize and memorialize the attack on Pearl Harbor. However, no mention is ever made of the Japanese forces that invaded and controlled the soils of Alaska during World War II.
The battle to regain control of our territory is known as the "Forgotten War". On June 3, 1942 Japanese bombers attacked Dutch Harbor on Unalaska Island. These war planes came from the Japanese carriers Junyo and Ryujo. The Japanese invasion of Kiska on June 6, 1942 and Attu on June 7, 1942 being met with little resistance. The reason for these invasions is argued on two points. Some
historians believe that the invasion and occupation occurred in order to protect the Japanese northern flank. The popular historical belief is that the invasion was a diversionary tactic used by Admiral Yamamoto as it simultaneously occurred the same time as the Battle of Midway. Admiral Yamamoto was wanting to lure the carriers from Pearl Harbor to go north. Instead, our carrier forces were waiting for him at Midway.U.S. Army Colonel Lawrence Castner, an Army Intelligence Officer, created a unit that was fully functional with only minimal outfitting. Castner chose men skilled at living in tough conditions, the majority of this small unit were native Aleuts and Eskimos. Being a special unit, the typical military procedures were relaxed and in a short time the unit earned the nickname of the "Castner's Cutthroats". They were given a great deal of freedom to get the job done. An Army Lieutenant, Earl Acuff was stationed on a remote Aleutian Island to spy on the Japanese movement and their aircraft. Several months passed without hearing from him, "Castner Cutthroats" went ashore from a submarine to recover his body. However, they found him alive and well, having lived on King Crab and birds. Asked why he had not contacted anyone during the time, his reply was that he did not want to break radio silence. He would become a member of the Alaskan Scouts.
The story of "Castner's Cutthroats" and the Alaskan Scouts is long and makes a very interesting read. When the U.S. Army invaded the islands of Kiska and Attu, the Alaskan Scouts were the first to go ashore to scout out mine fields, and enemy strongholds. They trained our Army how to fight and survive in the harsh environments of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. The Alaskan Scouts were the first to go ashore on Adak Island, finding no Japanese occupation on the island they were dispatched to find a suitable place to build an airfield. Due to the terrain, the only site that was possible was a slough in Kuluk Bay. The Scouts, showed the engineers how to drain the slough and in time, the airfield was established and continues to to be used to this date.
On May 11, 1943 "Castner's Cutthroats" led the allied forces ashore on Attu Island. The Japanese chose not to confront the allied forces on the beaches, instead retreated into the mountians to hold up in caves and entrapment's. On May 29, the last of the Japanese forces suddenly attacked near Massacre Bay in one of the largest banzai charges of the Pacific Campaign. Following this charge which ended up in hand to hand combat, only 28 Japanese prisoners were taken and none of those were officers. Over two thousand Japanese soldiers were killed and many more believed to be killed but not recovered from the bombings of the allied forces.
On August 7, 1943 an invasion force of 34,000 Allied forces invaded Kiska Island led by the Alaskan Scouts, only to find the island had been evacuated by the Japanese. American territory was once again held by our military forces. In the "Forgotten War", there were a total of 3,929 U.S. casualties. In the years that followed, Commanders on site testified before Congress that the operation would have been more difficult and that the causalities would have been much higher, if it had not been for the Alaskan Scouts and their ability to adapt to the environment. Instead of the military pack and firearms, the Alaska Scouts equipped themselves with a Trapper Nelson pack, hunting knife, .22 caliber pistol and a sniper rifle.
On Thursday, January 22nd an article was published in the Anchorage Daily News which is available on line. The lead in story reads as follows: "The Army has decided to cut off retirement pay for veterans of a largely Native militia formed to guard the territory of Alaska from the threat of Japanese attack in World War II." Currently, there are 26 surviving members of the Alaskan Scouts. Most of these men are in their 80's and the petty amount of $557 retirement pay per month will end on February 1st. One of the men interviewed made a brief statement, "We did not get one cent being in the territorial guard" "And we worked hard"
Our Congressional delegation is going to pursue this according to the news article. However, like I have already done, I would encourage each of you to write or email our representatives in Washington D.C. to insure that they indeed follow through and get this decision reversed.
The men of "Castner's Cutthroats", Alaskan Scouts or Territorial Guard deserve much more than a meager government check. They deserve our respect and admiration as they were truly our "First Line of Defense".
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