[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Pages 8522-8523]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




   75th ANNIVERSARY OF ALEUTIAN ISLANDS CAMPAIGN AND ALEUT EVACUATION

  Mr. SULLIVAN. Mr. President, as we approach Memorial Day, we remember 
the men and women who sacrificed their lives in devotion to the causes 
of liberty, freedom, and democracy. As such, I would like to take the 
opportunity to speak about one event in our Nation's history that had a 
profound impact on my great State of Alaska. June 3 marks the 75th 
anniversary of the Aleutian Islands Campaign of the Second World War.
  This ``Forgotten Battle'' began with the bombing of Dutch Harbor and 
subsequent invasions of Adak, Kiska, and Attu, AK by the navy of 
Imperial Japan. For the Allied forces, this campaign resulted in 1,481 
casualties, 640 missing, and 3,416 wounded, but perhaps what is even 
less known, is the impact this conflict had on the Aleut--Unangan/
Unangas--peoples of Alaska.
  In the months of June and July of 1942, Aleut communities were 
damaged, homes and personal possessions rummaged through or destroyed 
by Allied forces, and more than 881 Aleut civilian residents of the 
Pribilof Islands and the Aleutian Islands west of Unimak Island were 
relocated to temporary camps in Southeast Alaska. Forty-two residents 
of Attu were taken to Japan in September 1943, where they spent the 
rest

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of the war as prisoners, and nearly half of them died, mainly of hunger 
and malnutrition.
  The campaign ultimately ended in an Allied victory with the Japanese 
withdrawal from the Aleutians in 1943, but the effects are still felt 
by those communities and peoples who were impacted.
  Today, before the Senate, I would like to take a moment to honor the 
sacrifices of our servicemembers, including the 25 Aleut who joined the 
Armed Forces and the three who participated in the U.S. invasion to 
recapture Attu and later received Bronze Stars for their valor. I want 
to also honor the civilians, the Aleut evacuees, and Attuan prisoners 
of war whose communities, culture, languages, and lives were forever 
affected.
  From June 2 to 4, 2017, a memorial ceremony will take place in Alaska 
to honor and acknowledge the evacuees, their descendants, and veterans 
of this ``Forgotten Battle,'' both living and deceased.

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