The Only WWII Land Battle Fought on American Soil: The Forgotten Fight for Alaska

When most people think of the Pacific Theater of World War II, they envision tropical islands, heat, and jungle combat. However, the 18-day campaign in May 1943 to retake a remote Aleutian island from Japanese occupation was the total opposite. The fight over the frozen island became the only land battle of World War II fought on U.S. soil.

More than 15,000 soldiers faced fanatical Japanese troops as well as harsh winds, freezing rain and terrain that injured more men than combat did. When the fighting ended, nearly 3,000 Japanese and American troops lay dead on the frozen island—and an entire Native village had been wiped from existence, its survivors forbidden from ever returning.

The Japanese Invasion of Alaska

Japanese carrier-based aircraft struck the U.S. naval base at Dutch Harbor on June 3-4, 1942. The raids killed 43 Americans, damaged oil storage tanks and barracks, and destroyed several facilities. The attacks were a diversion for Japan's assault on Midway Island, but they also opened up a campaign that led to the only battle in the American Theater of WWII.

Two days later, on June 6, 1942, Japanese forces invaded Kiska Island, capturing a U.S. Navy weather station crew. The next day, the 301st Independent Infantry Battalion—1,140 soldiers under Major Matsutoshi Hozumi—landed unopposed on Attu Island at the western end of Alaska's Aleutian chain.

Just over 40 people lived on Attu when Japanese troops invaded. The Unangax̂ people, known as Aleuts, had inhabited the island for roughly 10,000 years. The village was led by Chief Mike Hodikoff. Among the residents were the Golodoff family—parents Lawrence and Olean with their seven children, including three-year-old Gregory.

Charles Foster Jones, 63-year-old radio operator and one of the only non-Aleuts on the island, managed to send one message to Dutch Harbor—"The Japs are here"—before destroying his equipment. Japanese soldiers tortured and executed him the next day when he refused to repair the radio, making him the only American civilian executed by enemy forces in North America during the war.

Chief Hodikoff prevented further bloodshed. When some villagers went for their rifles, he stopped them, saying "Do not shoot, maybe the Americans can save us yet." He likely saved his village from being massacred, but the Japanese would make them suffer regardless.

The Japanese held the 41 Aleut villagers and Jones's wife Etta prisoner for three months before shipping them to Japan. Etta was separated and imprisoned with some Australian nurses captured in New Guinea. The Aleuts were imprisoned in Otaru on Hokkaido, where conditions were brutal. Prisoners were forced to mine clay on starvation rations of white rice and watery soup. 

Chief Hodikoff and his son died from food poisoning after eating spoiled garbage they found. Three of the seven Golodoff children died from beriberi caused by malnutrition. In total, 22 of the 41 civilians died during their captivity.

Meanwhile, in response to the Japanese invasion, the U.S. government began relocating over 800 Unangax̂ civilians across the Aleutian Islands to the Alaskan Panhandle to be interned for the rest of the war. Many of their villages were burned to prevent their use by the Japanese. 85 would die while they were interned.

Japan Fortifies the Aleutians

Japanese planners believed controlling the Aleutians would prevent American and Soviet forces from coordinating attacks on Japan through the Kuril Islands. After occupying Attu and Kiska, Japan began building defensive positions and airfields.

In late September 1942, the Japanese garrison on Attu was transferred to Kiska, leaving Attu temporarily unoccupied. American forces missed the chance to retake it. On October 29, 1942, Japanese forces returned to Attu under Lieutenant Colonel Hiroshi Yanekawa, establishing a base at Holtz Bay with about 500 troops.

Through reinforcements over the following months, the garrison grew to approximately 2,300 troops by March 1943. Japanese forces fortified positions in the mountains overlooking potential landing beaches, dug trenches and bunkers, and stockpiled supplies.

Americans back home were terrified that the Japanese could take North American territory with relative ease. Many feared that the Japanese could use the Aleutians as a base to strike the West Coast. The military quickly reinforced Dutch Harbor and began building bases on Atka and other islands. Planes from these bases began conducting raids against Kiska and Attu.

The U.S. Navy under Rear Admiral Charles McMorris moved to cut Japanese supply lines. On March 26, 1943, American and Japanese surface forces clashed in the Battle of the Komandorski Islands. Though tactically inconclusive, the engagement forced Japan to abandon resupply attempts by surface vessels, limiting them to submarines. The supply restrictions weakened Japanese forces on both Attu and Kiska.

Operation Landcrab: May 11, 1943

American intelligence initially estimated 500 Japanese troops on Attu. By late April 1943, revised estimates put the number at 2,400. Major General Albert E. Brown's 7th Infantry Division, training at Fort Ord in California, was assigned to take the island.

The division included the 17th and 32nd Infantry Regiments plus supporting units. Naval forces under Rear Admiral Thomas C. Kinkaid provided fire support, including the battleships Pennsylvania, Idaho and Nevada. Total American forces numbered more than 15,000.

The invasion force also included a unique unit—the 1st Alaskan Combat Intelligence Platoon, nicknamed "Castner's Cutthroats" after their commander, Colonel Lawrence Castner. The platoon consisted of Alaska Natives, miners, trappers, and outdoorsmen who knew how to survive and fight in extreme conditions. 

These scouts provided critical reconnaissance during the battle, using their expertise in cold-weather survival and wilderness navigation to guide regular Army units through Attu's treacherous terrain. The Cutthroats operated ahead of main forces, identifying Japanese positions and finding routes through the mountain passes that conventional troops struggled to navigate.

The 7th Infantry Division wasn't issued adequate cold-weather gear during training to maintain operational security about their destination. This decision would prove costly.

Bad weather delayed the invasion from May 7 to May 11. When American forces finally landed, they hit two locations. The main force landed at Massacre Bay on the southern coast, and a smaller Northern Force landed at Holtz Bay. The plan called for both forces to advance inland and trap the defenders who were led by Colonel Yasuyo Yamasaki.

The Japanese did not attempt to hold the beaches. Yamasaki had positioned his troops on high ground inland where fog and terrain gave them defensive advantages. Meanwhile, a provisional battalion landed at Austin Cove and began a five-day climb to passes west of Holtz Bay, suffering numerous frostbite casualties.

Fighting Through the Fog

Attu is a volcanic island of steep ridges, deep valleys and treacherous tundra that couldn't support vehicles. Weather changed rapidly from calm fog to 100-mph winds with freezing rain. Temperatures hovered around freezing. Soldiers in temperate-weather uniforms suffered.

Progress was slow. American troops had to clear Japanese positions from elevated terrain while dealing with mud, muskeg and snow. The Japanese had acclimated to the conditions during months of occupation. They used the fog and terrain expertly, fighting from fortified positions and conducting limited counterattacks.

Japanese soldiers occupied caves and bunkers on ridges overlooking American positions. They rolled grenades down slopes and maintained machine gun fire from snow-covered trenches. American forces had to attack uphill repeatedly against prepared defensive positions.

By May 16, American forces had advanced inland but faced stiff resistance at key terrain features. The Northern and Southern forces were still separated by Japanese positions controlling the passes between them. Casualties mounted from combat and exposure. Trench foot and frostbite took out hundreds of soldiers.

The 32nd Infantry Regiment fought toward Fish Hook Ridge and the Holtz-Chichagof Pass, critical terrain that would link the two American landing forces. The Japanese fiercely held the fortified positions on the heights with overlapping fields of fire.

Martinez's Charge

On May 26, Company K of the 32nd Infantry Regiment was pinned down attempting to take the pass. 22-year-old Private Joseph P. Martinez stood up under heavy fire and advanced with his Browning Automatic Rifle while the Japanese fired at him.

Martinez moved up the snow-covered slope, firing into Japanese foxholes and throwing grenades. He killed multiple enemy soldiers and inspired his company to follow. Other soldiers moved forward behind him. After clearing several positions, Martinez reached a point about 150 feet up the ridge.

The main pass rose another 150 feet, flanked by steep rocky ridges and approached through a snow-filled ravine. Japanese fire came from both flanks and from tiers of snow trenches blocking the way forward. Martinez led troops up through this fire, personally silencing several trenches with his BAR.

He reached the pass itself just below the summit. At the final enemy-occupied trench, Martinez engaged Japanese soldiers while under fire. He was shot in the head and mortally wounded. He died later that day. His company took the pass.

Its capture allowed American forces to link their northern and southern landing zones and was crucial to ending organized Japanese resistance. Martinez was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor on October 27, 1943—the first Hispanic American to receive the decoration for combat action during World War II. He was also the first American to earn the medal during combat on North American soil since the Indian Wars.

The Final Stand

By May 28, American forces occupied high ground in Chichagof Valley, controlling three critical hills: Fish Hook, Buffalo and Engineer. Japanese forces were pushed back with only the sea behind them. Colonel Yamasaki had only 800 men fit for combat and 600 wounded.

American commanders planned to bombard the remaining Japanese positions on May 29 and finish the battle. But Yamasaki chose to attack instead. Japanese military culture considered surrender dishonorable. He planned a desperate counterattack to break through American lines, capture artillery on Engineer Hill, and use it against the Americans before retreating into the mountains to await reinforcements.

At 3 a.m. on May 29, hundreds of Japanese soldiers launched one of the largest banzai charges of the Pacific War. The assault hit Company B of the 32nd Infantry, which had just been ordered to march to battalion headquarters for hot breakfast, leaving only sentries on guard.

The surprise attack broke through American lines. Japanese troops penetrated deep into rear areas, reaching Engineer Hill where American artillery was positioned. Support troops—engineers, medics, supply personnel—found themselves in close combat. Hand-to-hand fighting raged for hours in pitch-black darkness and fog.

"What a nightmare, a madness of noise and confusion and deadliness," Captain George S. Buehler later wrote about the assault.

American forces regrouped and hit the enemy with overwhelming firepower. The Japanese charge was eventually routed, but not before penetrating nearly to Massacre Bay. Most Japanese soldiers who survived the initial fighting committed suicide with grenades rather than surrender.

Dr. Nebu Tatsuguchi, a Japanese battlefield surgeon, had written in his diary the evening before, "The last assault is to be carried out. All the patients in the hospital are to commit suicide. Only 33 years of living and I am to die here.... At 1800 (hours) took care of all the patients with grenades. Good-bye, Taeki, my beloved wife, who loved me to the last."

The battle ended May 30, 1943. American burial teams counted 2,351 Japanese dead. Hundreds more were believed buried under bombardment debris. Only 28 Japanese prisoners were taken, none of them officers. Colonel Yamasaki was among the dead.

Small groups of Japanese soldiers continued fighting until early July. A few isolated survivors held out until September 1943.

The Cost of Liberating Attu

Of 15,000 American troops involved, 549 were killed in action and 1,148 wounded. Another 2,100 were evacuated for disease and non-battle injuries—mostly exposure, frostbite and trench foot. The environmental casualties exceeded combat losses, exposing the brutal conditions of this unique battle of the Pacific War.

The battle prompted major changes in Army cold-weather equipment, food, tents and footwear. It also demonstrated the need for better preparation when fighting in extreme environments.

The Battle of Kiska

After Attu fell, American forces prepared to invade Kiska, where intelligence indicated about 5,200 Japanese troops remained. The men expected to face a repeat of Attu, with tougher Japanese defenses and harsher weather. On August 15, 1943, an invasion force of 34,426 American and Canadian troops landed on the island under massive naval and air support.

To their surprise, the Japanese were gone. Under the cover of fog on July 28, Japan had evacuated the entire garrison by submarine and surface vessels without detection. Allied troops found abandoned fighting positions and even full coffee cups sitting where the Japanese had left them. 

As they moved to secure the island with little visibility, the anxious troops accidentally fired on each other. Meanwhile, booby traps and landmines proved deadly while the harsh weather claimed numerous men. Despite facing no enemy, the operation resulted in about 313 casualties.

The evacuation of Kiska ended the Japanese occupation of the Aleutians and the Battle for Alaska.

No Return for the Attuans

American forces liberated the 19 surviving Attuans in Japan by September 1945. Among the survivors were Olean Golodoff and four of her seven children, including Gregory. When they reached Seattle, the U.S. government informed them they were barred from returning to Attu, deciding that reconstruction of the village would be too expensive. Several hundred other civilian internees released by the U.S. government were told the same thing.

Fifteen survivors from Attu were sent to Atka Island, five remained hospitalized for tuberculosis, four went to Unalaska, and five orphaned children were sent to a Bureau of Indian Affairs school. Etta also survived her time in captivity.

In 1951, Japan offered the survivors about $4,000 annually for three years. Most accepted, though some refused due to the harsh treatment they had faced. Families of the 22 who died in captivity received nothing. Congress passed the Aleutian and Pribilof Islands Restitution Act in 1988, giving Aleut internment survivors $12,000, but this excluded the Attuans held captive in Japan.

The forced displacement destroyed the Attuan culture. The dialect is now extinct. The basket-weaving tradition survives through only three or four people.

The Forgotten Battle for Alaska

Gregory Golodoff spent his life on Atka, rarely speaking about his imprisonment. His brother Nick wrote "Attu Boy" in 2012, one of the few firsthand accounts of the captivity. Nick died in 2013. Elizabeth Golodoff Kudrin, another sibling, died in February 2023. Gregory died in November 2023 at 84—the last person born on Attu.

Helena Pagano, great-granddaughter of Chief Hodikoff, leads efforts through her nonprofit Atux Forever for an Attuan cultural center, environmental cleanup of Attu, and additional Japanese restitution for families who lost relatives in the camps.

Today, both Attu and Kiska remain largely uninhabited. Attu is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as part of Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. Kiska, littered with rusting military equipment and unexploded ordnance, occasionally sees visitors but remains difficult to access. 

The Attu battlefield became a National Historic Landmark in 1985. Scattered remnants of the campaign can still be seen across the islands today, including plane crashes, Japanese artillery, and forgotten military equipment.

The Battle of Attu was the only land battle of WWII fought on U.S. soil. It killed 549 Americans and more than 2,500 Japanese in 18 days of brutal Arctic combat. Hundreds of others were killed on Kiska, Dutch Harbor and countless plane crashes throughout the region. 

The victory on Attu secured the Aleutians and ended enemy threats to Alaska. But it also destroyed a 10,000-year-old village, killed 22 civilians in Japanese camps, and erased the Attuan language and culture. The survivors were scattered across Alaska, forbidden from returning home.