Books

Last Letters from Attu

The True Story of Etta Jones, Alaska Pioneer and Japanese POW  by Mary Breu

ISBN-10: 0882408100, ISBN-13: 978-0882408101  

Web Site: http://www.lastlettersfromattu.com/default.asp

Etta Jones, my great-aunt, was the first female Caucasian taken prisoner from American soil by a foreign enemy since the War of 1812. The historical incident took place in June, 1942, when the Japanese invaded Attu, Alaska, the westernmost island in the Aleutian Chain. Until now, the sequence of events leading up to her capture as well as her experiences in Japanese POW camps for thirty-nine months have never been accurately documented. Hers is a story of incredible bravery and courage when faced with adversity. Mary Breu.

Cover photo from the book "Ichimai no shashin o otte Aryushan o yuku" by Masami Sugiyama

The Last Flight of Bomber 31
by Ralph Wetterhan

Harrowing Tales of American and Japanese Pilots Who Fought in World War II's Arctic Air Campaign by Ralph Wetterhan. ISBN-13: 978-0786713608

Through meticulous research and unprecedented interviews with Japanese and American combatants, award-winning author Ralph Wetterhahn provides a breathtaking account of the nose-to-tail air war between American and Japanese flyers above the Bering Sea. Dubbed riders of the “Empire Express,” American pilots stationed in the Aleutians flew nine-hour missions, 1,500 miles round-trip in subzero temperatures, to bomb Japanese installations in the Kuril Islands. While on his ongoing quest to give a full account of MIAs and POWs, Wetterhahn investigated the crash sites of two Empire Express planes found in the Soviet Far East in 2000 and 2001, and here re-creates their crews’ daunting exploits. With unrivaled mastery of aviation, warfare, and military forensic evidence, Wetterhahn rescues from obscurity the final moments of U.S. Navy pilot Walt S. Whitman, who made a forced landing with his crew on the Kamchatka Peninsula. He also details the missions flown by Japan’s pilots and the fate of Japanese captured by the Soviets and interned in Siberia. This is a moving testament to the impulse to account for all servicemen left behind. (Amazon.com)

It is a great description of the US Navy Lockheed PV-1 Ventura bomber missions flown from Attu to bomb the Kuril Islands and the 21st century discovery of one of the downed bombers on the Kamchatka Peninsula. The plane was also the subject of a PBS Nova episode which I have yet to see. NOVA | Last Flight of Bomber 31 | PBS A

A picture of one of these planes is on my dad's website http://andyk00.wix.com/15-tow-sq-11th-usaaf#!untitled/zoom/c1n0f/imagecf9

(Andy Kozlowski)

The Forgotten War by Stan Cohen, Library of Congress Catalog Card no. 81-80570. This is a four-volume set, and has pictures of the U.S.S. St. Mihiel, John Fahey's ship seeing duty in the Aleutians! (Ref. John Fahey)

Volume 1: ISBN 0-933126-13-1.
Volume 2: ISBN 0-933126-70-0
Volume 3: ISBN 0-929521-30-7
Volume 4: ISBN 0-929521-64-1

From Rene Thibault: This is a pictorial history of WWII in Alaska and Northwestern Canada. To quote in part from the intro, "In most combat theaters of the 2nd World War the combatants had to fight only each other. In Alaska and Northwestern Canada, however, they also did battle with the weather, the wilderness and boredom. This remote territory was probably the war's least known and least publicized combat zone. the books can be bought at Amazon.com or can be ordered from the author for $14.95 each at the following address: Pictorial Histories Publishing Co. Inc, 713 South Third Street West, Missoula, MT  59801. If you can't find these books via Amazon.com, here's the link to Pictorial Histories Publishing homepage:

http://www.pictorialhistoriespublishing.com/stans4.htm

Men of the Invisible War by Joe Kotvas
ISBN 978-1-937129-34-7 

The true story of a war (with sixty photographs) that was kept from the American people, a war fought right in its own backyard from June 1942 through September 1943. 

It tells of how the governments of both the United States and Japan tried to keep a part of WWII secret and how it was years before citizens had any idea it ever happened. It's a story of love, faith, and hardships, suffering and dying...from a perspective seen by both sides of the conflict.

www.kotvasbooks.com

jkotvas@aol.com

www.xlibris.com/IanWBeaton.html

www.xlibris.com/TheyAlsoServe.html

My book can be purchased from Barns and Noble, Borders, amazon.com or from the publisher.  I think anyone who served in the Aleutians during WWII would get a real kick reading it. (Ref. Ian Beaton)

(NOTE: I finished reading Ian's book on the 7th of July, 2004. I can attest to the fact that regardless of when you lived on Shemya, you will find a lot of common experiences with Ian even to this very day! This book is a great read, describing day-to-day life on the Shemya of WWII times. George Smith)

War Comes To Alaska by Norman Edward Rourke
The Dutch Harbor Attack, June 3-4, 1942.
ISBN 1-57249-028-4

The Japanese attacked Dutch Harbor during the early hours of 3 June, 1942, and again in the afternoon of 4 June. These two attacks were but small parts of a large overall plan to take the island of Midway, draw the U.S. Pacific Naval Fleet into a decisive battle at sea, and to occupy the outer islands of the Aleutian Chain. This book tells the story of the Dutch Harbor attack from both the American and Japanese points of view. Kept secret for morale and security reasons, the Japanese attack and ultimate invasion of the Aleutians was off limits to the American press.

KISKA - The Japanese Occupation of an Alaska Island by Brendan Coyle

Published by University of Alaska Press (Fairbanks), distributed by University of Chicago Press, to be published September 2014. Brendan Coyle's upcoming new book records 51 days in 2009 spent camped on Kiska while surveying the island for signs of the Japanese occupation.

WAR ON OUR DOORSTEP by Brendan Coyle

ISBN: 1-894384-46-6. The first enemy occupation of U.S. territory since the War of 1812 occurred when Japanese troops stormed the Aleutian Islands in 1942. Bloody conflict raged through the following years, as American and Canadian troops defended the northern front.

As the war continued, a Japanese airplane dropped bombs on Oregon, while submarines lurked off Washington and British Columbia. Using the westerly winds as an ally, Tokyo directed a battalion of balloon-bombs that drifted to North America's coast and randomly wreaked havoc. War on our Doorstep presents the fascinating history of a war largely hidden from the public as governments attempted to avert panic from California to Alaska following the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

Sixty years later, the fascinating events of that era and their impact on both the American and Canadian psyches remain virtually unknown to much of the world. After conducting decades of research and interviews with veterans on both sides of the conflict, author Brendan Coyle reveals details of the previously unknown campaign that included attacks on Oregon, British Columbia, and the harsh battles fought in Alaska. Coyle's captivating 240-page account includes over 110 photographs and maps, which document the era and events.

The Lost Squadron by David Hayes, ISBN 0-7868-6048-0

Editorial Reviews From Booklist
In July_ 1942, two B-17s and six P-38s belly-landed onto the Greenland icecap. Nowadays, except for one of the planes, they are 250 feet under the cap's surface. The exception, now being restored to flight worthiness, was excavated in 1992. The vintage plane world is all agog about this resurrection, and this documentation verily meets every demand for every detail of the expeditions that located and dug out the Lightning fighter. Pictures galore, including insouciant snapshots of their mishap taken in 1942 by the original pilots (all were safely rescued), accent the winding chronicle of discovery and recovery. It started with two Georgian aviators who in 1980 became fixated on finding the planes, infected others with their enthusiasm, and then hauled off to Greenland, ice augurs, ice-penetrating radars, and metal detectors in tow. Author Hayes does this group proud and truthful (he doesn't flinch from telling its infighting and animosities), and airplane aficionados will examine every page, studded as the pages are with hundreds of color photos. Gilbert Taylor

Ingram
A lavishly illustrated work records the amazing reclamation of a fleet of American World War II warplanes buried in ice in Greenland since the war and recovered by two amateur aviation enthusiasts. 35,000 first printing.

This book is currently out of print with limited availability (28Dec02), but might be found on Amazon.com. This book was recommended by Harry Higgins, WW-II P-38 Pilot Extraordinaire.

From Pearl Harbor to Calvary by Gordon Prange
350 pages with numerous photos, $9.95

Mitsuo Fuchida was the career aviator who led the attack on Pearl Harbor and participated in the most fiercest battles of the Pacific war. A valuable record of major events, his life's story is also one of a man swept along by his times. Reared in the vanished culture of early twentieth-century Japan, war hero Fuchida returned home to become a simple farmer. After a scandalous love affair came his remarkable conversion to Christ and years of touring the world as an evangelist. God's Samurai is a revealing, personal look at both the war and the century from the Japanese perspective. Available from Amazon.com (see link below). For additional information, click HERE.