Attu Island Totally Explained

Everything about Attu Island totally explained

Attu (Atan in Aleut) is the westernmost and largest island in the Near Islands group of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska, making it the westernmost point of land relative to Alaska and the United States. It was the site of the only World War II battle on United States soil (the battle of Attu, and its battlefield area is a US National Historic Landmark. Attu Station, the only inhabited area on the island, is actually located at 52°51' north latitude, 173°11' east longitude, technically making it one of the easternmost points of Alaska (and the United States). (Looked at this way, neighboring Semisopochnoi Island at 179°46'E, is the easternmost location in the United States and North America, as it sits only 14 minutes west of 180°, and so is in the Eastern Hemisphere).
It is nearly 1,700 km (1,100 miles) from the Alaskan mainland and 1,200 km (750 miles) northeast of the northernmost of the Kurile Islands of the Russian Federation and 7800 km (>4800 miles) to the capital Washington DC. Attu is about 32 km (20 miles) by 56 km (35 miles) in size with a land area of 892.795 km² (344.71 sq mi), making it the 23rd largest island in the United States. The population as of the 2000 census was 20 persons, all at the Attu Station.
As of 1982, the only trees on the island were those planted by US soldiers at a chapel constructed after the 1943 battle. | added = February 04, 1985 | governing_body = FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE | refnum=85002729}}
The name Attu is a transliteration of the Aleut name of the island. It was called Saint Theodore by the explorer Aleksei Chirikov in 1742.

World War II

The Aleuts were the primary inhabitants of the island prior to World War II. But, on June 7, 1942, six months into the war, the 301st Independent Infantry Battalion of the Japanese Northern Army invaded the island, a day after invading nearby Kiska. Much of the native population of the islands had been forcibly evacuated before the invasion and interned in camps in the Alaska Panhandle, where many died of chronic disease. The 42 inhabitants who remained on Attu were taken to a prison camp near Otaru, Hokkaidō. Sixteen died while imprisoned. Later on June 21st 1942 Lt. Max Reinhard flew the p-38 Lightning and shot down the first Japanese Zero model A6M, with 11 recorded kills and 1 damaged.
According to General Hideichiro Higuda, Commander of the Japanese Northern Army, the invasion of Kiska and Attu was part of a threefold objective:

To break up any offensives against Japan by way of the Aleutians
To place a barrier between the US and Russia in case Russia decided to join the war against Japan
To make preparation for airbases for future offensive action

In late September, 1942, the garrison on Attu was transferred to Kiska and the island was essentially left unoccupied, but American forces made no attempt to occupy the island during this time. On October 29, 1942 the Japanese reestablished a base on Attu at Holtz Bay under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Hiroshi Yanekawa. Initially the garrison was about 500 strong but through reinforcements it reached about 2,300 by March 10, 1943. No more reinforcements arrived after that time, owing mainly to the efforts of a naval force under Rear Admiral Charles McMorris. He was assigned to interdict the Japanese supply convoys. After the Battle of the Komandorski Islands, Japan abandoned its attempts to resupply its Aleutian garrisons by the surface. From then on, only submarines were used for the resupply runs.
The 2006 documentary film Red White Black & Blue features two veterans of the Attu Island campaign, Bill Jones and Andy Petrus. It is directed by Tom Putnam, and debuted at the 2006 Locarno International Film Festival in Locarno, Switzerland on August 4, 2006.
In February 2008, a group of American veterans led by John E. Jonas TSGT USAF (Ret.) began a petition to have the Japanese memorial removed or relocated from the island and replaced with two U.S. funded markers: one to the Japanese soldiers who died on the island and one to the Americans. Jones and others were upset to find out that the Japanese memorial on Attu was erected on or near the site of a massacre of wounded American soldiers by the Japanese on the battle's final day.

Weather

The weather on Attu is typical Aleutian weather: cloudy, rainy, and foggy. High winds occur occasionally. Five or six days a week are likely to be rainy, and there are only about eight or ten clear days a year. The rest of the time, even if rain isn't falling, fog of varying density is the rule rather than the exception. There are 1000-1250 mm (forty to fifty inches) of annual rainfall, with the heaviest rains in autumn and early winter.

Further Information

Get more info on 'Attu Island'.

External Link Exchanges

Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:

<a href="http://attu_island.totallyexplained.com">Attu Island Totally Explained</a>

Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned.