In June 1942, the Japanese bombed Dutch Harbor and landed troops on the western Aleutian Islands of Kiska and Attu, which were quickly occupied within a few days. Reacting to the Japanese occupation, Ephriam D. Dickson III of the Field Museums Branch for the U.S. Army Center of Military History wrote that the American public and leaders were "[c]oncerned that Japan might use these islands to launch air raids against the Pacific Northwest, especially targeting the Boeing bomber plant and Bremerton Navy Yard in Seattle".