World War II in Alaska

Front Cover: Canadian and American troops make an amphibious landing on the Aleutian island of Kiska, August 

15, 1943. (Archives and Manuscripts Department, University of Alaska Anchorage)

Rear Cover: Russian pilots participating in the Lend-Lease Program inspect an American fighter at Ladd Field near 

Fairbanks, circa 1944. (Alaska Historical Library, Juneau, Alaska)

Publication funded by

Alaska Support Office

National Park Service

2000

U.S. Department of the Interior

Anchorage, Alaska
A Resource Guide for Teachers and Students

Introduction

This resource guide is designed to aid students and teachers in researching Alaska’s World 

War II history. Alaska’s role as battlefield, lend-lease transfer station, and North Pacific 

stronghold was often overlooked by historians in the post-war decades, but in recent years 

awareness has been growing of Alaska’s wartime past. This renewed interest generates exciting 

educational opportunities for students and teachers researching this chapter in the history of 

our state. Few people know that the only World War II battle fought on U.S. soil took place in 

Alaska or that Japanese forces occupied two Aleutian Islands for more than a year. Still fewer 

know of the Russian pilots who trained in Fairbanks, the workers who risked their lives building 

the Alaska Highway, or the Alaska Scouts who patrolled the Bering Sea coast. The lives of 

Alaskans were forever changed by the experience of war, and the history of that dramatic era is 

still being written. 

This resource guide begins with a map of important World War II sites and a summary 

of Alaska’s World War II experience. Included also is information about National Historic 

Landmarks related to World War II in Alaska. The selected bibliography that follows is divided 

into twelve parts to aid student researchers in selecting topics: 

• War Comes to Alaska

• Aleutian Campaign

• Alaska Highway and Canol Pipeline

• Wartime Construction

• Native Defenders

• Warplanes and Seacraft

• Aleut Evacuation

• Canadian Participation

• Japanese-American Internment

• Lend-Lease Program

• Japanese Naval Power 

• Branches and Units

 This bibliography includes books, journals, and videotapes that can be found in 

Alaska’s libraries or obtained through interlibrary loan. They are, for the most part, recent 

publications. The articles cited here were selected for their relevance to a specific theme and can 

be found (with some exceptions) in Alaskan periodicals. The bibliography is not meant to be 

comprehensive, but is instead intended as a gateway to further research. 

Information regarding Alaska’s libraries and museums follows, with descriptions of 

collections relevant to Alaska’s World War II history and a list of on-line resources. The 

individual museums and libraries are organized by city. The resource guide concludes with a list 

of related Internet sites. 

This publication is made possible through the cooperative effort of History Day in Alaska, a non-profit educational 

organization, and the National Park Service Alaska Support Office. The History Day in Alaska program, through 

funding secured by National History Day and contributed by the National WWII Memorial Fund in 1999, 

provided funding for the design and layout of this guide by Frank Broderick, Archgraphics. The National Park 

Service Alaska Support Office provided staff time of Janet Clemens and Chris Allan to prepare this guide. 

1
World War II in Alaska SOVIET UNION (RUSSIA)

CANADA

ALASKA

Map adapted from Debra Dubac, Alaska at War 1941-1945

Alaska WWII Major Military Sites

Attu Battlefield and U.S. Army and Navy Airfields

Japanese Occupation Site, Kiska

Adak Army and Naval 

Operations Base

Cape Field at Fort Glenn

Dutch Harbor Naval Operating Base and Fort Mears, U.S. Army

Kodiak Naval Operating Base and Forts Greely and Sitka Naval Base 

and U.S. Army Coastal Defenses

Annette Island

Cold Bay

Shemya

Amchitka

Fairbanks

Fort Richardson Elmendorf Field

Anchorage

Juneau

Ketchikan

Designated as a National Historic Landmark

Ladd Field(Fort Wainwright)

2
A Resource Guide for Teachers and Students

In the 1930s, as Japan strengthened its armed forces, the United States 

became increasingly concerned about the possibility of attack from across 

the Pacific. Brigadier General William Mitchell urged Congress in 1935 

to adopt a strong northern air defense, declaring, “I believe in the future 

he who holds Alaska will hold the world.” In 1939 Congress established 

a Panama-Hawaii-Alaska defense triangle to protect America’s vulnerable 

western coast. Alaska, the largest and least fortified of the three, soon 

saw the construction of naval bases at Sitka, Dutch Harbor, and Kodiak. 

When Japanese Zeros struck Pearl Harbor in 1941, military and civilian 

workers in Alaska were still scrambling to fortify the vast territory. 

Six months after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the Japanese bombed 

Dutch Harbor on Unalaska Island and occupied the Aleutian islands of 

Attu and Kiska. Before the attack, U.S. codebreakers had established that 

the Japanese incursion into the Aleutians was merely a diversion intended 

to draw U.S. ships from their base on Midway Island. Even so, military 

strategists felt they could not risk leaving the Aleutians open as stepping 

stones for Japanese attacks on the United States mainland. In addition, 

the occupation of even these distant U.S. islands was a significant 

propaganda victory for the Japanese—the affront could not go 

unanswered.

Because planes departing from Kodiak and Dutch Harbor did not have 

the range to engage the Japanese at Attu and Kiska, U.S. forces built 

bases on other Aleutian islands which would allow them to strike 

farther west. Pilots and ground troops soon realized they were facing a 

second enemy, Mother Nature. The weather along the 1,200-mile 

island chain was some of the worst in the world, with dense fogs, violent 

seas, and fierce wind storms called williwaws. Aircraft lacking accurate 

navigational devices or consistent radio contact crashed into mountains, 

each other, the sea—simply finding the enemy was a life-and-death 

struggle. For soldiers in the Aleutians, contact with the enemy was 

infrequent and fleeting, but the weather was a perpetual adversary. 

The battles raging in the Aleutians and around the world changed the 

lives of ordinary Alaskans. Many Alaska Natives joined units of the 

Alaska Scouts and the Territorial Guard to patrol Alaska’s coasts 

and lead reconnaissance missions in combat zones. Aleuts 

living on the island of Attu were taken prisoner by the Japanese 

while families from both the Aleutian and Pribilof Islands were 

evacuated by U.S. forces and spent the remainder of the war in 

derelict fishing and mining camps in Southeast 

Alaska. And, under an emergency measure in effect in the western 

Look for these themes

in the bibliography:

War Comes to Alaska 

Japanese Naval Power

Aleutian Campaign

Native Defenders

Aleut Evacuation

Summary of World War II in Alaska

3
World War II in Alaska

United States, Alaskans of Japanese descent were shipped to internment 

camps in the Lower 48. The fear of sudden attack also led to censorship 

of the media, food rationing, and obligatory blackouts in coastal areas. 

Wartime construction also transformed life in Alaska, bringing large 

numbers of workers and military personnel into Alaska’s smallest 

communities as well as new means of transportation and communication. 

Beginning in 1942 U.S. aircraft were routed through Alaska and Siberia 

to Russia’s battlefront with Germany as part of the Lend-Lease Program. 

A string of new airfields allowed American pilots to leapfrog through the 

Canadian and Alaskan wilderness to Fairbanks where Russian pilots were 

waiting to fly the planes westward. Until 1942 passengers and freight 

arrived in Alaska two ways—by boat and plane. Close cooperation 

between Canada and the United States made possible the construction 

of the Alaska Canada Military Highway, a 1,420-mile wilderness highway 

which followed the path of lend-lease aircraft along the Alaska-Siberia air 

route. This Far North construction boom also included telephone lines, 

oil pipelines, railways, and roughly 300 military installations throughout 

Alaska.

On May 11, 1943 U.S. forces landed on Attu and began an uphill battle 

to retake the island. After nineteen days of fighting, the beleaguered 

Japanese soldiers launched a final banzai charge in an attempt to break 

through the American line. When the battle ended, only 29 prisoners 

remained of a Japanese force of roughly 2,600. Three months later the 

drama at Attu was matched by an equally dramatic anticlimax. Foul 

weather had delayed Allied attempts to retake Kiska, and when U.S. and 

Canadian forces finally landed on August 15, they were stunned to find 

that the Japanese were gone—they had been evacuated under cover of 

fog three weeks before. As the guns fell silent in the Aleutians, Army and 

Navy facilities began to demobilize and many were closed, though fighting 

in the Pacific and in Europe would continue for another two years.

The Secretary of the Interior, through the National Park Service, took steps 

to acknowledge the importance of Alaska’s role in World War II history by 

designating eight sites as National Historic Landmarks. These sites 

include former Army and Navy bases, Aleutian battlefields, airfields, 

and an area on Kiska Island once occupied by the Japanese. Today 

eight former World War II military sites in Alaska are National Historic 

Japanese Internment

Lend-Lease Program

Canadian Participation

Wartime Construction

Alaska’s War Ends

National Landmarks

 Summary of World War II in Alaska

4
A Resource Guide for Teachers and Students

Buildings burn following the Japanese attack on the fort at Dutch Harbor, June 3, 1942. A second, more damaging 

attack came the next day, though the P-40 Aleutian Tigers scrambled to intercept the enemy from a secret base on 

Umnak Island. (Archives and Manuscripts Department, University of Alaska Anchorage)

Aleut villagers face an uncertain future 

aboard a ship bound for Southeast 

Alaska. During the Aleutian Campaign, 

881 Aleuts were evacuated from their 

homes and spent almost three years in 

makeshift “duration villages” without 

proper sanitation, heat, or medical 

attention. (Aleutian Pribilof Islands 

Association Inc.)

5
World War II in Alaska

Landmarks (NHLs). NHL status recognizes these places as being among 

the nation’s most treasured resources deemed worthy of preservation. The 

Secretary of the Interior, through the National Park Service, designated the 

following NHL sites to commemorate the significant events and human 

drama of Alaska’s role in World War II: 

• Adak Army and Naval Operations Base, Adak Island

• Attu Battlefield and Bases, Attu Island 

• Fort Glenn (Cape Field), Umnak Island

• Dutch Harbor Naval Base and Fort Mears, U.S. Army, 

 Unalaska Island

• Japanese Occupation Site, 

 Kiska Island

• Kodiak Naval Operating Base and Forts Greely and Abercrombie, 

 Kodiak Island

• Ladd Field (Fort Wainwright), Fairbanks

• Sitka Naval Base and U.S. Army Coastal Defenses, Sitka

Alaska’s World War II National Historic Landmarks

Alaska’s Aleutian World War II National Historic Area

Part of the National Park Service’s role is to administer the NHL program. Available materials 

include a booklet entitled “WWII National Historic Landmarks: The Aleutian Campaign” and 

a lesson plan from the Teaching with Historic Places series entitled “Attu: North American 

Battleground of World War II.” For copies of these materials contact National Register Historian 

Janet Clemens at (907) 257-2458 or by e-mail at janet_clemens@nps.gov. An interesting 

website about underwater archeological investigations of WWII resources in Kiska Harbor can 

be found at http://www.nps.gov/scu/kis~1.htm.

