Real Veterans
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. Real Heroes  |
Real Veterans
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. Real Heroes |
| The Aleutian Islands campaign was a struggle
over the Aleutian Islands, part of Alaska, in the Pacific campaign of World
War II. A small Japanese force occupied the islands of Attu and Kiska,
but the remoteness of the islands and the difficulties of weather and terrain
meant that it took nearly a year for a large U.S. force to eject them.
The islands' strategic value was their ability to control Pacific Great
Circle routes. This control of the Pacific transportation routes is why
General Billy Mitchell stated to Congress in 1935 "I believe that in the
future, whoever holds Alaska will hold the world. I think it is the most
important strategic place in the world." The Japanese reasoned that control
of the Aleutians would prevent a possible U.S. attack across the Northern
Pacific. Similarly, the U.S. feared that the islands would be used as bases
from which to launch aerial assaults against the West Coast.
. BATTEL SHIPS HAD to have Drinking water. . The battle is known as the "Forgotten Battle," due to being overshadowed by the simultaneous Guadalcanal campaign. In the past most western military historians believed it was a diversionary or feint attack during the Battle of Midway meant to draw out the US Pacific Fleet from Pearl Harbor, and was in fact launched simultaneously under the same overall commander, Isoroku Yamamoto. However, historians Jonathan Parshall and Anthony Tully have made an argument against this interpretation, stating that the Japanese invaded the Aleutians to protect the northern flank of their empire. . Bob Pirkl served on one of these Islands; where they keep the American War Ships supplies with FRESH WATER, while Japanese snipers made pot shots at them every day… He served in WW II |
