1.
American Theater (World War II)
–
The American Theater describes a series of mostly minor areas of operations during World War II. This was mainly due to both North and South Americas geographical separation from the theaters of conflict in Europe and Asia. Thus, any threat by the Axis Powers to invade the mainland United States or other areas was considered negligible, the best known events in North America during World War II were the Aleutian Islands Campaign, the Battle of the St. Lawrence, and the attacks on Newfoundland. Battle of the River Plate The first naval battle during the war was fought on December 13,1939 off the Atlantic coast of South America, the German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee encountered one of the British naval units searching for her. Composed of three Royal Navy cruisers, the HMS Exeter, Ajax, and Achilles, the unit was patrolling off the River Plate estuary of Argentina, in a bloody engagement, the Graf Spee successfully repulsed the British attacks. Captain Hans Langsdorff then brought his ship to shelter in neutral Uruguay for repairs. German combat losses were 96 killed or wounded, against 72 British sailors killed and 28 wounded, two Royal Navy cruisers had been severely damaged, but it had cost the German navy one of its finest ships. Even before the war, a large Nazi spy ring was operating in the United States. The Duquesne Spy Ring is still the largest espionage case in United States history that ended in convictions. The 33 German agents who formed the Duquesne spy ring were placed in key jobs in the United States to get information that could be used in the event of war and to carry out acts of sabotage. William G. Sebold, an agent for the United States, was a major factor in the FBIs successful resolution of this case. For nearly two years, Sebold ran a radio station in New York for the ring. Sebold provided the FBI with information on what Germany was sending to its spies in the United States while allowing the FBI to control the information that was being transmitted to Germany. On June 29,1941, six months before the U. S. declared war, all 33 spies were arrested, found or plead guilty, and sentenced to serve a total of over 300 years in prison. After declaring war on the United States following the attack on Pearl Harbor, the responsibility for carrying this out was given to German Intelligence. In the spring of 1942, nine agents were recruited and divided into two teams, on June 12,1942, the German submarine U-202 landed Daschs team with explosives and plans at Amagansett, New York. Their mission was to power plants at Niagara Falls and three Aluminum Company of America factories in Illinois, Tennessee, and New York. However, Dasch instead turned himself in to the FBI, providing them with a complete list of his members and an account of the planned missions
2.
Pacific War
–
The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in the Pacific and East Asia. It was fought over a vast area that included the Pacific Ocean and islands, the South West Pacific, South-East Asia, and in China. The Pacific War saw the Allied powers pitted against the Empire of Japan, the formal and official surrender of Japan took place aboard the battleship USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay on 2 September 1945. In Allied countries during the war, The Pacific War was not usually distinguished from World War II in general, or was known simply as the War against Japan. Japan used the name Greater East Asia War, as chosen by a decision on 10 December 1941. Japanese officials integrated what they called the Japan–China Incident into the Greater East Asia War, in Japan, the Fifteen Years War is also used, referring to the period from the Mukden Incident of 1931 through 1945. The Phayap Army sent troops to invade and occupy northeastern Burma, also involved were the Japanese puppet states of Manchukuo and Mengjiang, and the collaborationist Wang Jingwei regime. The official policy of the U. S. Government is that Thailand was not an ally of the Axis, Japan conscripted many soldiers from its colonies of Korea and Formosa. To a small extent, some Vichy French, Indian National Army, Germany and Italy both had limited involvement in the Pacific War. The German and the Italian navies operated submarines and raiding ships in the Indian, the Italians had access to concession territory naval bases in China, while the Germans did not. After Japans attack on Pearl Harbor and the subsequent declarations of war, mexico, Free France and many other countries also took part, especially forces from other British colonies. Between 1942 and 1945, there were four main areas of conflict in the Pacific War, China, the Central Pacific, South East Asia, U. S. sources refer to two theaters within the Pacific War, the Pacific theater and the China Burma India Theater. However these were not operational commands, in the Pacific, the Allies divided operational control of their forces between two supreme commands, known as Pacific Ocean Areas and Southwest Pacific Area. In 1945, for a period just before the Japanese surrender. By 1937, Japan controlled Manchuria and was ready to move deeper into China, the Marco Polo Bridge Incident on 7 July 1937 provoked full-scale war between China and Japan. In August 1937, Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek deployed his best army to fight about 300,000 Japanese troops in Shanghai, the Japanese continued to push the Chinese forces back, capturing the capital Nanking in December 1937 and committed which was known as Nanking Massacre. In March 1938, Nationalist forces won their first victory at Taierzhuang, but then the city of Xuzhou was taken by Japanese in May. In June 1938, Japan deployed about 350,000 troops to invade Wuhan, the Japanese achieved major military victories, but world opinion—in particular in the United States—condemned Japan, especially after the Panay incident
3.
World War II
–
World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan
4.
Attu Island
–
The island became uninhabited in 2010. The island was the site of the only World War II land battle fought on a territory of the United States. Attu Station, a former Coast Guard LORAN station, is located at 52°51′N 173°11′E, in the chain of the Aleuts, the next island to the west of Attu are the Russian Commander Islands just 208 miles away. Attu is nearly 1,100 miles from the Alaskan mainland and 750 miles northeast of the northernmost of the Kurile Islands of Russia, and it is 4,800 miles from the capital city, Washington, D. C. Attu is about 20 by 35 miles in size with an area of 344.7 square miles. The population in the 2010 census was 20 people, all at the Attu Station, as of 1982, the only significant trees on the island were those planted by American soldiers at a chapel constructed after the 1943 battle when the Japanese occupation was over. Although Attu Island is the westernmost body of land east of the International Date Line its time zone is UTC-10, the name Attu is a transliteration of the Aleut name of the island. It was called Saint Theodore by the explorer Aleksei Chirikov in 1742, Attu, being the nearest to Kamchatka, was the first of the Aleutian Islands exploited by Russian traders. The first population estimate by the Russians put at most 175 Aleuts on Attu, however, the large number and size of archeological sites on Attu have led to estimates of 2, 000–5,000 inhabitants during the centuries preceding European contact. Russians would stay multiple years on the island hunting sea otters, after the initial wave of traders, Attu was largely overlooked by ships heading further east. The Aleuts were the inhabitants of the island prior to World War II. Earlier, in response to Japanese aggression in the Pacific, American territorial authorities conducted an evacuation of about 880 Aleuts from villages elsewhere in the Aleutian Islands. These people were interned in camps in the Alaska Panhandle. However, Attu Village had not yet been evacuated when the Japanese attacked, the village consisted of several houses around Chichagof Harbor. The 42 Attu inhabitants who survived the Japanese invasion were taken to a camp near Otaru. Sixteen of them died while they were imprisoned, before the Attu villagers were returned to the U. S. the American government stated publicly that it was not aware of their status. To place a barrier between the U. S. and Russia in case Russia decided to join the war against Japan, to make preparation for air bases for future offensive action. In late September 1942, the Japanese garrison on Attu was transferred to Kiska, and then Attu was essentially left unoccupied, on October 29,1942, the Japanese reestablished a base on Attu at Holtz Bay under the command of Lt. Col. Hiroshi Yanekawa
5.
Aleutian Islands
–
The Aleutian Islands are a chain of 14 large volcanic islands and 55 smaller ones belonging to both the United States and Russia. Crossing longitude 180°, at which point east and west longitude end, the westernmost U. S. island in real terms, however, is Attu Island, west of which runs the International Date Line. The islands, with their 57 volcanoes, are in the part of the Pacific Ring of Fire. Physiographically, they are a section of the larger Pacific Border province. These Islands are most known for the battles and skirmishes occurred there during the Aleutian Islands Campaign of World War II. It was one of two attacks on the United States during that war. The largest islands in the Aleutians are Attu, and Unalaska, Umnak, and Unimak in the Fox Islands. The largest of those is Unimak Island, with an area of 1,571.41 mi², followed by Unalaska Island, the axis of the archipelago near the mainland of Alaska has a southwest trend, but near 179° its direction changes to the northwest. This change of direction corresponds to a curve in the line of fissures that have contributed their products to the building of the islands. Such curved chains are repeated about the Pacific Ocean in the Kuril Islands, the Japanese chain, and in the Philippines. All these island arcs are at the edge of the Pacific Plate and experience much seismic activity, but are still habitable, the general elevation is greatest in the eastern islands and least in the western. The island chain is a continuation of the Aleutian Range on the mainland. The coasts are rocky and surf-worn, and the approaches are exceedingly dangerous and these volcanic islands reach heights of 6,200 feet. Makushin Volcano located on Unalaska Island, is not quite visible from within the town of Unalaska, though the steam rising from its cone is visible on a clear day. Residents of Unalaska need only to one of the smaller hills in the area, such as Pyramid Peak or Mt. Newhall. The volcanic Bogoslof and Fire Islands, which rose from the sea in 1796 and 1883 respectively, in 1906 a new volcanic cone rose between the islets of Bogoslof and Grewingk, near Unalaska, followed by another in 1907. These cones were demolished by an explosive eruption on September 1,1907. Newly found information in 2017, the volcanic cone erupted sending ash, the Aleutians seen from space The climate of the islands is oceanic, with moderate and fairly uniform temperatures and heavy rainfall
6.
Alaska
–
Alaska is a U. S. state located in the northwest extremity of North America. To the north are the Chukchi and Beaufort seas–the southern parts of the Arctic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean lies to the south and southwest. Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area, the 3rd least populous, approximately half of Alaskas residents live within the Anchorage metropolitan area. Alaskas economy is dominated by the fishing, natural gas, military bases and tourism are also a significant part of the economy. The United States purchased Alaska from the Russian Empire on March 30,1867, the area went through several administrative changes before becoming organized as a territory on May 11,1912. It was admitted as the 49th state of the U. S. on January 3,1959, the name Alaska was introduced in the Russian colonial period when it was used to refer to the peninsula. It was derived from an Aleut, or Unangam idiom, which refers to the mainland of Alaska. Literally, it means object to which the action of the sea is directed, Alaska is the northernmost and westernmost state in the United States and has the most easterly longitude in the United States because the Aleutian Islands extend into the Eastern Hemisphere. Alaska is the only non-contiguous U. S. state on continental North America and it is technically part of the continental U. S. but is sometimes not included in colloquial use, Alaska is not part of the contiguous U. S. often called the Lower 48. The capital city, Juneau, is situated on the mainland of the North American continent but is not connected by road to the rest of the North American highway system. Alaskas territorial waters touch Russias territorial waters in the Bering Strait, as the Russian Big Diomede Island, Alaska has a longer coastline than all the other U. S. states combined. Alaska is the largest state in the United States by total area at 663,268 square miles, over twice the size of Texas, Alaska is larger than all but 18 sovereign countries. Counting territorial waters, Alaska is larger than the area of the next three largest states, Texas, California, and Montana. It is also larger than the area of the 22 smallest U. S. states. Also referred to as the Panhandle or Inside Passage, this is the region of Alaska closest to the rest of the United States, as such, this was where most of the initial non-indigenous settlement occurred in the years following the Alaska Purchase. The region is dominated by the Alexander Archipelago as well as the Tongass National Forest and it contains the state capital Juneau, the former capital Sitka, and Ketchikan, at one time Alaskas largest city. The Alaska Marine Highway provides a vital transportation link throughout the area. The Interior is the largest region of Alaska, much of it is uninhabited wilderness, Fairbanks is the only large city in the region
7.
United States
–
Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
8.
Canada
–
Canada is a country in the northern half of North America. Canadas border with the United States is the worlds longest binational land border, the majority of the country has a cold or severely cold winter climate, but southerly areas are warm in summer. Canada is sparsely populated, the majority of its territory being dominated by forest and tundra. It is highly urbanized with 82 per cent of the 35.15 million people concentrated in large and medium-sized cities, One third of the population lives in the three largest cities, Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. Its capital is Ottawa, and other urban areas include Calgary, Edmonton, Quebec City, Winnipeg. Various aboriginal peoples had inhabited what is now Canada for thousands of years prior to European colonization. Pursuant to the British North America Act, on July 1,1867, the colonies of Canada, New Brunswick and this began an accretion of provinces and territories to the mostly self-governing Dominion to the present ten provinces and three territories forming modern Canada. With the Constitution Act 1982, Canada took over authority, removing the last remaining ties of legal dependence on the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Canada is a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy, with Queen Elizabeth II being the head of state. The country is officially bilingual at the federal level and it is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many other countries. Its advanced economy is the eleventh largest in the world, relying chiefly upon its abundant natural resources, Canadas long and complex relationship with the United States has had a significant impact on its economy and culture. Canada is a country and has the tenth highest nominal per capita income globally as well as the ninth highest ranking in the Human Development Index. It ranks among the highest in international measurements of government transparency, civil liberties, quality of life, economic freedom, Canada is an influential nation in the world, primarily due to its inclusive values, years of prosperity and stability, stable economy, and efficient military. While a variety of theories have been postulated for the origins of Canada. In 1535, indigenous inhabitants of the present-day Quebec City region used the word to direct French explorer Jacques Cartier to the village of Stadacona, from the 16th to the early 18th century Canada referred to the part of New France that lay along the St. Lawrence River. In 1791, the area became two British colonies called Upper Canada and Lower Canada collectively named The Canadas, until their union as the British Province of Canada in 1841. Upon Confederation in 1867, Canada was adopted as the name for the new country at the London Conference. The transition away from the use of Dominion was formally reflected in 1982 with the passage of the Canada Act, later that year, the name of national holiday was changed from Dominion Day to Canada Day
9.
Empire of Japan
–
The Empire of Japan was the historical Japanese nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 to the enactment of the 1947 constitution of modern Japan. Imperial Japans rapid industrialization and militarization under the slogan Fukoku Kyōhei led to its emergence as a world power, after several large-scale military successes during the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Pacific War, the Empire also gained notoriety for its war crimes against the peoples it conquered. A period of occupation by the Allies followed the surrender, Occupation and reconstruction continued well into the 1950s, eventually forming the current nation-state whose full title is the State of Japan or simply rendered Japan in English. The historical state is referred to as the Empire of Japan or the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan in English. In Japanese it is referred to as Dai Nippon Teikoku, which translates to Greater Japanese Empire and this is analogous to Großdeutsches Reich, a term that translates to Greater German Empire in English and Dai Doitsu Teikoku in Japanese. This meaning is significant in terms of geography, encompassing Japan, due to its name in kanji characters and its flag, it was also given the exonym Empire of the Sun. After two centuries, the policy, or Sakoku, under the shoguns of the Edo period came to an end when the country was forced open to trade by the Convention of Kanagawa in 1854. The following years saw increased trade and interaction, commercial treaties between the Tokugawa shogunate and Western countries were signed. In large part due to the terms of these Unequal Treaties, the Shogunate soon faced internal hostility, which materialized into a radical, xenophobic movement. In March 1863, the Emperor issued the order to expel barbarians, although the Shogunate had no intention of enforcing the order, it nevertheless inspired attacks against the Shogunate itself and against foreigners in Japan. The Namamugi Incident during 1862 led to the murder of an Englishman, Charles Lennox Richardson, the British demanded reparations but were denied. While attempting to exact payment, the Royal Navy was fired on from coastal batteries near the town of Kagoshima and they responded by bombarding the port of Kagoshima in 1863. For Richardsons death, the Tokugawa government agreed to pay an indemnity, shelling of foreign shipping in Shimonoseki and attacks against foreign property led to the Bombardment of Shimonoseki by a multinational force in 1864. The Chōshū clan also launched the coup known as the Kinmon incident. The Satsuma-Chōshū alliance was established in 1866 to combine their efforts to overthrow the Tokugawa bakufu, in early 1867, Emperor Kōmei died of smallpox and was replaced by his son, Crown Prince Mutsuhito. On November 9,1867, Tokugawa Yoshinobu resigned from his post and authorities to the Emperor, however, while Yoshinobus resignation had created a nominal void at the highest level of government, his apparatus of state continued to exist. On January 3,1868, Satsuma-Chōshū forces seized the palace in Kyoto. On January 17,1868, Yoshinobu declared that he would not be bound by the proclamation of the Restoration, on January 24, Yoshinobu decided to prepare an attack on Kyoto, occupied by Satsuma and Chōshū forces
10.
John L. DeWitt
–
DeWitt was born at Fort Sidney, Nebraska, on January 9,1880. On October 10,1898, he was appointed as a lieutenant with the U. S. Army Infantry. He would ultimately serve nearly fifty years, from 1898 to 1947 and his early assignments included service during the Philippine Insurrection and in Mexican Punitive Expedition. In 1918, DeWitt shipped out with the 42nd Division to the battlefields of France as a quartermaster in the division headquarters, other noteworthy members of the division included Douglas MacArthur and William J. Donovan. In July 1918, DeWitt was promoted to colonel. He received the Distinguished Service Medal at the end of World War I, between 1919 and 1930, DeWitt served in various quartermaster positions, including assistant commandant of the General Staff College, Chief of the Storage and Issue Branch, and the Supply Division. In 1930, he was promoted to general and assigned as Quartermaster General of the U. S. Army. DeWitt also assumed control of the Gold Star Mothers Pilgrimage, General DeWitt was responsible for all logistics involving this Congressionally approved event. After returning to the infantry, DeWitt assumed control of the Philippine Division, in July 1937, he became commandant of the Army War College. At the end of the internment of more than one hundred thousand Japanese-American citizens, stated in DeWitts obituary, The Evacuation of these citizens was motivated by. The greed of some special-interest groups who were in a position to profit from the property losses of these citizens and he died in Washington, D. C. on June 20,1962 and was buried in Section 2 of Arlington National Cemetery. His son, John Lessesne DeWitt, Jr. lieutenant colonel, United States Army and his wife, John Lessesne DeWitt, Jr. survived by John Lessesne DeWitt. From December 5,1939, to June 15,1943, DeWitt was assigned command of the IX Corps Area and its 1942 successor, the Western Defense Command, both headquartered at the Presidio of San Francisco. DeWitt was in San Francisco on the evening of December 8,1941, one day after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, an estimated 35 Japanese warplanes were supposedly sighted above San Francisco Bay on a reconnaissance mission. DeWitt was furious at the lack of blackout precautions during the air raids and he blasted city leaders at a Civil Defense Council meeting the next day, saying, Death and destruction are likely to come to this city at any moment. The people of San Francisco do not seem to appreciate that we are at war in every sense, I have come here because we want action and we want action now. Unless definite and stern action is taken to correct last nights deficiencies and those planes were over our community. They were over our community for a definite period and they were tracked out to sea
11.
Thomas C. Kinkaid
–
Thomas Cassin Kinkaid served as an admiral in the United States Navy during World War II. He built a reputation as an admiral in the aircraft carrier battles of 1942. Born into a family, Kinkaid was ranked in the lower half of his class on his graduation from the United States Naval Academy in June 1908. His early commissioned service was spent aboard battleships, in 1913, he began instruction in ordnance engineering and served in that field for many years. He saw action during the 1916 United States occupation of the Dominican Republic, during World War I, he was attached to the Royal Navy before serving as Gunnery Officer aboard the battleship USS Arizona. After the war, he was Assistant Chief of Staff to the Commander U. S. Naval Detachment in Turkey, Kinkaid received his first command, the destroyer USS Isherwood, in 1924. He was Executive Officer of the battleship USS Colorado when the 1933 Long Beach earthquake struck and he received his second command in 1937, the heavy cruiser USS Indianapolis. From 1938 to 1941, Kinkaid was a naval attaché in Italy, in the months prior to U. S. entry into World War II, he commanded a destroyer squadron. Promoted to rear admiral in 1941, he assumed command of a U. S and his cruisers defended the aircraft carrier USS Lexington during the Battle of the Coral Sea and USS Hornet during the Battle of Midway. Kinkaid was placed in charge of the North Pacific Force in January 1943 and he was promoted to vice admiral in June 1943. During the Battle of the Surigao Strait he commanded the Allied ships in the last naval battle between battleships in history, following the demise of Japanese naval power in the region, the Allied navies supported the campaigns in the Philippines and Borneo. Kinkaid was promoted to admiral on 3 April 1945, after the Pacific War ended in August 1945, the Seventh Fleet assisted in operations on the Korean and China coasts. Admiral Kinkaid was Commander Eastern Sea Frontier and the Sixteenth Fleet from 1946 until his retirement in May 1950 and he was a member of the National Security Training Commission for much of the rest of the decade. He also served with the American Battle Monuments Commission for 15 years, Thomas Cassin Kinkaid was born in Hanover, New Hampshire, on 3 April 1888, the second child and only son of Thomas Wright Kinkaid, a naval officer, and his wife Virginia Lee née Cassin. At the time, Thomas Wright Kinkaid was on leave from the U. S. Navy and employed at the New Hampshire College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts. When Thomas was only an old, his father was posted to USS Pinta, and the family moved to Sitka, Alaska. He sought and secured an appointment to Annapolis from President Theodore Roosevelt, the Navy was undergoing a period of expansion, and the intake of midshipmen was double that of two years earlier. Of the 350 who took the examination,283 were admitted, the class was the largest since the Academy had opened in 1845
12.
Eugene M. Landrum
–
Major General Eugene M. Landrum was a senior United States Army officer. Eugene Manuel Landrum was born in Pensacola, Florida, on February 6,1891 and he was educated in Florida and enlisted in the Alabama National Guard’s Company M of the 1st Regiment in 1909. He joined the United States Army as a member of the Coast Artillery Corps on August 20,1910, Landrum served in the 17th and 2nd Infantry Regiments, and attained the rank of sergeant. He was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Infantry Branch. He served initially in Hawaii, where he was promoted to first lieutenant, at the start of World War I Landrum was assigned to the 43rd Infantry Regiment, and performed duty as aide-de-camp to Robert K. Evans in the Philippines. Landrum later took part in action in Russia as part of American Expeditionary Force Siberia and he was promoted to major in 1927. In the mid-1930s, he commanded the 23rd Forestry District of the Civilian Conservation Corps, with headquarters in Marion, Landrum graduated from the U. S. Army Command and General Staff School in 1933 and the U. S. Army War College in 1936. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1938, when World War II began Landrum was Chief of Staff of the 3rd Infantry Division at Fort Lewis, and he received temporary promotion to colonel. In 1942 he was promoted to brigadier general. For his service in Alaska Landrum received both the Army and Navy Distinguished Service Medals, Landrum was promoted to temporary major general in 1943 and commanded the 87th Infantry Division during its training in the United States. He went to Europe shortly before the D-Day invasion, with the U. S, first Army commander, Lieutenant General Omar Bradley, intending to keep him unassigned and available to command a division on short notice. The 90th Infantry Division took part in the D-Day invasion, coming ashore on D-Day plus one, in July,1944, Major General J. Lawton Collins, commanding the VII Corps, became concerned that the 90th Division was not performing effectively in combat. As a result, he relieved the commander, Brigadier General Jay W. MacKelvie. Landrum was then assigned to replace MacKelvie, Landrum commanded the 90th Infantry Division during the rest of July and into August. Landrum’s superiors concurred, and the action was carried out, in August, Landrum’s corps, army and army group commanders were still not satisfied with the performance of the 90th Division, and Landrum was relieved. He was succeeded by Major General Raymond S. McLain, and he then commanded the Infantry Advanced Replacement Training Center at Camp Maxey. Following World War II Landrum returned to his permanent rank of Colonel and continued his career, during the Korean War Landrum served with the Eighth Army, first as Deputy Chief of Staff and then Chief of Staff. At the time numbered army commanders were not officially authorized to have deputy commanders, so Landrum served as the de facto deputy for General Walton Walker, Landrum received a second award of the Distinguished Service Medal to recognize his efforts in Korea
13.
Archibald Vincent Arnold
–
Archibald Vincent Arnold was a major general of the United States Army during World War II. Arnold was the second in command of the 7th Infantry Division during the Battle of the Aleutian Islands, Arnold continued serving as second-in-command of the 7th until 1944. Arnold was the Commanding Officer of the 7th during the Philippines Campaign and he received the Army Distinguished Service Medal for his World War II service. After the war he was made the governor of Korea. He served as principal American delegate to the US-USSR Joint Committee that convened in Seoul, Korea, in January 1946, the primary task of the Joint Commission was to reunite North and South Korea after it was divided by the State War Navy Coordinating Committee in 1945. He retired from the Army in 1948, Arnold was married to his wife, Margaret Treat Arnold
14.
Yasuyo Yamasaki
–
Colonel Yasuyo Yamasaki (Japanese, 山崎保代, was a professional Army officer who commanded the Japanese forces on Attu during the Battle of the Aleutian Islands. Yamasaki was a native of what is now part of Tsuru, Yamanashi and he graduated from the 25th class of the Imperial Japanese Army Academy in 1913, and served in the Siberian Intervention from April 1918 to December 1920. In May 1928, he was part of the Japanese expeditionary force to mainland China during the Jinan Incident, Yamasaki was promoted to colonel in March 1940. Later that year he assumed command of the 130th Infantry Regiment, in February 1943 Yamasaki became commanding officer of the 2nd District Force of the North Sea Defense Force, the capacity in which he went to the Aleutians. He arrived on Attu in April 1943 by submarine and his orders were to hold the island without outside help. The 2,650 defenders under Yamasaki did not contest the American landings on Attu, the battle produced some of the bloodiest fighting in the Pacific Theatre, similar to the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. On May 29, the last of the Japanese forces suddenly attacked near Massacre Bay in one of the largest banzai charges of the Pacific campaign, the charge was led by Yamasaki himself, who was killed later that day, sword in hand, assaulting Engineer Hill. His attack penetrated American lines far enough to encounter shocked rear-echelon units of the American force. After furious, brutal, close-quarter, and often hand-to-hand combat, American burial teams counted 2,351 Japanese dead, but it was presumed that hundreds more had been buried by bombardments over the course of the battle. Garfield, Brian The Thousand Mile War, Aurum Press,1995 ISBN 1-84513-019-7 Chen, C
15.
Royal Canadian Air Force
–
The Royal Canadian Air Force is the air force of Canada. Its role is to provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower, the RCAF is one of three environmental commands within the unified Canadian Armed Forces. Lieutenant-General Michael J. Hood, CMM CD, is the current Commander of the Royal Canadian Air Force, the RCAF is a partner with the United States Air Force in protecting continental airspace under the North American Aerospace Defense Command. The RCAF also provides all primary air resources to and is responsible for the National Search, the RCAF traces its history to the Canadian Air Force which was formed in 1920. The Canadian Air Force was incorporated in 1923 and granted royal sanction in 1924 by King George V, in 1968 the RCAF was amalgamated with the Royal Canadian Navy, and the Canadian Army, as part of the unification of the Canadian Forces. Air units were split between several different commands, Air Defence Command, Air Transport Command, Mobile Command, Maritime Command, in 1975 some commands were dissolved, and all air units were placed under a new environmental command called simply Air Command. Air Command reverted to its name of the Royal Canadian Air Force in August 2011. The Royal Canadian Air Force has served in the Second World War, the Korean War, as a NATO member, the force maintained a presence in Europe during the second half of the 20th century. The Canadian Air Force was established in 1920 as the successor to a short-lived two-squadron Canadian Air Force formed during the First World War in Europe. John Scott Williams, MC, AFC, was tasked in 1921 with organizing the CAF, the new Canadian Air Force was a branch of the Air Board and was chiefly a training militia that provided refresher training to veteran pilots. Many CAF members also worked with the Air Boards Civil Operations Branch on operations that included forestry, in 1923, the CAF became responsible for all flying operations in Canada, including civil aviation. In 1924, the Canadian Air Force, was granted the royal title, most of its work was civil in nature, however, in the late 1920s the RCAF evolved into more of a military organization. After budget cuts in the early 1930s, the air began to rebuild. By the end of the war, the RCAF had become the fourth largest allied air force, after the war, the RCAF reduced its strength. In 1950, the RCAF became involved with the transport of troops and supplies to the Korean War, however, members of the RCAF served in USAF units as exchange officers and several flew in combat. Both auxiliary and regular air defence squadrons were run by Air Defence Command, at the same time, the Pinetree Line, the Mid-Canada Line and the DEW Line radar stations, largely operated by the RCAF, were built across Canada because of the growing Soviet nuclear threat. In 1957, Canada and the United States created the joint North American Air Defense Command, coastal defence and peacekeeping also became priorities during the 1950s and 1960s. In 1968 the Royal Canadian Navy, Royal Canadian Air Force and this initiative was overseen by then Liberal Defence Minister, Paul Hellyer
16.
Aleutian Islands Campaign
–
The islands strategic value was their ability to control Pacific transportation routes, which is why U. S. General Billy Mitchell stated to the U. S. Congress in 1935, I believe that in the future, I think it is the most important strategic place in the world. The Japanese reasoned that control of the Aleutians would prevent a possible U. S. attack across the Northern Pacific, similarly, the U. S. feared that the islands would be used as bases from which to launch aerial assaults against the West Coast. A battle to reclaim Attu was launched on May 11,1943, on 15 August 1943, an invasion force landed on Kiska in the wake of a sustained three-week barrage, only to discover that the Japanese had withdrawn from the island on July 29. The campaign is known as the Forgotten Battle, due to its being overshadowed by the simultaneous Guadalcanal Campaign, in the past, many Western military historians believed it was a diversionary or feint attack during the Battle of Midway, meant to draw out the U. S. Pacific Fleet from Midway Atoll, as it was launched simultaneously under the same commander, before Japan entered World War II, its Navy had gathered extensive information about the Aleutians, but it had no up-to-date information regarding military developments on the islands. With that force, Hosogaya was first to launch an air attack against Dutch Harbor, Hosogaya was instructed to destroy whatever American forces and facilities were found on Adak—the Japanese did not know the island was undefended. The naval commander was Rear Admiral Robert A. Theobald, commanding Task Force 8 afloat, Task Force 8 consisted of five cruisers, thirteen destroyers, three tankers, six submarines, as well as naval aviation elements of Fleet Air Wing Four. Once the enemy planes were removed, Naval Task Force 8 would engage the enemy fleet, on the afternoon of 2 June, a naval patrol plane spotted the approaching Japanese fleet, reporting its location as 800 miles southwest of Dutch Harbor. Eleventh Air Force was placed on full alert, shortly thereafter bad weather set in, and no further sightings of the fleet were made that day. Making use of cover, the Japanese first raided the naval base at Dutch Harbor on June 3,1942. The striking force was composed of Nakajima B5N2 Kate torpedo bombers from the carriers Junyō, however, only half of the striking force reached their objective. The rest either became lost in the fog and darkness and crashed into the sea or returned to their carriers, seventeen Japanese planes found the naval base, the first arriving at 05,45. Startled by the American response, the Japanese quickly released their bombs, made a strafing run. As a result, they did damage to the base. On June 4, the Japanese returned to Dutch Harbor and this time the Japanese pilots were better organized and prepared. When the attack ended that afternoon Dutch Harbor oil storage tanks were burning, the partly demolished. However, the weather in turn caused the Japanese to cancel plans to invade Adak with 1,200 men
17.
Battle of Dutch Harbor
–
In this battle, a Japanese aircraft carrier strike force under Kakuji Kakuta launched air attacks over two days against the Dutch Harbor Naval Base and Fort Mears in Dutch Harbor, Alaska. The attacks inflicted damage on the U. S. base. Shortly thereafter, Japanese naval forces under Boshiro Hosogaya invaded and occupied Attu, the Japanese planned to occupy islands in the Aleutians in order to extend their defensive perimeter in the North Pacific to make it more difficult for the U. S. to attack Japan from that area. Dutch Harbor was ringed with anti aircraft artillery batteries from the 206th Coast Artillery, the 206th CA was equipped with the 3-inch Gun M1918. 50in M2 Browning machine guns, and 60 in Sperry searchlights. The 206th had one radar in position at Dutch Harbor at the time of the attack, the planes arrived over the harbor at 04,07, and attacked the town′s radio station and oil storage tanks causing some damage. Many members of the 206th were awakened on 3 June by the sound of bombs, while the unit had been on alert for an attack for many days, there was no specific warning of the attack before the Japanese planes arrived over Dutch Harbor. In addition to their 3 in guns,37 mm guns and.50 in machine guns, members of the unit fired their rifles, several members reported being able to clearly see the faces of the Japanese aviators as they made repeated runs over the island. The highest casualties on the first day occurred when bombs struck barracks 864 and 866 in Fort Mears, killing 17 men of the 37th Infantry and eight from the 151st Engineers. When all the Japanese planes were recovered, there were reports of enemy ships in the vicinity. During the search, four Nakajima E8N2 Dave two-seat reconnaissance planes—launched from the heavy cruisers Takao, the 206th CA spent much of the night of 3/4 June moving guns down off the mountain tops surrounding the harbor down into the city of Unalaska and into harbor facilities themselves. This was partially as a deception and partially to defend against a land invasion. Civilian contractors offered to help and were put to work filling sandbags to protect the new gun positions, on 4 June, the Japanese carriers steamed to less than 100 mi south of Dutch Harbor to launch a second attack. At 16,00, an airstrike of nine fighters,11 dive bombers. More targets were damaged including some grounded aircraft, a barracks, oil storage tanks, aircraft hangar. When the Japanese returned on 4 June, the Zero fighters concentrated on strafing the gun positions while their bombers destroyed the tanks located at the harbor. One wing of the hospital at the base was destroyed. After hitting the fuel tanks, the enemy dive-bombers and high-level bombers concentrated on the ships in the harbor, Fillmore, northwestern was actually a transport ship which had been beached and used as a barracks for civilian workers. Although in flames and badly damaged, firefighters managed to save the hull and its power plant was thereafter being used to produce steam and electricity for the shore installations
18.
Japanese occupation of Attu
–
The Japanese occupation of Attu was the result of an invasion of the Aleutian Islands during World War II. Imperial Japanese Army troops landed on 6 June 1942 at the time as the invasion of Kiska. The occupation ended with the Allied victory in the Battle of Attu on 30 May 1943, in May 1942, the Japanese began a campaign against Midway, their objective being to occupy the islands and destroy the remaining United States Navy forces in the Pacific. In order to deceive the American Pacific Fleet, an attack was ordered to take place in the Aleutians. During the Battle of Midway, Japanese forces were repulsed in an action, meanwhile on 6 June, Japanese naval forces under Boshirō Hosogaya landed troops unopposed at Kiska. A force consisting of 1,140 infantry under Major Matsutoshi Hosumi took control of the island and captured forty-five Aleut civilians, the school teachers husband was killed during the invasion, the Japanese Army was suspected of executing him. All of the prisoners were removed to Japan. After landing, the soldiers began constructing an airbase and fortifications, the nearest American forces were on Unalaska Island at Dutch Harbor and at an airbase on Adak Island. Throughout the occupation, American air and naval forces bombarded the island, initially the Japanese intended to hold the Aleutians only until the winter of 1942, however, the occupation continued into 1943 in order to deny the Americans use of the islands. In August 1942, the garrison of Attu was moved to Kiska to help repel a suspected American attack, from August to October 1942, Attu was unoccupied until a 2, 900-man force under Colonel Yasuyo Yamasaki arrived. The new garrison of Attu continued constructing the airfield and fortifications until 11 May 1943, on 12 May, I-31 was forced to surface five miles northeast of Chichagof Harbor, she was then sunk in a surface engagement with USS Edwards. Allied forces under General John L. DeWitt took control of the island on 30 May after the remaining Japanese troops conducted a massive banzai charge, American forces lost 549 killed and 1,148 wounded, another 2,100 evacuated due to weather-related injuries. During the Battle of Attu, all but 29 men of the Japanese garrison were killed, the occupation ended with an American victory and American forces deemed the half-completed airfield as not ideally situated. In 2012, for the 70th anniversary of the occupation, a memorial to Attu village was dedicated at the site of the town. Attacks on North America during World War II Fern Chandonnet, memorial placed in Attu honoring villagers. Attu, A Lost Village of the Aleutians, alaska Park Science, Volume 10, Issue 2
19.
Japanese occupation of Kiska
–
The Japanese occupation of Kiska took place between 6 June 1942 and 28 July 1943 during the Aleutian Islands Campaign of the American Theater and the Pacific Theater of World War II. The Japanese occupied Kiska and nearby Attu Island in order to protect the flank of the Japanese Empire. Initially, the only American military presence on Kiska was a twelve-man United States Navy weather station, the Japanese stormed the station, killing two Americans and capturing seven. After realizing that Chief petty officer William C, House had escaped, a search was launched by the occupying forces. The search ended in vain, with House surrendering some fifty days after the seizure of the weather station. After 50 days of eating only plants and worms, he weighed just 80 pounds, beforehand, the prisoners of war had been sent to Japan. Reacting to the Japanese occupation, American and Canadian air forces waged a continuous air bombardment campaign against the Japanese forces on Kiska, also, U. S. Navy warships blockaded and periodically bombarded the island. Several Japanese warships, transport ships, and submarines attempting to travel to Kiska or Attu were sunk or damaged by the blockading forces, in 1943, U. S. forces landed on and destroyed the Japanese garrison on Attu. In response, the Imperial Japanese Navy successfully evacuated the Kiska garrison on 28 July, not completely sure that the Japanese were gone, the Americans and Canadians executed an unopposed landing on Kiska on 15 August, securing the island and ending the Aleutian Islands campaign. After the landing, the soldiers were greeted by a group of dogs who had left behind. Among them was Explosion, who had cared for by the Japanese. On 19 June 1942, American aircraft attacked and sank the Japanese oiler Nissan Maru in Kiska Harbor, the American submarine USS Growler attacked and sank one Japanese destroyer 7 mi east of Kiska Harbor on 5 July, two other destroyers were also heavily damaged. Over 200 Japanese sailors were killed or wounded while the Americans sustained no losses, it became the single bloodiest engagement during the operations on, USS Grunion was attacked by three Japanese submarine chasers while patrolling Kiska Harbor on 15 July. In response, she fired on and sank two of the Japanese ships and damaged the third. Grunion was lost a few weeks later off Kiska on 30 July with all hands, on 8 August, the Japanese cargo ship Kano Maru was sunk at Kiska Harbor by PBY Catalinas. Days before, the ship was damaged by one of Grunions torpedoes. Troopship Nozima Maru was also bombed and sunk in Kiska Harbor on 15 September, on 5 October, the Japanese steamer Borneo Maru was sunk at Gertrude Cove and on the 17th, the destroyer Oboro was sunk by American aircraft. RO-65 sank off Kiska on 4 November, Montreal Maru on 5 January 1943, i-7 was grounded and abandoned by her crew on 23 June while assisting in removing Kiskas garrison
20.
Action of 5 July 1942
–
The Action of 5 July 1942 was a naval engagement fought during the Aleutian Islands Campaign of World War II. During the action, the American submarine USS Growler attacked three Japanese warships anchored off Kiska island and it was the first action of Growlers career and ended with the loss of dozens of Japanese sailors. Over the course of the Pacific War, Growler—under various commanders—sank 17 enemy vessels and she was a Gato-class submarine and had a complement of 60 officers and men. Her armament included ten 21 in torpedo tubes and one 3 in /50-caliber deck gun, on her first patrol from Pearl Harbor to Alaska, she was commanded by Lieutenant Commander Howard Gilmore. Japanese forces included the 2,490 long tons Kagerō-class destroyer Shiranui with 240 crewmen and six 5 in guns, several anti-aircraft guns, eight large torpedo tubes and 36 depth charges. There were also the two 2,370 long tons Asashio-class destroyers Arare and Kasumi, each with about 200 men, the three vessels were assigned to the occupation of Kiska and had participated in the Battle of Pearl Harbor. Imperial Japanese Navy and Imperial Japanese Army troops had occupied the island since 6 June 1942 and had met little resistance, the following action proved to be the deadliest encounter between the opposing forces in the Kiska area. Growler was cruising 7 mi east of Kiska Harbor naval base when she came across the three Japanese destroyers at anchor a distance away. Submerged, the submarine closed on the enemy and launched a spread of torpedoes from her six torpedo tubes at a position in which the enemy vessels appeared to be overlapping one another. The Japanese were completely unaware of Lieutenant Commander Gilmores attack, of the six torpedoes fired, two of the destroyers were hit amidship almost simultaneously and were severely damaged. Just before the destroyer was hit in the bow, it maneuvered and fired two torpedoes of her own. Growler was almost destroyed when one of the torpedoes swished by just off her port side, both missed their target though so the Americans dived deep to avoid depth charges and escaped. Japanese forces did not continue the battle however, Arare exploded, over 200 Japanese naval personnel were killed or wounded. Of Arares 200 man complement, only 42 men were saved by Shiranui, finding no more enemy ships in Aleutian waters, Growler returned to Hawaii and ended her first patrol. For his distinguished leadership, Howard Gilmore was promoted to the rank of commander, Gilmore was later killed off the Philippines during the Action of 7 February 1943 when he rammed Growler into a Japanese gunboat. In a quick action, Commander Gilmore was wounded by machine gun fire. The commander became one of the seven American submariners to be awarded the Medal of Honor for duty in World War II, Growler went on the engage in nine more successful patrols in the Pacific. Bauer K. Jack, Roberts S. Stephen, Register of Ships of the U. S. Navy, 1775–1990, westport, Connecticut Greenwood Press pg#271 ISBN 0-313-26202-0
21.
Battle of the Komandorski Islands
–
The Battle of the Komandorski Islands was a naval battle between American and Imperial Japanese forces which took place on 27 March 1943 in the North Pacific, south of the Soviet Komandorski Islands. The battle was a surface engagement in which air support played a negligible role. The fleet consisted of the heavy cruiser Salt Lake City, the light cruiser Richmond, American intelligence estimated that the Japanese escort consisted of one heavy cruiser, one light cruiser, and four destroyers. Although the Japanese cruisers heavily outgunned the American force, the engagement was tactically inconclusive, both fleets suffered damage, with the U. S. Navy warships escaping almost by luck. This amounted to a defeat, as it ended Japanese attempts to resupply the Aleutian garrisons by surface ship. Hosogaya was accordingly retired from service after the battle. 0600, The United States ships were formed in a line at six-mile intervals zig-zagging at 15 knots on base course 020°. 0730, Lead ships Coghlan and Richmond made radar contact with the two trailing Japanese transports and a destroyer on course 080° at 13 kn, a navigating officer on one of the transports visually observed the American force minutes later. 0740, The Americans changed course to 080° and the ships increased speed to operate as a compact group. 0755, The Japanese turned northward to course 340° and the Americans came to course 000° to follow,0811, The Americans visually identified the radar contacts as two transports, two light cruisers, and a destroyer. 0820, The Americans sighted the masts of four more Japanese ships on the horizon,0835, The Americans identified the masts as two heavy cruisers and two destroyers and turned to course 240°. 0838, The Japanese transports swerved off to the northwest,0839, The Americans increased speed to 25 kn. 0840, Nachi opened fire on Richmond at a range of 20,000 yd, the second and third salvos were straddles. 0841, Richmond opened fire on Nachi, the third salvo was a straddle. 0842, Salt Lake City opened fire on Nachi at a range of 21,000 yd, the second salvo was a straddle. As the range closed, Bailey opened fire on Nachi at a range of 14,000 yd, Coghlan opened fire on Nachi at a range of 18,000 yd.0845, Nachi launched eight torpedoes. 0850, One of Richmond′s 6 in shells hit the side of Nachi′s signal bridge, killing 11. Another shell hit Nachi′s mainmast and severed the flagship radio communication,0852, One of Richmond′s 6-inch shells hit Nachi′s torpedo compartment
22.
Operation Cottage
–
Operation Cottage was a tactical maneuver which completed the Aleutian Islands campaign. On August 15,1943, Allied military forces landed on Kiska Island, the Japanese, however, had secretly abandoned the island two weeks prior, and so the Allied landings were unopposed. Despite this, after two days in thick fog and in a confused state of affairs, U. S. Allied forces suffered over 313 casualties in total during the operation, due to stray Japanese mines, friendly fire incidents, the Japanese under Captain Takeji Ono had landed on Kiska at approximately 01,00 on June 7,1942, with a force of about 500 Japanese marines. Soon after arrival, they stormed an American weather station, here they killed two and captured eight United States Navy officers. The captured officers were sent to Japan as prisoners of war, another 2,000 Japanese troops arrived, landing in Kiska Harbor. At this time, Monzo Akiyama, a Rear-Admiral, headed the force on Kiska, in December 1942, additional anti-aircraft units, engineers, and a negligible number of reinforcement infantry arrived on the island. In the spring of 1943, control was transferred to Kiichiro Higuchi, a Consolidated B-24 Liberator aircraft sighted Japanese ships in Kiska. To United States naval planners, none was necessary and the orders to invade Kiska soon followed, due to the heavy casualties suffered at Attu Island, planners were expecting another costly operation. The Japanese tactical planners had, however, realized the isolated island was no longer defensible, although small, there were signs of Japanese retreat. Anti-aircraft guns, once active during the bombardment of Kiska, were silent when Allied planes flew over in the leading up to the invasion. On August 15,1943, the 7th Division and the 13th Infantry Brigade, both U. S. and Canadian forces mistook each other as the Japanese and, as a result of friendly fire,28 Americans and 4 Canadians were killed, with wounded on either side. A stray Japanese mine caused the USS Abner Read to lose a large chunk of its stern, the blast killed 71 and wounded 47. Yank Levy who trained many of these forces in guerrilla warfare, where the Williwaw Blows, The Aleutian Islands-World War II. Garfield, Brian The Thousand Mile War, Aurum Press,1995 ISBN 1-84513-019-7 Goldstein, the Williwaw War, The Arkansas National Guard in the Aleutians in World War. Fayettville, Arkansas, USA, University of Arkansas Press, Aleutians, Gilberts and Marshalls, June 1942-April 1944, vol.7 of History of United States Naval Operations in World War II. Champaign, Illinois, USA, University of Illinois Press, stepping Stones to Nowhere, The Aleutian Islands, Alaska, and American Military Strategy,1867 -1945. Vancouver British Columbia, University of British Columbia Press, logistics Problems on Attu by Robert E. Burks
23.
Battle of the Pips
–
The Battle of the Pips refers to an incident that occurred on 27 July 1943, as part of the Aleutian campaign of World War II. On 27 July,80 mi west of Kiska, TG16.22 began to pick up a series of radar contacts. The order was given to fire, and 51814 in shells from both battleships were expended, but there were no hits. Radar was still a new and unreliable technology at that time, visibility was exceptionally poor, as is normal for the area. No Japanese warships were actually within 200 mi, fog of war Stern, Robert C. US Battleships in Action Part 1, carrollton, Texas, Squadron/Signal Publications, Inc.1980. The Thousand-Mile War, World War II in Alaska and the Aleutians, fairbanks, Alaska, USA, University of Alaska Press
24.
Territory of Alaska
–
The territory was created as the District of Alaska on May 17,1884. The Second Organic Act of 1912, renamed the District of Alaska as the Territory of Alaska, by 1916, its population was about 58,000. James Wickersham, a Delegate to Congress, introduced Alaskas first statehood bill, even President Warren G. Hardings visit in 1923 could not create widespread interest in statehood. Under the conditions of the Second Organic Act, Alaska had been split into four divisions, the most populous of the divisions, whose capital was Juneau, wondered if it could become a separate state from the other three. Government control was a concern, with the territory having 52 federal agencies governing it. In 1920, the passage of the Jones Act required U. S. -flagged vessels to be built in the United States, owned by U. S. citizens, and documented under the laws of the United States. All goods entering or leaving Alaska had to be transported by American carriers and shipped to Seattle prior to further shipment, making Alaska dependent on the state of Washington. The U. S. Supreme Court ruled that the provision of the Constitution saying one state should not hold sway over anothers commerce did not apply because Alaska was only a territory, the prices Seattles shipping businesses charged began to rise to take advantage of the situation. The Great Depression caused prices of fish and copper, which were vital to Alaskas economy at the time, wages were dropped and the workforce decreased by more than half. In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt thought Americans from agricultural areas could be transferred to Alaskas Matanuska-Susitna Valley for a chance at agricultural self-sustainment. However, due to the weather conditions of the state. Numerous wrecks also trace their origins to the military build-up of the state during both World War II and the Cold War, Alaskas strategic importance to the United States became more apparent during World War II. From June 1942 until August 1943 the Japanese tried to invade the U. S. by way of the Aleutian island chain, in the Battle of the Aleutian Islands and this marked the first time since the War of 1812 that American soil was occupied by a foreign enemy. The Japanese were eventually repelled from the Aleutian Islands by a force of 34,000 American troops, at any given time, about 1,500 American personnel were at Cold Bay and Fort Randall during Project Hula. On January 3,1959, Alaska became the 49th state, in recent years these predictions have turned out to be just the opposite for both states. S. Norman, OK, University of Oklahoma Press,2015
25.
Territories of the United States
–
Territories of the United States are sub-national administrative divisions directly overseen by the United States federal government. These territories are classified by whether they are incorporated and whether they have a government through an Organic Act passed by the U. S. Congress. Currently, the United States has sixteen territories, five of which are inhabited, Puerto Rico, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, the U. S. Virgin Islands. They are classified as unincorporated territories and they are organized, self-governing territories with locally elected governors and territorial legislatures. Each also elects a member to the U. S. House of Representatives. Eleven territories are small islands, atolls and reefs, spread across the Caribbean and Pacific, the status of some are disputed by Colombia, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Nicaragua, and the Marshall Islands. The Palmyra Atoll is the territory currently incorporated. Historically, territories were created to govern newly acquired land while the borders of the United States were still evolving, other territories administered by the United States went on to become independent countries, such as the Philippines, Micronesia, Marshall Islands and Palau. Many organized incorporated territories of the United States existed from 1789 to 1959, currently, the United States has sixteen territories, five of which are permanently inhabited, Puerto Rico, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, United States Virgin Islands and American Samoa. The 11 uninhabited territories administered by the Interior Department are Palmyra Atoll, Baker Island, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, while claimed by the US, Navassa Island, Wake Island, Serranilla Bank and Bajo Nuevo Bank are disputed. Territories have always been a part of the United States, by Act of Congress, the term United States, when used in a geographical sense, means the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands of the United States. Since political union with the Northern Mariana Islands in 1986, they too are treated as a part of the U. S, an Executive Order in 2007 includes American Samoa as U. S. geographical extent duly reflected in U. S. State Department documents. Approximately 4 million islanders are U. S. citizens, about 32,000 U. S. non-citizen nationals live in American Samoa, under current law among the territories, only persons born in American Samoa and Swains Island are non-citizen U. S. nationals. American Samoans are under the protection of the U. S. with freedom of U. S. travel without visas. The five inhabited U. S. territories have local voting rights and protections under U. S. courts, pay some U. S. taxes, depending on the congress, they may also vote on the floor in the House Committee of the Whole. S. Every four years, the Democratic and Republican political parties nominate their candidates at conventions which include delegates from the five major territories. The citizens there, however, do not vote in the election for U. S. President. S. Incorporated territories are considered a part of the United States
26.
Arctic
–
The Arctic is a polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Alaska, Canada, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, land within the Arctic region has seasonally varying snow and ice cover, with predominantly treeless permafrost-containing tundra. Arctic seas contain seasonal sea ice in many places, the Arctic region is a unique area among Earths ecosystems. For example, the cultures in the region and the Arctic indigenous peoples have adapted to its cold, in recent years, Arctic sea ice decline has been caused by global warming. Life in the Arctic includes organisms living in the ice, zooplankton and phytoplankton, fish and marine mammals, birds, land animals, plants, Arctic land is bordered by the subarctic. The word Arctic comes from the Greek word ἀρκτικός, near the Bear, northern, there are a number of definitions of what area is contained within the Arctic. The area can be defined as north of the Arctic Circle, the southern limit of the midnight sun. The Arctics climate is characterized by cold winters and cool summers and its precipitation mostly comes in the form of snow and is low, with most of the area receiving less than 50 cm. High winds often stir up snow, creating the illusion of continuous snowfall, average winter temperatures can be as low as −40 °C, and the coldest recorded temperature is approximately −68 °C. Coastal Arctic climates are moderated by oceanic influences, having generally warmer temperatures, the Arctic is affected by current global warming, leading to Arctic sea ice shrinkage, diminished ice in the Greenland ice sheet, and Arctic methane release as the permafrost thaws. Due to the migration of the planets isotherms, the Arctic region is currently shrinking. Perhaps the most spectacular result of Arctic shrinkage is sea ice loss, there is a large variance in predictions of Arctic sea ice loss, with models showing near-complete to complete loss in September from 2040 to some time well beyond 2100. About half of the models show near-complete to complete sea ice loss in September by the year 2100. Arctic life is characterized by adaptation to short growing seasons with long periods of sunlight, Arctic vegetation is composed of plants such as dwarf shrubs, graminoids, herbs, lichens and mosses, which all grow relatively close to the ground, forming tundra. As one moves northward, the amount of available for plant growth decreases considerably. Colder summer temperatures cause the size, abundance, productivity and variety of plants to decrease, trees cannot grow in the Arctic, but in its warmest parts, shrubs are common and can reach 2 m in height, sedges, mosses and lichens can form thick layers. In the coldest parts of the Arctic, much of the ground is bare, non-vascular plants such as lichens and mosses predominate, along with a few scattered grasses, herbivores on the tundra include the Arctic hare, lemming, muskox, and caribou. They are preyed on by the owl, Arctic fox, Grizzly bear
27.
Hand-to-hand combat
–
Hand-to-hand combat is a lethal or non-lethal physical confrontation between two or more persons at very short range that does not involve the use of firearms or other distance weapons. Combat within close quarters is commonly termed close combat or close-quarters combat and it may include lethal and non-lethal weapons and methods depending upon the restrictions imposed by civilian law, military rules of engagement, or ethical codes. Close combat using firearms or other weapons by military combatants at the tactical level is modernly referred to as close quarter battle. Hand-to-hand combat is the most ancient form of fighting known, a majority of cultures have their own particular histories related to close combat, and their own methods of practice. There are many varieties within the arts, including boxing and wrestling. Other variations include the gladiator spectacles of ancient Rome and medieval tournament events such as jousting, military organizations have always taught some sort of unarmed combat for conditioning and as a supplement to armed combat. Soldiers in China were trained in unarmed combat as early as the Zhou Dynasty, by 1944 some German rifles were being produced without bayonet lugs. Close Quarters Combat, or World War II combatives, was codified by William Ewart Fairbairn. After the May Thirtieth Movement riots, which resulted in a massacre, Fairbairn was charged with developing an auxiliary squad for riot control. After absorbing the most appropriate elements from a variety of experts, from China, Japan and elsewhere. The aim of his system was simply to be as brutally effective as possible. It was also a system that, unlike traditional Eastern martial-arts that required years of intensive training, the method incorporated training in point shooting and gun combat techniques, as well as the effective use of more ad hoc weapons such as chairs or table legs. During the Second World War, Fairbairn was brought back to Britain, during this period, he expanded his Shanghai Method into the Silent Killing Close Quarters Combat method for military application. This became standard training for all British Special Operations personnel. He also designed the pioneering Fairbairn-Sykes fighting knife, which was adopted for use by British, in 1942, he published a textbook for close quarters combat training called Get Tough. U. S. Applegate published his work in 1943, called Kill or Get Killed, during the war, training was provided to British Commandos, the Devils Brigade, OSS, U. S. Army Rangers and Marine Raiders. The prevalence and style of combat training often changes based on perceived need. Elite units such as forces and commando units tend to place higher emphasis on hand-to-hand combat training
28.
Banzai charge
–
A banzai charge is the term used by the Allied forces to refer to Japanese human wave attacks mounted by infantry units. This term came from the Japanese cry Tennōheika Banzai, shortened to banzai, the banzai charge is considered to be one method of gyokusai, a suicide attack, or suicide before being captured by the enemy such as seppuku. The origin of the term is a classical Chinese phrase in the 7th-century Book of Northern Qi, in Japan, since the Sengoku period, samurai followed the code called bushido, defining behaviors loyal and honorable. Among the rules there existed a code of honor that was used by Japanese military governments. During the Siege of Port Arthur human wave attacks were conducted on Russian artillery, since the Japanese suffered massive casualties in the attacks, one description of the aftermath was that thick, unbroken mass of corpses covered the cold earth like a coverlet. During the war period, the Japanese militarist government began disseminating propaganda that romanticized suicide attack, the Japanese government presented war as purifying, with death defined as a duty. By the end of 1944, the government announced the last protocol, unofficially named ichioku gyokusai, for the purpose of resisting opposition forces until August 1945. During the U. S. raid on Makin Island, on August 17,1942, the Japanese defenders then launched a banzai charge with rifles and swords but were stopped by superior American firepower. The pattern was repeated in additional attacks, but with similar results, infantry, who lost almost 650 men. Banzai charges were always of dubious effectiveness, in the early stages of the Pacific War, a sudden banzai charge might overwhelm small groups of enemy soldiers unprepared for such an attack. At best they were conducted by groups of surviving soldiers when the battle was already lost. At worst they threw away valuable resources in men and arms in suicidal attacks which only hastened defeat
29.
Kiska
–
Kiska is an island in the Rat Islands group of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. It is about 22 miles long and varies in width from 1.5 to 6 miles and it is part of Aleutian Islands Wilderness and as such, special permissions are required to visit it. Georg Wilhelm Steller, a naturalist-physician aboard Berings ship, wrote, On 25 October 1741 we had very clear weather and sunshine and we were surprised in the morning to discover a large tall island at 51° to the north of us. Prior to European contact, Kiska Island had been populated by native peoples for thousands of years. Kiska, and the other Rat Islands, were reached by independent Russian traders in the 1750s, after the initial exploitation of the sea otter population, Russians rarely visited the island as interest shifted further east. Years would frequently pass without a ship landing. Starting in 1775, Kiska, the Aleutian Islands, and mainland Alaska became fur trading outposts for the Russian-American Company managed by Grigory Shelekhov, in 1867, U. S. Secretary of State William H. Seward negotiated the purchase of Alaska with the Russian Empire. Kiska was included in the purchase, the Japanese No.3 Special Landing Party and 500 marines went ashore at Kiska on June 6,1942 as a separate campaign concurrent with the Japanese plan for the Battle of Midway. The Japanese captured the sole inhabitants of the island, a small U. S. Navy Weather Detachment consisting of ten men, including a lieutenant, the next day the Japanese captured Attu Island. The military importance of this frozen, difficult-to-supply island was questionable, the U. S. Navy began operations to deny Kiska supply which would lead to the Battle of the Komandorski Islands. During October 1942, American forces undertook seven bombing missions over Kiska, following the winter, Attu was liberated and Kiska was bombed once more for over two months, before a larger American force was allocated to defeat the expected Japanese garrison of 5,200 men. As a result of the engagement between U. S. and Canadian forces, there were 28 American dead as well as four Canadian dead. The destroyer USS Abner Read hit a mine, resulting in 87 casualties, admiral Ernest King reported to the secretary of the Navy, Frank Knox, that the only things that remained on the island were dogs and fresh brewed coffee. Knox asked for an explanation and King responded, The Japanese are very clever, the Japanese occupation site on the island is now considered a National Historic Landmark and is protected under federal law. The island is also a part of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge and contains the largest colony of least auklets, research biologists from Memorial University of Newfoundland have been studying the impact of introduced Norway rats on the seabirds of Kiska since 2001. Much of the left behind from World War II is still evident in Kiska. The slow erosion processes on the tundra have had effect on the bomb craters still visible both from the ground and in satellite images on the hills surrounding the harbor. Numerous equipment dumps, tunnels, Japanese gun emplacements, shipwrecks, in 1983, a memorial plaque was placed on Kiska by the 87th Mountain Infantry Regiment
30.
Aleutians
–
The Aleutian Islands are a chain of 14 large volcanic islands and 55 smaller ones belonging to both the United States and Russia. Crossing longitude 180°, at which point east and west longitude end, the westernmost U. S. island in real terms, however, is Attu Island, west of which runs the International Date Line. The islands, with their 57 volcanoes, are in the part of the Pacific Ring of Fire. Physiographically, they are a section of the larger Pacific Border province. These Islands are most known for the battles and skirmishes occurred there during the Aleutian Islands Campaign of World War II. It was one of two attacks on the United States during that war. The largest islands in the Aleutians are Attu, and Unalaska, Umnak, and Unimak in the Fox Islands. The largest of those is Unimak Island, with an area of 1,571.41 mi², followed by Unalaska Island, the axis of the archipelago near the mainland of Alaska has a southwest trend, but near 179° its direction changes to the northwest. This change of direction corresponds to a curve in the line of fissures that have contributed their products to the building of the islands. Such curved chains are repeated about the Pacific Ocean in the Kuril Islands, the Japanese chain, and in the Philippines. All these island arcs are at the edge of the Pacific Plate and experience much seismic activity, but are still habitable, the general elevation is greatest in the eastern islands and least in the western. The island chain is a continuation of the Aleutian Range on the mainland. The coasts are rocky and surf-worn, and the approaches are exceedingly dangerous and these volcanic islands reach heights of 6,200 feet. Makushin Volcano located on Unalaska Island, is not quite visible from within the town of Unalaska, though the steam rising from its cone is visible on a clear day. Residents of Unalaska need only to one of the smaller hills in the area, such as Pyramid Peak or Mt. Newhall. The volcanic Bogoslof and Fire Islands, which rose from the sea in 1796 and 1883 respectively, in 1906 a new volcanic cone rose between the islets of Bogoslof and Grewingk, near Unalaska, followed by another in 1907. These cones were demolished by an explosive eruption on September 1,1907. Newly found information in 2017, the volcanic cone erupted sending ash, the Aleutians seen from space The climate of the islands is oceanic, with moderate and fairly uniform temperatures and heavy rainfall
31.
Billy Mitchell
–
William Billy Mitchell was a United States Army general who is regarded as the father of the United States Air Force. Mitchell served in France during World War I and, by the conflicts end, after the war, he was appointed deputy director of the Air Service and began advocating increased investment in air power, believing that this would prove vital in future wars. He argued particularly for the ability of bombers to sink battleships and he resigned from the service shortly afterward. Mitchell received many honors following his death, including a commission by President Franklin D. Roosevelt as a major general and he is also the only individual for whom an American military aircraft design, the North American B-25 Mitchell, is named. Born in Nice, France, to John L. Mitchell, Mitchell grew up on an estate in what is now the Milwaukee suburb of West Allis, Wisconsin. His grandfather, Alexander Mitchell, a Scotsman, established what became the Milwaukee Road railroad, Mitchell Park and the shopping precinct of Mitchell Street were named in honor of Alexander. Mitchells sister Ruth fought with the Chetniks in Yugoslavia during World War II and later wrote a book about her brother, Billy Mitchell graduated from Columbian College of George Washington University, where he was a member of Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity. He then enlisted as a private at age 18 in Company M of the 1st Wisconsin Infantry Regiment on May 14,1898, quickly gaining a commission due to his fathers influence, he joined the U. S. Army Signal Corps. Following the cessation of hostilities, Mitchell remained in the Army and he predicted as early as 1906, while an instructor at the Armys Signal School in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, that future conflicts would take place in the air, not on the ground. A member of one of Milwaukees most prominent families, Billy Mitchell was probably the first person with ties to Wisconsin to see the Wright Brothers plane fly, in 1908, when a young Signal Corps officer, Mitchell observed Orville Wrights flying demonstration at Fort Myer, Virginia. Mitchell took flight lessons at the Curtiss Aviation School at Newport News, from 1900 to 1904, Mitchell was posted in the District of Alaska as a lieutenant in the Signal Corps. Brunnell, Lieutenant Mitchell oversaw the construction of what became known as the Washington-Alaska Military Cable, ironically, he appeared in August 1913 at legislative hearings considering a bill to make Army aviation a branch separate from the Signal Corps and testified against the bill. In June, he took flying lessons at the Glenn Curtiss Aviation School because he was proscribed by law from aviator training by age and rank. In July 1916, he was promoted to major and appointed Chief of the Air Service of the First Army, when the United States declared war on Germany on April 6,1917, Mitchell was in Spain en route to France as an observer. On April 24, he made the first flight by an American officer over German lines, before long, Mitchell had gained enough experience to begin preparations for American air operations. Mitchell rapidly earned a reputation as a daring, flamboyant, in May, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel. He was promoted to the rank of colonel on October 10,1917 to rank from August 5. In September 1918, he planned and led nearly 1,500 British, French and he was elevated to the rank of brigadier general on October 14,1918 and commanded all American air combat units in France
32.
Attack on Pearl Harbor
–
The attack, also known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor, led to the United States entry into World War II. The Japanese military leadership referred to the attack as the Hawaii Operation and Operation AI, Japan intended the attack as a preventive action to keep the U. S. Pacific Fleet from interfering with military actions they planned in Southeast Asia against overseas territories of the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and the United States. Over the next seven hours there were coordinated Japanese attacks on the U. S. -held Philippines, Guam and Wake Island and on the British Empire in Malaya, Singapore, the attack commenced at 7,48 a. m. The base was attacked by 353 Imperial Japanese fighter planes, bombers, all eight U. S. Navy battleships were damaged, with four sunk. All but the USS Arizona were later raised, and six were returned to service, the Japanese also sank or damaged three cruisers, three destroyers, an anti-aircraft training ship, and one minelayer. 188 U. S. aircraft were destroyed,2,403 Americans were killed and 1,178 others were wounded. Important base installations such as the station, shipyard, maintenance. Japanese losses were light,29 aircraft and five midget submarines lost, one Japanese sailor, Kazuo Sakamaki, was captured. The surprise attack came as a shock to the American people. The following day, December 8, the United States declared war on Japan, the U. S. responded with a declaration of war against Germany and Italy. Domestic support for non-interventionism, which had been fading since the Fall of France in 1940, Roosevelt to proclaim December 7,1941, a date which will live in infamy. Because the attack happened without a declaration of war and without explicit warning, over the next decade, Japan continued to expand into China, leading to all-out war between those countries in 1937. Japan spent considerable effort trying to isolate China and achieve sufficient resource independence to attain victory on the mainland, from December 1937, events such as the Japanese attack on USS Panay, the Allison incident, and the Nanking Massacre swung public opinion in the West sharply against Japan. Fearing Japanese expansion, the United States, the United Kingdom, in 1940, Japan invaded French Indochina in an effort to control supplies reaching China. The United States halted shipments of airplanes, parts, machine tools, and aviation gasoline to Japan, an invasion of the Philippines was also considered necessary by Japanese war planners. War Plan Orange had envisioned defending the Philippines with a 40 and this was opposed by Douglas MacArthur, who felt that he would need a force ten times that size, and was never implemented. By 1941, U. S. planners anticipated abandonment of the Philippines at the outbreak of war and orders to that effect were given in late 1941 to Admiral Thomas Hart, commander of the Asiatic Fleet
33.