Though visiting a real historic place is one of the best ways to gain valuable insights, several 

of Alaska’s WWII sites are difficult to access. One resource for learning more about events in 

the Aleutians during this period is the Aleutian WWII National Historic Area in Unalaska. This 

unique park, designated in 1996 as an affiliated area to the NPS, is owned by the Ounalashka 

Corporation, a Native village corporation. The Alaska Support Office of the National Park 

Service assists with the planning, development, and interpretation of the park as well as with 

educating the public about the history of the Aleuts and the role of the Aleutian Islands during 

the war. Information about this park includes an interpretive brochure, a planning document, and 

a website still under construction. Plans are also in place for a visitor center. For information 

contact Linda Cook, special assistant for Aleutian programs, at (907) 257-2658 or by e-mail at 

linda_cook@nps.gov.

War Comes to Alaska

6
A Resource Guide for Teachers and Students

Ulakta Head and Command Center, Aleutian World War II National Historic Area. (National Park Service, Anchorage 

Support Office Archives)

7
World War II in Alaska

Alaska Geographic. The Aleutians, vol. 7, no. 3. 

Anchorage: Alaska Geographic Society, 1980.

——. Kodiak, vol. 19, no. 3. Anchorage: Alaska 

Geographic Society, 1992.

——. Kodiak, Island of Change, vol. 4, no. 3. 

Anchorage: Alaska Geographic Society, 1977.

——. Unalaska/Dutch Harbor, vol. 18, no. 4. 

Anchorage: Alaska Geographic Society, 1991.

——. World War II in Alaska, vol. 22, no. 4. 

Anchorage: Alaska Geographic Society, 1995.

Aleutian Invasion: World War Two in the Aleutian 

Islands. Prepared by the students of Unalaska High 

School. Unalaska: Unalaska High School, 1981.

The Aleutians Campaign, June 1942-August 1943. 

Washington: Naval Historical Center, Department 

of the Navy, 1993.

The Capture of Attu: Tales of World War II in Alaska, 

as Told by the Men who Fought There. Edmonds, 

Alberta: Alaska Northwest Publishing, 1984.

Denfeld, Colt D. The Defense of Dutch Harbor, Alaska 

from Military Construction to Base Cleanup. 

Anchorage: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 1987.

Ellis, Dan. “Springfield Rifles and Forgotten Men.” 

Alaska Journal 10 (Autumn 1980): 54-59.

Lorell, John A. The Battle of the Komandorski Islands. 

Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1984.

Morgan, Lael. “An Artist’s War in the Aleutians.” 

Alaska Journal 10 (Summer 1980): 34-39.

Murray, Robert Haynes. The Only Way Home. 

Waycross: Brantley Printing Company, 1986.

Rearden, Jim. “Kiska: One Island’s Moment in 

History.” Alaska (September 1986): 18-21, 49-51. 

Report from the Aleutians. [videorecording]. 47 min. 

Directed by John Huston. Army Pictorial Service. 

Burbank: Viking Video Classics, 1986.

Rourke, Norman E. War Comes to Alaska: The Dutch 

Harbor Attack, June 3-4, 1942. Shippenburg: Burd 

Street Press, 1997.

Webber, Bert. Aleutian Headache: Deadly World 

War II Battles on American Soil. Medford: Webb 

Research, 1993.

Alaska Highway and Canol Pipeline

The Alaska Highway, 1942-1992. [videorecording]. 58 

Selected Bibliography

Alaska at War. Aurora Films. [videorecording]. 60 

min. Produced by Laurence Goldin. Written by 

Bradford Matsen and Laurence Goldin. Anchorage: 

Alaska Video Publishing for Alaska Historical 

Commission, 1987.

Alaska Geographic. Fairbanks, vol. 22, no. 1. 

Anchorage: Alaska Geographic Society, 1991.

——. World War II in Alaska, vol. 22, no. 4. 

Anchorage: Alaska Geographic Society, 1995.

Antonson, Joan M. and William S. Hanable. Alaska’s 

Heritage. Alaska Historical Commission Studies 

in History, no. 133. Anchorage: Alaska Historical 

Society, 1985.

Chandonnet, Fern, ed. Alaska at War, 1941-1945: The 

Forgotten War Remembered. Papers from the 

Alaska at War Symposium, Anchorage, Alaska, 

November 11-13, 1993. Anchorage: Alaska at War 

Committee, 1995.

Cohen, Stan. The Forgotten War: A Pictorial History of 

World War II in Alaska and Northwestern Canada. 

[4 vol.]. Altona, Manitoba: D.W. Friesen and Sons, 

1981.

Drawing the Lines of Battle: Military Art of World War 

II Alaska. Anchorage: Anchorage Museum of 

History and Art, 1989.

Garfield, Brian. The Thousand-Mile War: World War II 

in Alaska and the Aleutians. Fairbanks: University 

of Alaska Press, 1995.

“German Prisoners of War in Alaska: The POW Camp 

at Excursion Inlet.” Alaska Journal 14 (1984): 16-

20.

Hays, Otis E., Jr. “The Silent Years in Alaska: The 

Military Blackout during World War II.” Alaska 

Journal 16 (1986): 140-147.

Lawler, Pat. “Buckner and his Boys Invade Alaska 

– Taking the Territory by Storm.” Alaska Journal 2 

(1981): 84-99.

Morison, Samuel Eliot. History of United States Naval 

Operations in World War II, vol. 7, Aleutians, 

Gilberts and Marshalls, June 1942-April 1944. 

Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 1951.

Naske, Claus-M. and Herman Slotnik. Alaska: A 

History of the 49th State. Norman: University of 

Oklahoma Press, 1987.

Aleutian Campaign

8
A Resource Guide for Teachers and Students

Building the Navy’s Bases in World War II: History 

of the Bureau of Yards and Docks and the Civil 

Engineering Corps, 1940-1946. Washington: U.S. 

Government Printing Office, 1947.

Bush, James D., Jr. Narrative Report of Alaska 

Construction, 1941-1944. Anchorage: Alaska 

Defense Command, 1943.

Cook, Linda. Elmendorf Air Force Base, vol. 1, 

Historic Context of World War II Buildings and 

Structures. Anchorage: U.S. Department of the 

Interior, National Park Service, 1999.

Dod, Karl C. The Corps of Engineers: The War Against 

Japan. Washington D.C.: Center of Military 

History, 1987.

Fowle, Barry, ed. Builders and Fighters: U.S. Army 

Engineers in World War II. Fort Belvoire: U.S. 

Army Corps of Engineers, 1992.

Hesketh, Bob, ed. Three Northern Wartime Projects: 

Alaska Highway, Northwest Staging Route, and 

Canol. Occasional Publication Series, no. 38. 

Edmonton, Alberta: Published jointly by Canadian 

Circumpolar Institute and Edmonton & District 

Historical Society, 1996.

Native Defenders

Delkettie, Buck. “An Alaskan Scout Remembers.” 

In Alaska at War, 1941-1945, edited by Fern 

Chandonnet. Anchorage: Alaska at War 

Committee, 1995.

Hendricks, Charles. “The Eskimos and the Defense of 

Alaska.” Pacific Historical Review 1 (1985): 271-

295.

Hudson, Ray. “Aleuts in Defense of the Homeland.” 

In Alaska at War, 1941-1945, edited by Fern 

Chandonnet. Anchorage: Alaska at War 

Committee, 1995.

Marston, Marvin R. Men of the Tundra: Alaska 

Eskimos at War. New York: October House, 1969.

Morgan, Lael. “Minority Troops and the Alaskan 

Advantage during World War II.” In Alaska at 

War, 1941-1945, edited by Fern Chandonnet. 

Anchorage: Alaska at War Committee, 1995.

Rearden, Jim. Castner’s Cutthroats: Saga of the Alaska 

Scouts. [novel]. Prescott: Wolfe Publishing, 1990.

Salisbury, C.A. Soldiers of the Mists: Minutemen of 

the Alaska Frontier. Missoula: Pictorial Histories 

Publishing, 1992.

Wooley, Chris and Mike Martz. “The Tundra Army: 

Patriots of Arctic Alaska.” In Alaska at War, 1941-

1945, edited by Fern Chandonnet. Anchorage: 

Alaska at War Committee, 1995.

Warplanes and Seacraft

Amme, Carl H., ed. Aleutian Airdales: Stories of 

Navy Fliers in the North Pacific of WWII. Plains: 

min. Written and produced by Tom Morgan for 

Alaska Public Television, KAKM TV. Anchorage: 

Alaska Public Television, 1992.

Brebner, Phyllis Lee. The Alaska Highway: A Personal 

and Historical Account of the Building of the Alaska 

Highway. Erin, Ontario: Boston Mills Press, 1985.

Coates, Kenneth. The Alaska Highway: Papers of the 

40th Anniversary Symposium. Vancouver, B.C.: 

University of British Columbia Press, 1985.

——. The Alaska Highway in World War II: The U.S. 

Army of Occupation in Canada’s Northwest. Tulsa: 

University of Oklahoma Press, 1992.

——. North to Alaska! Fifty Years on the World’s Most 

Remarkable Highway. Fairbanks: University of 

Alaska Press, 1991.

Coates, Kenneth and Judith Powell. “Whitehorse and 

the Building of the Alaska Highway, 1942-1946.” 

Alaska History 4 (Spring 1989): 1-26.

Cohan, Stan. ALCAN and CANOL: A Pictorial History 

of Two Great World War II Construction Projects. 

Missoula: Pictorial Histories Publishing, 1992.

Duesenberg, H. Milton. Alaska Highway Expeditionary 

Force: A Roadbuilder’s Story. Clear Lake: H&M 

Industries, 1994.

Gage, S.R. A Walk on the Canol Road: Exploring the 

First Major Northern Pipeline. Oakville, Ontario: 

Mosaic Press, 1990. 

Hesketh, Bob, ed. Three Northern Wartime Projects: 

Alaska Highway, Northwest Staging Route, and 

Canol. Occasional Publication Series, no. 38. 

Edmonton, Alberta: Published jointly by Canadian 

Circumpolar Institute and Edmonton & District 

Historical Society, 1996.

Karamanski, Theodore J. “The Canol Project: A Poorly 

Planned Pipeline.” Alaska Journal 9 (Autumn 

1979): 17-22.

Krakauer, Jon. “Ice, Mosquitoes and Muskeg – Building 

the Road to Alaska.” Smithsonian (July 1992): 

102-112.

Morgan, Lael. “Forgotten Pioneers.” Alaska (February 

1992): 33-34.

——. “Writing Minorities Out of History: Black 

Builders of the Alcan Highway.” Alaska History 7 

(Fall 1992): 1-13.

Naske, Claus-M.. Paving Alaska’s Trails: The Work 

of the Alaska Road Commission. New York: 

University Press of America, 1986.

Rimley, David. Crooked Road: The Story of the 

Alaska Highway. New York: McGraw Hill Book 

Company, 1976.

Twichell, Heath. Northwest Epic: The Building of the 

Alaska Highway. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 

1992.

Wartime Construction

The Army’s Role in the Building of Alaska. Pamphlet 

360-5. United States Army, 1969.

9
World War II in Alaska

Anchorage: Alaska at War Committee, 1995.

Perras, Galen R. “Canada’s Greenlight Force and the 

Invasion of Kiska, 1943.” In Alaska at War, 1941-

1945, edited by Fern Chandonnet. Anchorage: 

Alaska at War Committee, 1995.

Japanese-American Internment

Daniels, Roger, et al., ed. Japanese Americans from 

Relocation to Redress. Revised Edition. Seattle: 

University of Washington Press, 1986.

Inouye, Ronald K. “For Immediate Sale: Tokyo 

Bathhouse – How World War II Affected Alaska’s 

Japanese Civilians.” In Alaska at War, 1941-1945, 

edited by Fern Chandonnet. Anchorage: Alaska at 

War Committee, 1995.

——. “Harry Sotaro Kawabe: Issei Businessman of 

Seward and Seattle.” Alaska History 5 (Spring 

1990): 34-43. 

Kobayashi, Sylvia K. “I Remember What I Want to 

Forget.” In Alaska at War, 1941-1945, edited by 

Fern Chandonnet. Anchorage: Alaska at War 

Committee, 1995.

Naske, Claus-M. “The Relocation of Alaska’s Japanese 

Residents.” Pacific Northwest Quarterly 74 (July 

1983): 124-132.

Lend-Lease Program

Brandon, Dean R. “War Planes to Russia.” Alaska 

(May 1976): 14-17.

Denfeld, Colt D. Cold Bay in World War II: Fort 

Randall and Russian Naval Lend-lease. U.S. Army 

Corps of Engineers, Alaska District, 1988.

Hays, Otis E., Jr. The Alaska-Siberia Connection: The 

World War II Air Route. Texas A&M University 

Military History Series, 48. College Station: Texas 

A&M University Press, 1996.

——. “White Star, Red Star.” Alaska Journal 12 

(1982): 9-17.

Lake, Gretchen. “Photo Essay: The Russians are 

Coming, the Russians are Coming, Fifty Years Ago, 

the Russians were Coming.” Alaska History 8 

(Spring 1993): 33-41.

Long, Everett A. and Ivan Y. Neganblya. Cobras Over 

the Tundra. Fairbanks: Arktika Publishing, 1992.

Moor, Jay H. World War II in Alaska: The Northwest 

Route: A Bibliography and Guide to Primary 

Sources. Alaska Historical Commission Studies 

in History, no. 175. Anchorage: Alaska Historical 

Commission, 1985.

Smith, Blake W. Warplanes to Alaska: The Story of a 

WWII Military Supply Lifeline to Alaska and Russia 

through the Canadian Wilderness. Surrey, B.C.: 

Hancock House, 1998.

Japanese Naval Power

Agawa, Hiroyuki. The Reluctant Admiral: Yamamoto 

and the Imperial Navy. New York: Kodansha 

Plainsman Publishing, 1987.

Blair, Clay. Silent Victory: The U.S. Submarine War 

Against Japan. Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1975.

Freeman, Elmer. Those Navy Guys and their PBYs: The 

Aleutian Solution. Spokane: Kedging Publishing, 

1992.

Mills, Stephen E. Arctic War Planes: Alaska Aviation 

of World War II: A Pictorial History of Bush Flying 

with the Military in the Defense of Alaska and 

America. New York: Bonanza Books, 1978.

Rearden, Jim. Koga’s Zero: The Fighter that Changed 

World War II. Missoula: Pictorial Histories 

Publishing, 1995.

——. Cracking the Zero Mystery: How the U.S. 

Learned to Beat Japan’s Vaunted World War II 

Fighter Plane. Harrisburg: Stackpole Books, 1990.

Aleut Evacuation

Aleut Evacuation: The Untold Story. [videorecording]. 

