Good morning...Japanese invade American territory

[Okla-homey]

June 7, 1942 Japanese land troops on the islands of Attu and Kiska in the Aleutians

http://img125.imageshack.us/img125/1772/aleunewspaperraidondutchharbor.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

64 years ago on this day in 1942, Japanese soldiers occupy the American islands of Attu and Kiska, in the Aleutian Islands off Alaska, as the Axis power continues to expand its defensive perimeter.

http://img160.imageshack.us/img160/2354/aleutians1942430vh.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Having been defeated at the battle of Midway--stopped by the United States from even landing on the Midway Islands--the Japanese nevertheless proved successful in their invasion of the Aleutians, which had been American territory since purchased from Russia in 1867.

Killing 25 American troops upon landing in Attu, the Japanese proceeded to relocate and intern the American inhabitants of those islands in a concentration camp.

http://img125.imageshack.us/img125/4605/aleubombingjune3rd19421kr.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Scene of Aleutian damage during Japanese invasion

America would recapture the Aleutians one year later killing most of the 2,300 Japanese troops defending it in three weeks of fighting.

http://img125.imageshack.us/img125/7149/soldierwithflag1vy.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
After the 1943 battles to re-take the Aleutians

http://img125.imageshack.us/img125/9012/insane7zo4nb.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[TUSooner]

Interesting but obscure episode in the war.

[Okla-homey]

Interesting but obscure episode in the war.

Not obscure if you were living your quiet Aleutian life muching on a smoked salmon sandwich and listening to baseball on your short-wave radio when interrupted by murderin' Japaneses.;)

[Skysooner]

Not really obscure. The Aleutian attack was the precursor to Midway. The idea was to draw the American carriers away from Midway to allow the capture of the island and then to ultimately sink them when they had to come south again. The Aleutian attack was a few days ahead of Midway and involved 2 of the front line carriers of the Japanese fleet. Only because we had broken the Japanese codes did we know it was a feint, and our carriers set up for a decisive showdown at Midway.

[Fugue]

This couldn't have been good for crab season. :eek: :texan:

[Fugue]

Actually, the most obscure part of this story comes after Attu was retaken. The Navy put patrol bombers on Attu that flew the 700 miles round trip to northern Japan to make bombing runs. While not a huge blow to Japan, it did tie a up a percentage of their military. These flights were crazy. The men had to put vaseline on their faces so they wouldn't get frostbite. Even more crazy, after warming up their planes, they had to top off the fuel at the end of the runway just so they would have enough to get back after the raid. :eddie:

[Skysooner]

Actually, the most obscure part of this story comes after Attu was retaken. The Navy put patrol bombers on Attu that flew the 700 miles round trip to northern Japan to make bombing runs. While not a huge blow to Japan, it did tie a up a percentage of their military. These flights were crazy. The men had to put vaseline on their faces so they wouldn't get frostbite. Even more crazy, after warming up their planes, they had to top off the fuel at the end of the runway just so they would have enough to get back after the raid. :eddie:

I remember seeing this a couple of years ago (maybe the History Channel). This was an interesting story about the retaking of the island and the bombing raids from there.

[Fugue]

Yes, I watched those too. This is especially personal for me because I had an uncle in one of those bombing squadrons and he went MIA in 1944. They found his crews crashed plane on a volcano in Russia in 2000. :eek:

[Scott D]

Not really obscure. The Aleutian attack was the precursor to Midway. The idea was to draw the American carriers away from Midway to allow the capture of the island and then to ultimately sink them when they had to come south again. The Aleutian attack was a few days ahead of Midway and involved 2 of the front line carriers of the Japanese fleet. Only because we had broken the Japanese codes did we know it was a feint, and our carriers set up for a decisive showdown at Midway.

that and the fact that inclimate weather slowed down the Japanese advance toward Midway....they don't get slowed down, they arrive early, and we end up arriving too late.