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US Citizens in Alaska Taken Captive by Japanese

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WW II Memorial: Fairbanks, Alaska

The Role of Aleuts During WWII

When my husband Paul and I fulfilled a long dream by traveling to Alaska four years ago, we learned so much about this magnificent place.

But when we left, we realized that we had barely scratched the surface of the history and story of our 49th state.

Aleuts during WW2
WW II Memorial: Fairbanks, Alaska

While in Fairbanks, we visited the WWII Memorial, and read several plaques honoring the military who served in Alaska. However, even there I don’t recall any mention of Native Alaskans from the Aleutian Island, the Aleuts, who suffered at the hands of the Japanese. 42 of these proud people and one white woman were taken prisoner by the Japanese when they invaded the islands to the west of mainland Alaska. (source)

I hadn’t realized that the Japanese had actually landed on American soil. And, I had no idea that as a result of the invasion, American citizens were taken to Japan where they lived for three years under harsh conditions. More than half starved or died of diseases. Only a few were returned to Alaska at the end of the war, but they could not return to their home of Attu due to buried explosives left behind by the Japanese. Until a recent news story, I had presumed that the invasion consisted of only a few soldiers easily fended off by US military.

However, headlines and articles describing “carnage”, “fierce combat”  “brutal” and “one of the largest banzai charges of the Pacific campaign” spoke of the reality. (source)

Two different garrisons totaling more than 4,000 soldiers invaded Attu and Kiska in the summer and fall of 1942. They began building an airfield and fortifications and became entrenched to fight off attacks from Americans and Canadians.  (source)   In addition to ground troops, they were bombarded and bombed  by the American Army Air Corps when weather permitted . The US Navy attacked from the Bering Sea and protected harbors and bays with many skirmishes with the enemy. Both sides suffered high percentage of losses from not only combat, but the harsh landscape and weather of the Aleutian Islands. Due mostly to weather, however, it was not until the following spring that intense battles for the Aleutian Islands occurred in earnest.

 

Aleuts during WW2
The  weather of Alaska added to the death toll, especially for infantrymen outfitted for the tropics instead of the arctic regions.

 

Aleuts during WW2
Just going to the movies or chow lines became a challenge during spring thaws.

 

“The final casualty counts were stunningly high for both sides, especially considering that Attu was an island so remote in the North Pacific. Fighting nearly to the last man, the Japanese suffered 2,351 killed as counted by the Americans.  The actual number could be hundreds higher because some Japanese bodies might have been blown apart and made impossible to count. Also, the Japanese regularly buried their dead in secret locations to hide their casualty numbers. The Americans suffered 3,929 casualties. Of that number, 549 were killed in combat; many more were killed by friendly fire or by booby traps installed by the Japanese.” (source) 

Amazing that so many American soldiers were killed to protect our country from invasion from the north during WW II. Few know about these events that occurred only 6 months after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

If white Americans had been captured on US soil and taken to Japan, I wonder if this part of our history would be basically forgotten. In May of 1945,  a woman and five children were killed by a Japanese balloon bomb. The enemy had launched between 9,000 and 10,000,  hoping they would start damage and cause damage on the west coast. An article ten years ago stated that,  “the only civilians killed on US soil lost their lives 70 years ago yesterday.”  (source)  If the wife of the radio operator who was killed by the Japanese soon after they landed on Attu had read that, it must have been heart-breaking. After witnessing the murder of her husband,  she was taken to Japan along with the Native Alaskans for the duration of the war.

Aleuts during WW2
Monument to the Inuit People near the WWII Memorial in Fairbanks.

 

I mentioned earlier an article that re-ignited my interest in Alaska during WW II. This article contained details about the discovery of part of a US Navy destroyer, The USS Abner Read.  It was lost in the Bering Sea during the War due to an underwater explosion.  You can learn more HERE.

 

Aleuts during WW2
Attu was so forbidding and desolate, the US Army Corps of Engineers / Camouflage Division built a fake tree.

 

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Aleuts during World War 2
Source: http://www.nps.gov
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Lt. Elsie Ott—First Flight Nurse of WW2

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Elsie Ott First Flight Nurse of WW II

Lieutenant Elsie Ott had never flown before being assigned to the first medical evac. flight.

On that flight Lieutenant Ott would have the  lives of several soldiers in her hands. Doctors did not even clear the patients for air travel, much less a trip that would take them almost half way around the world.

Lieutenant Elsie Ott was a nurse at a military hospital in Karachi, India (now Pakistan) in January 1943. She had never flown and had no training about the effects of high altitude on any type of injuries or illness. However, she was given orders to accompany five soldiers in serious condition to Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, D.C.

She was given no list of supplies needed or directions as to what to expect—just to be ready to leave the next day. Lt. Ott used her nursing intuition to gather basic medicine and equipment she felt might be necessary during the flight that would take an entire week. “Ott was responsible for the medical care of five casualties during the flight. Two patients were paralyzed from the waist down, one had tuberculosis, one had glaucoma and          

 another patient had manic-depressive psychosis. She collected a bedpan, urinal, aspirin tablets, and other medical supplies during her flight preparations. She also received blankets, pillowcases, sheets, two Army cots and two mattresses. ‘A medical department staff sergeant with chronic arthritis, who had recently been a patient himself, accompanied Ott on the flight as her medical attendant’.” (Source)  Because the Germans controlled Europe and Northern Africa, the flight had to take a course across the middle of Africa. Along the way 11 more patients were added.