60 min. Directed by Michael and Mary Jo Thill. 

Girdwood: Gaff Rigged Productions for the 

Aleutian/Pribilof Islands Association, 1992.

Kirkland, John C. The Relocation and Internment of 

the Aleuts during World War II. 8 vol. Anchorage: 

Aleutian/Pribilof Islands Association, 1981.

Kohlhoff, Dean. “’It Only Makes My Heart 

Want to Cry’: How Aleuts Faced the Pain of 

Evacuation.” In Alaska at War, 1941-1945, edited 

by Fern Chandonnet. Anchorage: Alaska at War 

Committee, 1995.

——. When the Wind was a River: Aleut Evacuation in 

World War II. Seattle: University of Washington 

Press in association with Aleutian/Pribilof Islands 

Association, 1995.

Smith, Barbara Sweetland. Making it Right: Restitution 

for Churches Damaged and Lost during the Aleut 

Relocation in World War II. Anchorage: Aleutian/

Pribilof Islands Association, 1993.

Canadian Participation

Adleman, R.H. and G. Walton. The Devil’s Brigade. 

Philadelphia: Chilton Books, 1966.

Bezeau, M.V. “Strategic Cooperation: The Canadian 

Commitment to the Defense of Alaska in the 

Second World War.” In Alaska at War, 1941-1945, 

edited by Fern Chandonnet. Anchorage: Alaska at 

War Committee, 1995.

Dziuban, Stanley W. Military Relations between the 

United States and Canada, 1939-1945. United 

States Army in World War II, Special Studies. 

Washington: Department of the Army, 1959.

Neely, Alastair. “The First Special Service Force 

and Canadian Involvement at Kiska.” In Alaska 

at War, 1941-1945, edited by Fern Chandonnet. 

10
A Resource Guide for Teachers and Students

Benedict, Bradley H. Ski Troops in the Mud, Kiska 

Island Recaptured: A Saga of the North Pacific 

Campaign in the Aleutian Islands in World War 

II with Special Emphasis on its Culmination Led 

by the Forerunners of the 10th Mountain Division. 

Littleton: H.B.&J.C. Benedict, 1990.

Cloe, John Haile. The Aleutian Warriors: A History of 

the 11th Air Force & Fleet Air Wing 4. Missoula: 

Anchorage Chapter – Air Force Association and 

Pictorial Histories Publishing Company, 1990.

Cloe, John Haile and Michael F. Monaghan. Top Cover 

for America: The Air Force in Alaska, 1920-

1983. Missoula: Anchorage Chapter – Air Force 

Association and Pictorial Histories Publishing 

Company, 1984.

Goldstein, Donald M. The Williwaw War: The 

Arkansas National Guard in the Aleutians in World 

War II. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 

1992.

Johnson, Robert Erwin. Bering Sea Escort: Life Aboard 

a Coast Guard Cutter in World War II. Annapolis: 

Naval Institute Press, 1992.

Leahy, Joseph M. “The Coast Guard at War in 

Alaska.” In Alaska at War, 1941-1945, edited 

by Fern Chandonnet. Anchorage: Alaska at War 

Committee, 1995.

Woodman, Lyman. Duty Station Northwest: The U.S. 

Army in Alaska and Western Canada, 1867-1987. 

Vol. 2. Anchorage: Alaska Historical Society, 

 1997.

U.S. troops carry wounded 

comrades during the battle 

to retake Attu, May 11-28, 

1943. The battle claimed 

the lives of 549 Americans 

and left twice that number 

wounded. Approximately 

2,600 Japanese soldiers 

died during the fighting or 

committed suicide before 

being captured. Only 

29 were taken prisoner. 

(Archives and Manuscripts 

Department, University of 

Alaska Anchorage)

International, 1979.

Dull, Paul S. A Battle History of the Imperial Japanese 

Navy, 1941-1945. Annapolis: U.S. Naval Institute 

Press, 1978. 

Francillon, Rene J. Japanese Navy Bombers of World 

War Two. Garden City: Doubleday, 1971.

Fuchida, Mitsuo and Okumiya Masatake. Midway: The 

Battle that Doomed Japan. Annapolis: U.S. Naval 

Institute Press, 1955.

The Japanese Navy in World War II. Annapolis: U.S. 

Naval Institute, 1969.

Lorelli, John A. The Battle of the Komandorski Islands. 

Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1984.

Marder, Arthur Jacob. Old Friends, New Enemies: 

The Royal Navy and the Imperial Japanese Navy: 

Strategic Illusions, 1936-1941. New York: Oxford 

University Press, 1981.

Takahashi, Hisashi. “The Japanese Campaign in Alaska 

as Seen from a Strategic Perspective.” In Alaska 

at War, 1941-1945, edited by Fern Chandonnet. 

Anchorage: Alaska at War Committee, 1995.

Watts, Anthony J. Japanese Warships of World War II. 

Garden City: Doubleday, 1967.

Branches and Units

Amme, Carl H., ed. Aleutian Airdales: Stories of 

Navy Fliers in the North Pacific of WWII. Plains: 

Plainsman Publishing, 1987.

