FEATURE ARTICLE
ALASKA—fOR YQUR -INFORMATION ■
The first blow in the A1 eutians-*the v Japaneses carrier?-attack against Dutch Har**
Dor on 3 June fl.942, was timed to be one day earlier than the oorrier attack again**
st Midway, thus to oonfuse the enemy and throw off his timing*
• 'rAs>'-a result of the’Jap*mese defeat at Midway the occupation of > the western A
Leutians was cancelled by the Japanese Commander in.Chief, Combined Fleet* How*,
jver^ this,order was countermanded and shortly thereafter altered again* The Adak
3Qoupation foroe was oanoelledN^d the /lak-Attu force was, directed ze only
Attu«- The Kiska occupation fyce^idnded, a battalion of ,1£0Q menpBr"ffil*ka at 1800
3 June* .The* AdakrAttu'Ocoupaticn/^Qroe'landed a .battalion of' the same number of
irmy troops .on Attu -at .about 0^60^,7 Junr*1942*, iatdr^Ag^ttU was occupied but
fas of minor importance^/ ■ / - - , • . .ttf4
The reasoning isn’t cleajy but it,'.is thought- that the propaganda .of occupying
US, soil would detraot from a leak of the sad information on the loss of,oarriers
un the largor battle of Midway*
The-U*S, didn’t discover tfyis^occupation uittil^four days after-it had begun*
^Y’.s led; off bombing, of Japanese held d^lands-frOT^Stoak Is* <The$e were soon
'oilowed by B**17’s and B«^4*s» The U»S, gradually extena&dsi t * s bases closer ,&nd
closer'to the Japanese hold islands and ocoupied-Adak on 30 Ahgu6t 1942* An air~
?ield was in operation by;13 September 1942* onlytwo weeks latoJ
.. The Japanese gradually increased their troops that by May 1945* at the time
)f thedUS, assualt on Attu, there were 2500 troops and on the §ame, date in ;Kiska
ibout. 5400*- . . V #
- TiKhen the U.S, bypassed Kiska, and attacked Attu, - the Japanese decided to with*
Irtxw the troops occupying, Kiska for the defense of-the Kurile Islands which, lie
lortheast of Hokkaido* On 29 July, the day Kiska forces were evacuated, a stfemg.
US• task group was-absent from it* a patr.ol southwest of Kisha Island, engaged II
.■^fueling* A single U-.$, submarine*. was the only contact the Japanese made with
U&v'forces* The;U,S. hadinterpreted the evaou&tion preparations as. redeployment
?or defense-and on 16 August-.when the U«S, ,an4 Canada landed.34,000 troops,, the
Tapanese had already esc aped , • ..*
By Thomas * , ;
&£W'UN£ iXTEhfblD* TO Ai£U'TJAjNJS
The radar defenses of the North American Air Defense Command have been extended
7QQ miles out intp-the Aleutian. Island chain—a $45 million addition-to NORAI^s
3E1AT lino across the northern rim of th^..continent* . •
Dedication oeremonios at-Anchorage, Alaska, included reports from the command
oes of the six new radar stations that they were ready to take their places in the
air defense system*. . • • ** ' v . ...
The Aleutian network, dubbed project Stretchout, is 'operated by the Alaskan Air
Command and consists of six.stations spotted,at intervals of approximately 100 mi
les,.-from King Salrnop AFB to the .terminus at Nikolski onvUmnak Island*.r, ..
At it*s.westernmost point, ,Stretchout ties into a detection system operated by>
TOR AD4 s Navy components—surface vessels and "flying radar statics” .between the,
Aleutians and North Pacific outposts* ,, < ,«;• r<f, , .
The new network strengthens the northern DEW line which now consists of mere
:han 60^radar stations strung out. for *.3,000 miles .fclong the Arotie Circle from
Jape Lisburne, Alaska to Baffin Island, Canada*
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