A detailed description of the flight with it’s many stops for refueling and overnight layovers is a testament to the human spirit to overcome sleep deprivation, inept officials, and multitude of diverse tasks to complete the job. Judith Barger’s book BEYON.D THE CALL OF DUTY  Army Flight Nursing in World War II,  details Lt. Elsie Ott’s odyssey. This wonderful book is a tribute to flight nurses, and Barger gives a vivid picture of the terrible ordeal of Lieutenant Ott. Years later,  Elsie  told an interviewer that she was so tired when the flight arrived in Washington, she was unable to answer simple questions and requested permission to fill out paperwork the next day. She couldn’t even remember her name and had to sneak a peek at her dog tags to provide that information.

As a result of the success of her mission, the bureaucrats who thought medical evacuations and a flight nurse program were ridiculous to consider had a change of heart. This mission would have taken at least two months by air and ship;  therefore the first school for training flight nurses was soon opened at Bowman Army Air Field in Kentucky.  Due to her actions,

Lt. Elsie Ott was the first woman to be awarded the Air Medal by the United States Army.

Lt. Elsie Ott receives Air Medal from Brigadier General Fred  Borum

The citation accompanying the award read:

Second Lieutenant Elsie S. Ott, Army Nurse Corps, United States Army.  For meritorious achievement while participating in an aerial flight from India to the United States January 17 to 23, 1943. During this flight Lieutenant Ott served as nurse for five patients who were being evacuated from India to Washing D.C. This was the pioneer movement of hospital personnel by air over such a great distance. Several of these patients were suffering from serious ailments which required constant attendance and vigilance on the part of Lieutenant Ott. In addition to her nursing duties, she was responsible for arranging for the feeding and housing of the patents en route, the transportation and stowing of their baggage, as well as making all financial arrangements involving their feeding and care while at ground bases not under the control of the Army Air Forces. The successful transportation of these patients was made possible by the efficiency and professional skill of Lieutenant Ott and her unflagging devotion to duty. It further demonstrated the practicability of long-range evacuation by air of seriously ill and wounded military personnel from theaters of operations and reflected great credit upon Lieutenant Ott and the Army Nurse Corps. (Barger, 33-34)

In addition to all of the work mentioned in the citation, Lt. Ott also kept extensive notes about practical needs that were lacking on her flight. These would be of great benefit to the patients as well as the staff on future flights. She said it would be especially helpful for nurses to wear slacks instead of a dress or skirt. After this ground-breaking flight she was required to attend the second class of flight nurses training at Bowman.  She continued in this work through her time in the Army Air Corps. Before leaving the military in 1946 to marry, Lt. Ott was promoted to Captain.

Lt. Elsie Ott would have been very pleased to have been able to wear slacks during her history making flight. At that time, nurses were required to ALWAYS wear dresses or skirts.

  1. Honoring the American Heroine: The Story of 2nd Lt. Elsie S. Ott; Purple Heart Foundation; https://purpleheartfoundation.wordpress.com/2017/03/10/honoring-the-female-heroine-2nd-lt-elsie-s-ott/; 15 March 2017; 9 July 2018.
  2. Barger, Judith. Beyond The Call of Duty. Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press. 2013.

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World War 2 Flight Nurses

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Father John McHugh, B-24 Bombardier, Miracle Man

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Consolidated Aircraft built the “B-24 Liberators [which] were not designed for crew comfort. The bombers were not pressurized or heated. Crews wore oxygen masks above 10,000 feet and were exposed to temperatures as low as 50 degrees below zero. Crew members’ heated jackets didn’t work most of the time. They were heavy, but not heavy enough to keep out subzero temps for up to 10 hours at a stretch.” ( https://inmilitary.com/world-war-ii-bombardier-shot-everything/ )

During the early days/years of writing Our Duty, my daughter, Kristine, told me that I really needed to include Father John McHugh, a priest she had met over the weekend. I explained that the book was about people who I knew and their contributions during WW II; it was mainly honoring family members. Anyone who knows Kristine is aware that she is pretty adamant in her convictions, and also pretty persuasive. (If for no other reason than she just wears you down.) Because of her story concerning a man I knew nothing about, a priest who had lived thirty years of his life helping the poor of Belize began inching his way into my book.

I really needed to include Father John McHugh,

 By this time Father was ministering to Native Americans in Mora, New Mexico. Through phone calls at first, which entailed much yelling due to Father’s hearing impairment, (He would rather the money for hearing aids be spent helping the poor.) and later through “turtle mail,” a total stranger was also inching into my heart, and becoming better known than many family members.