11
World War II in Alaska

National Archives and Records Administration

Pacific Alaska Region

654 West Third Avenue

Anchorage, AK 99501-2145

Phone: (907) 271-2441

E-mail: archives@alaska.nara.gov

Internet: http://www.nara.gov/regional/anchorag.html

The National Archives contain vast collections of 

U.S. government records and material entrusted to the 

National Archives by various agencies. All aspects of 

Alaska’s WWII experience are represented in military 

records, municipal records, census information, and 

historical photographs.

Z.J. Loussac Library

Anchorage Municipal Libraries

3600 Denali Street

Anchorage, AK 99503-6093

Phone: (907) 343-2975

Internet: http://www.ci.anchorage.ak.us/Services/

Departments/Culture/Library/index.html

Loussac Library has a superb Alaska collection 

containing the majority of the books and articles 

cited in this bibliography. The library is also home 

to a microfiche collection of Alaska’s newspapers. 

The Loussac Library is one of the best places to find 

material on Alaska during WWII, either in person or by 

interlibrary loan.

FAIRBANKS:

Pioneer Air Museum

Interior and Arctic Alaska Aeronautical Foundation

Location: Alaskaland Park

P.O. Box 70437

Fairbanks, Alaska 99707

Phone: (907) 451-0037

E-mail: akttt@imagi.net

Internet: http://www.ptialaska.net/~akttt/aviat.html

The Pioneer Air Museum has on display photographs, 

Russian uniforms, and other memorabilia related to the 

Lend-Lease Program, which ferried aircraft to the Soviet 

front via Alaska. The museum is also home to a singleengine Norseman plane used during the war for cargo 

delivery and search-and-rescue missions.

Elmer E. Rasmuson Library

 

 

ANCHORAGE:

Alaska Aviation Heritage Museum

4721 Aircraft Drive

Anchorage, AK 99502

Phone: (907) 248-5325

E-mail: aahm@alaska.net

Internet: http://www.alaska.net/~aahm/

The Alaska Aviation Heritage Museum contains displays 

of both Japanese and American WWII memorabilia from 

the Aleutian Campaign, including uniforms, weapons, 

flags, insignia, and historic photographs. The collection 

also includes a Catalina Flying Boat and the wreck of 

a P-40 Warhawk fighter, both used during the Aleutian 

Campaign.

Anchorage Museum of History and Art

121 West Seventh Avenue

Anchorage, AK 99501

Phone: (907) 343-4326

E-mail: museum@ci.anchorage.ak.us 

Internet: http://www.ci.anchorage.ak.us/Services/

Departments/Culture/Museum/index.html

The Alaska Gallery of the Anchorage Museum of 

History and Art is home to three displays portraying 

WWII Alaska. The first display includes the uniform 

and rifle of an Alaska Scout and details about the 

Alaskan Territorial Guard; the second is a diorama of 

aircraft used during the Aleutian Campaign; and the 

third is a vision of life inside a Quonset hut.

Consortium Library

University of Alaska Anchorage

3211 Providence Drive

Anchorage, AK 99508

Phone: (907) 786-1825

General Collections Internet: http://www.uaa.alaska.

edu/lib/

Archives and Manuscripts Dept. Internet: http://www.

uaa.alaska.edu/lib/archives.html

Consortium Library contains an impressive collection 

of books relating to Alaska’s WWII history. Its 

Archives and Manuscripts Department frequently 

exhibits material drawn from extensive collections 

of photographs, personal records, and government 

documents relating to Alaska’s war experiences.

Local Resources: Museums and Libraries

12
A Resource Guide for Teachers and Students

University of Alaska Fairbanks

310 Tanana Drive

Fairbanks, AK 99775-6800

Phone: (907) 474-7224

Internet: http://zorba.uafadm.alaska.edu/library

Rasmuson Library includes an extensive Alaska 

collection which contains the majority of the works 

cited in this bibliography. In the same building are the 

archives of the Alaska & Polar Regions Department. 

This archive is one of the richest sources of historical 

materials concerning WWII in Alaska. 

JUNEAU:

Alaska State Library

Location: 8th floor, State Office Building

P.O. Box 110571

Juneau, AK 99811-0571

Phone: (907) 465-2925

General Collection Internet: http://www.eed.state.ak.us/

lam/library.html

Historical Collection Internet: http://www.eed.state.

ak.us/lam/library/hist/hist.html

The Alaska State Library is an excellent place to begin 

searching for books and articles about WWII Alaska. In 

addition, the library’s historical collection contains oneof-a-kind material and rare books on the same theme.

KODIAK:

Online Resources: Museums and Libraries

Alaska Library Web Pages

http://www.alaska.net/~akla/libweb.html

This site offers a list of links to library web pages throughout the state and to SLED, which provides access to 

library catalogs and related resources. Alaska Library Web Pages is maintained by the Alaska Library Association.

Alaska Library Directory

http://www.eed.state.ak.us/lam/library/dev/aslld99.html

This site provides a list of basic user information for every library in Alaska. The site is maintained by the Alaska 

State Library.

Museums and Historical Societies in Alaska

http://www.eed.state.ak.us/lam/museum/list.html

Here you will find a complete list of Alaska’s museums and historical societies, each with user information and a 

description of facilities. The site is maintained by Alaska State Museums.

Statewide Library Electronic Doorway (SLED)

http://sled.alaska.edu/

SLED offers access to library catalogs and other resources of interest to Alaskans under the slogan “information 

resources for, about and by Alaskans.”

