There is a sidestory to the battles of Attu and Kiska, plus the Japanese bombing of Dutch Harbor and other sites in the Aleutians/Alaskan chain of island.
This is off the top of my head because it has been about 10 years or more since I’ve seen these documents in the National Archives, College Park, Md. There was a husband and wife weather observatory team on one of those islands. Had been there for years but the Japanese invasion surprised them. The husband was captured, sent to Japan, where he died reportedly from maltreatment and/or malnourishment.
His wife was spirited away by some Aleut/natives in canoes during a fog to American lines.
Unfortunately I can’t recall the Record Group in w hich I found those documents. Could have been Army, Army Air Force (RG 18), Navy (BuShips? RG 19), or those for regional commands.
Don’t even know if any archivists there know about this incident but it has got to show up somewhere - best bet would be the “Weather Observation posts” reports for the Air Force and Army as they relied on these observers to report back flying conditions, storms, etc.
Somewhere in history, a brave husband and wife defied the Japanese to the end. An we must no forget the bravery and sacrifice of Alaskan natives who helped our fighters and civilians at great risk to themselves.
Thank you for that information. Everyone knows of the main events in history, but I find it very interesting to hear stories such as this.
It reminds us what people gave up in the face of extreme hardship and mortal danger.
As I said earlier, we must never forget and we must honour their sacrifices with our dedication to liberty.