John McHugh was just a twenty year-old farm boy from Oklahoma when he, like millions of others, joined the military to fight the Nazis and the “Japs.” He became part of the new Army-Air Corps because he was enthralled with the idea of flying. After extensive testing, both physical and mental, John was selected for officer training as a bombardier. In this precarious place, aptly called the “greenhouse” he had a bird’s eye view of the sky and the earth around him. This was not a great place to be on a bomber when other planes are attempting to  shoot you from the skies.

Looking at the front of the B-24 in the WW II museum

When my husband Paul and I visited the WW II museum in New Orleans, LA, one of the first things I saw was the front end of a B-24. I suddenly realized what an awful position the bombardier had—even more so than the ball turret gunners. The area was cramped and the airman inside was a sitting duck, visible from all but the back side. It was definitely like sitting in a flying greenhouse.
In her award-winning book Unbroken, Laura Hillenbrand detailed the critical job of the bombardier. The main character of the book Louis Zamperini told her, “For flat runs he (the bombardier) used the Norden bombsight, an extremely sophisticated analog computer that, at $8,000,cost more than twice the price of the average American home [at that time]. On a straight bombing run …[the bombardier] would visually locate the target, make calculations, and feed information on speed, altitude, wind, and other factors into the device. The bombsight would then take over flying the plane, follow a precise path to the target, calculate the drop angle, and release the bombs at the optimal moment. Once the bombs were gone, [the bombardier] would yell, ‘Bombs away!’ and the pilot would take control again.” After the bombs had been dropped, he would climb out of the cramped greenhouse and man a machine gun to fight off attacking enemy fighters.

Looking at the front of the B-24 in the WW II museum, I could finally understand Father John’s description of how he, the navigator and nose gunner were cut off from the rest of the plane, and miraculously survived when it exploded in midair  killing the rest of the crew in March of 1945. It was only the hand of God that allowed those three men to parachute into the hands of the Germans and to a POW camp. But, they were alive, even though the military thought all on the bomber were killed.

When Father John told me that he was a bombardier, I had never heard of that job and definitely had no idea what he did on the plane. In fact, talking with Father John, I was surprised to learn that bomber crews were comprised of 8-12 men.

My visits with this wonderful priest were both educational and entertaining. However, upon meeting him in person, I was also struck by his humility, of both his time during the war and his life helping the poor. Father John will be the topic of more posts.

If you would like to enjoy some of Father John’s antics, visit this  YouTube channel.
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About This Blog

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This blog is an endeavor to shine a light on some of those humble heroes of the WW II.
If you ever think back to the long ago (longer for some of us) days of grade school, what do you most remember? Recess, of course, and if you were lucky to have wonderful cooks like Mrs. Demming and Mrs Nigg, the aroma and to-die-for cinnamon rolls, breads, and casseroles will always be a special memory.  Running a close race for my favorite memory is the time after lunch if our teachers often read to us. This was when I could enter magical worlds and become a part of the story. I could fly away to tropical islands with Robinson Crusoe or could overcome problems with Meg and her sisters in Little Women. However, a very small book, one not nearly as well-known as many, was much more influential in my future life. Snow Treasure by Marie McSwigan ignited a love of history. Set in Norway during WW II, the book describes the clandestine activities of the children who risked their lives to save more than nine million dollars of gold from the national treasury. They had to sled wealth of their country past the Nazis who had taken over their land.  Snow Treasure by Marie McSwigan ignited a love of history.

This book and others in the historical “fiction” genre made me realize that real heroes were seldom famous or even recognized.  It’s the common things people have done day to day throughout history to defeat injustice and insanity that have preserved our culture.  The stage manager in Thorton Wilder’s play Our Town states, “Babylon once had two million people in it, and all we know about ’em is the names of the kings and some copies of . . .  contracts for the sale of slaves. Yet every night all those families sat down to supper, and the father came home from his work .  . . And even in Greece and Rome, all we know about the real life of the people is what we can piece together out of the joking poems and the comedies”. . .and histories.   The play goes on to show that the everyday person who does what needs to be done each day is the true hero we seldom appreciate.

 Babylon once had two million people in it, and all we know about ’em is the names of the kings and . . .

This blog is an endeavor to shine a light on some of those humble heroes of the WW II. When Tom Browkaw published The Greatest Generation, my first thought was, That is the book I was going to write someday. I wanted elderly friends and family to be recognized, if only for a few moments, for their sacrifices. As I researched my soon-to-be-published-novel,  it suddenly occurred to me that I paid to take two graduate level WW II college classes. The contributions of women were never mentioned. Seems the War was fought and won by the generals and admirals.  Hopefully this blog Nurses, Airmen, and the Home-front will begin to remedy that oversight as some less academic books have done, and perhaps the blog will whet your appetite to learn more about the generation that did so much to change the world. When my book is finally published late this year, Just Doin’ Our Duty will relate much more.

If you were a visitor to my defunct blog, (below), which died from TD –technical difficulty-you may recognize a few people and ideas from the posts on the “Humble Heroes.” With help from some tech savvy friends, I am hoping that you will be able to leave comments and share stories if you want.  Your ideas will be appreciated and I will do my best to reply.

Inspiration and Meditations Prompted by WWII Nurses, Humble Heroes & Homefront

Thoughts inspired by the lives and ideals of parents, relatives and friends during WW II

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