The Museum of the Aleutians opened in 1999 and is 

still in the process of displaying its collections, which 

include weapons, historical photographs, uniforms, 

diaries, flightlogs, and Japanese flags from the Aleutian 

Campaign.

Baranov Museum/Kodiak Historical Society

101 Marine Way

Kodiak, AK 99615

Phone: (907) 486-5920

Fax: (907) 486-3166

The Baranov Museum houses both historical 

photographs and memoirs relating to the Aleutian 

Campaign and the role of the Kodiak Naval Operating 

Base in particular.

UNALASKA:

Museum of the Aleutians

P.O. Box 648

Unalaska, AK 99685-0648

Phone: (907) 581-5150

E-mail: museum@arctic.net

Internet: http://www.aleutians.org/

13
World War II in Alaska

Russian crews in Nome gather under the wing of a U.S. bomber destined for the RussianGerman battlefront. The Lend-Lease Program trained Russian pilots in Fairbanks and sent more 

than 5000 aircraft from the contiguous United States, through Canada and Alaska, and westward 

through Siberia. (Christianson Collection, No. 79-29-199, Alaska & Polar Regions Department, UAF)

Black engineers build a trestle bridge during the construction of the Alaska Canada 

Military Highway. Black G.I.’s made up roughly forty percent of the estimated 11,500 

Army troops who in just nine months completed a wilderness highway linking Alaska 

with the contiguous United States. (Anchorage Museum of History and Art) 

14
A Resource Guide for Teachers and Students

Internet Sites

The following sites contain information about WWII in Alaska. An Internet search under “World War II” will yield 

many others which examine the war as a global phenomenon or focus on specific events during the war years. 

A Note to Students: Internet sites can be very useful resources, but you should be cautious. 

You might think of the Internet as a bulletin board where anyone can post a notice – if you use 

online information, you must decide if your source is reliable. Check with your teacher if you 

are not sure, and check again for the best way to cite the material you decide to use.

Aleutian Islands: The U.S. Army Campaigns of World War II

http://metalab.unc.edu/hyperwar/USA/C-Aleutians/USA-C-Aleutians.html

This site contains a detailed U.S. Army article on the Aleutian Campaign. Included also are maps, illustrations, and 

a list of suggested reading.

Aleutians Campaign, June 1942-August 1943: United States Navy Combat Narrative

http://metalab.unc.edu/hyperwar/USN/USN-CN-Aleutians.html

During WWII the U.S. Naval Historical Center began producing combat narratives of specific naval campaigns. 

This once-restricted document is offered by the NHC not as an official history but as a view through the eyes of the 

Navy in 1943.

Fort Glenn Historic Site

http://alaskanatural.com/military.html

This site is maintained by the Bering Pacific Ranch, a beef ranch and tourist location on Umnak Island in the 

Aleutians. Included are WWII photographs and declassified files which provide an almost day-to-day account of 

military actions in the Aleutians and all of Alaska between 1941 and 1945.

Photos from the Aleutian Campaign

http://eubank-web.com/Donald/Aleutian/index.html

This site includes an impressive collection of WWII photographs taken in Adak and other Aleutian sites. The photos 

belonged to Dr. Will R. Eubank, an aviation medical examiner in the Army Air Corps. Together they help to tell the 

story of Eubank’s twelve month tour during the Aleutian Campaign.

World War II Combat in the Pacific

http://www.wpafb.af.mil/museum/history/wwii/combatp.htm

This site is maintained by the U.S. Air Force Museum on Wright-Patterson AFB, Dayton, Ohio. It offers a series of 

short narratives concerning all aspects of the War in the Pacific, including the Aleutian Campaign.

Recent Archeological Investigations of World War II Materials in Kiska Harbor, Aleutian Islands

http://www.nps.gov/scru/kis~1.htm

This article by Larry E. Murray and Daniel J. Leniban describes efforts to document underwater WWII remains 

in the Aleutian Islands in a combined effort by the National Park Service, U.S. Navy, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service. Sonar scans and diving crews were used to locate submerged ships, submarines, and other materials.

Sitka’s WWII Site

http://mchunter1.tripod.com/sitkaww2.html

This site, designed by a student named Mathew Hunter, is an excellent source for researching Sitka Naval Operating 

Base and Sitka’s military history. In addition to an historical narrative the site offers historic photographs, maps, 

and present-day snapshots of Sitka’s military installations. 

15
World War II in Alaska

Canadian troops display a “Rising Sun” flag found on Kiska following 

the Japanese retreat from the island on July 28, 1943. The evacuation, 

which took place during stormy weather, went undetected by Allied 

forces who continue to bomb the island for nearly three weeks. On 

August 15, an invasion force of Canadian and American troops met 

only four weather and costly “friendly fire.” 

(National Archives)

This photograph of Japanese pilots was developed from film recovered at Attu Island following the 

island’s recapture by U.S. forces in May 1943. The battle to reclaim Attu was one of the bloodiest of the 

War in the Pacific. (National Archives)
A Resource Guide for Teachers and Students

“Headquarters, camouflage Umnak” by Ogden Pleissner. (Anchorage Museum of History and Art) (Anchorage