West Coast of the United States
–
The West Coast or Pacific Coast is the coastline along which the contiguous Western United States meets the North Pacific Ocean. As a region, this term most often refers to the states of California. More specifically, it refers to an area defined on the east by the Cascade Range, Sierra Nevada and Mojave Desert, the U. S. Census groups the five states of California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, and Hawaii together as the Pacific States division. As of the 2010 Census, the population of the Census Bureaus Pacific Region was approximately 47.8 million – about 15. 3% of US population. The largest city on the west coast of the United States is Los Angeles, small isolated groups of hunter-gatherers migrated alongside herds of large herbivores far into Alaska. Between 16,500 BCE and 13,500 BCE, ice-free corridors developed along the Pacific coast and valleys of North America, Alaska Natives, indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, and California indigenous peoples eventually descended from the Paleo-Indians. They developed various languages and established trade routes, later, Spanish, British, French, Russian, and American explorers and settlers began colonizing the area. The West Coast of the United States has a climate in its Northern edge towards the Canada–US border. The coastline sees significantly mild temperatures when compared to the areas during summer. In far Northern California there is a difference of 17 °C between Eurekas and Willow Creek in spite of only 25 miles separating the locations and Willow Creek being located at a 500 metres elevation, coastal fog is also prevalent in keeping shoreline temperatures cool. Since the West Coast has been populated by more recently than the East Coast. Additionally, its demographic composition underlies its cultural difference from the rest of the United States. Californias history first as a major Spanish colony, and later Mexican territory, has given the lower West Coast a distinctive Hispanic tone, which it also shares with the rest of the Southwest. Similarly, two of the three cities in which Asian Americans have concentrated, San Francisco and Los Angeles, are located on the West Coast, San Franciscos Chinatown, the oldest in North America, is a vibrant cultural center. The West Coast also has a large share of green cities within the United States. Other writers, like Jean Baudrillard, Mike Davis, and Umberto Eco, have made related statements on Californian culture, in the Northwest, Portland and Seattle are both considered among the coffee capitals of the world. While Starbucks originated in Seattle, both towns are known for coffee roasters and independent coffeeshops. In the Pacific Northwest at large, which includes the Canadian west coast, the culture has significantly shaped by the environment, especially by its forests, mountains
34.
Walt Disney
–
Walter Elias Walt Disney was an American entrepreneur, animator, voice actor and film producer. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons, as a film producer, Disney holds the record for most Academy Awards earned by an individual, having won 22 Oscars from 59 nominations. He was presented with two Golden Globe Special Achievement Awards and an Emmy Award, among other honors, several of his films are included in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress. Born in Chicago in 1901, Disney developed an early interest in drawing and he took art classes as a boy and got a job as a commercial illustrator at the age of 18. He moved to California in the early 1920s and set up the Disney Brothers Studio with his brother Roy, with Ub Iwerks, Walt developed the character Mickey Mouse in 1928, his first highly popular success, he also provided the voice for his creation in the early years. As the studio grew, Disney became more adventurous, introducing synchronized sound, full-color three-strip Technicolor, feature-length cartoons, the results, seen in features such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Fantasia, Pinocchio, Dumbo and Bambi, furthered the development of animated film. New animated and live-action films followed after World War II, including the critically successful Cinderella and Mary Poppins, in the 1950s, Disney expanded into the amusement park industry, and in 1955 he opened Disneyland. In 1965, he began development of theme park, Disney World, the heart of which was to be a new type of city. Disney was a smoker throughout his life, and died of lung cancer in December 1966 before either the park or the EPCOT project were completed. Disney was a shy, self-deprecating and insecure man in private and he had high standards and high expectations of those with whom he worked. Although there have been accusations that he was racist or anti-semitic and his reputation changed in the years after his death, from a purveyor of homely patriotic values to a representative of American imperialism. Nevertheless, Disney is considered an icon, particularly in the United States. Walt Disney was born on December 5,1901, at 1249 Tripp Avenue and he was the fourth son of Elias Disney—born in the Province of Canada, to Irish parents—and Flora, an American of German and English descent. Aside from Disney, Elias and Calls sons were Herbert, Raymond and Roy, in 1906, when Disney was four, the family moved to a farm in Marceline, Missouri, where his uncle Robert had just purchased land. In Marceline, Disney developed his interest in drawing when he was paid to draw the horse of a neighborhood doctor. Elias was a subscriber to the Appeal to Reason newspaper, Disney also began to develop an ability to work with watercolors and crayons. He lived near the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway line and he and his younger sister Ruth started school at the same time at the Park School in Marceline in late 1909. In 1911, the Disneys moved to Kansas City, Missouri, before long, he was spending more time at the Pfeiffers house than at home
35.
Victory Through Air Power (film)
–
Victory Through Air Power is a 1943 American Technicolor animated documentary feature film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by United Artists on July 17,1943. It is based on the 1942 book Victory Through Air Power by Alexander P. de Seversky, de Seversky appeared in the film, an unusual departure from the Disney animated feature films of the time. Edward H. Plumb, Paul J. Smith and Oliver Wallace were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture. The popular filmmaker Walt Disney read the book and felt that its message was so important that he financed the animated production of Victory Through Air Power. The film was created to express Seversky’s theories to government officials. Movie critic Richard Schickel says that Disney pushed the film out in a hurry and it was not until 1945 Disney was able to pay off his $1.2 million war film deficit. On July 11,1943, the New York Times devoted a page, Victory from the Air. This was possibly the first time that such skilled use of visual description had been placed at the service of a political argument. On December 8,1941, Disney studios were converted into a propaganda machine for the United States government. S. Among the notables who decided after seeing the film that Seversky and Disney knew what they were talking about were Winston Churchill, the Disney studio sent a print for them to view when they were attending the Quebec Conference. According to Leonard Maltin, it changed FDRs way of thinking—he agreed that Seversky was right, Maltin also adds that it was only after Roosevelt saw Victory Through Air Power that our country made the commitment to long-range bombing. Roosevelt recognized that film was a way to teach and Disney could provide Washington with high quality information. The American people were becoming united and Disney was able to inform them of the situation without presenting excessive chaos, the animation was popular among soldiers and was superior to other documentary films and written instructions at the time. The film played a significant role for the Disney Corporation because it was the beginning of educational films. The educational films would be, and still are, continually produced and used for the military, schools, the company learned how to effectively communicate their ideas and efficiently produce the films while introducing the Disney characters to millions of people worldwide. Throughout the rest of the war, Disney characters effectively acted as ambassadors to the world, one scene showed a fictional rocket bomb destroying a fortified German submarine pen. According to anecdote, this inspired the British to develop a real rocket bomb to attack targets that were heavily protected with thick concrete. Due to its origin, the became known as the Disney bomb
36.
7th Infantry Division (United States)
–
The 7th Infantry Division is an infantry division of the United States Army. Today, it exists as a unique 250-man deployable headquarters based at Joint Base Lewis-McChord overseeing several units, the division was first activated in December 1917 in World War I, and based at Fort Ord, California for most of its history. Following the Japanese surrender in 1945, the division was stationed in Japan and South Korea and it took part in the Inchon Landings and the advance north until Chinese forces counter-attacked and almost overwhelmed the scattered division. The 7th later would fight in the Battle of Pork Chop Hill, from 1953 to 1971, the 7th Infantry Division defended the Korean Demilitarized Zone. Its main garrison was Camp Casey, South Korea, during these occupation duties, the division saw a complete reorganization in compliance with the Reorganization Objective Army Divisions plan. The divisions former headquarters company grew into the 1st Brigade, 7th Infantry Division while the 13th Infantry Brigade was reactivated as the 2nd Brigade, the 14th Infantry Brigade was reactivated as the 3rd Brigade, 7th Infantry Division. In 1965 the division received its distinctive insignia, which alluded to its history during the Korean War. On 2 April 1971, the returned to the United States and was inactivated at Fort Lewis. In October 1974 the 7th reactivated at its former garrison, Fort Ord, in the late 1980s, it briefly saw action overseas in Operation Golden Pheasant in Honduras and Operation Just Cause in Panama. In the early 1990s, it provided support to the civil authorities in Operation Green Sweep. In 1994, the division was inactivated at Ft. Ord and Ft Ord was closed, as per BRAC rulings. Reactivated in 1999 at Ft Carson, Colorado, where the final role was as a training and evaluation unit for Army National Guard brigades. On 26 April 2012, the Department of Defense announced the 7th Infantry Division headquarters would be reactivated as an administrative unit and this was done on 10 October 2012 at Joint Base Lewis McChord. The 7th Infantry Division was activated on 6 December 1917, exactly eight months after the American entry into World War I, as the 7th Division of the Regular Army at Camp Wheeler, Georgia. One month later, it prepared to deploy to Europe as a part of the American Expeditionary Force, two brigades were assigned to the division, the 13th Infantry Brigade and 14th Infantry Brigade, together with supporting units. Most of the division sailed to Europe aboard the SS Leviathan, while on the Western Front, the 7th Division did not see action at full divisional strength, though its infantry and reconnaissance elements did engage German forces. On 11 October 1918, it first came under fire and later, at Saint-Mihiel. Elements of the 7th probed up toward Prény near the Moselle River, capturing positions and it was at this time that the division first received its shoulder sleeve insignia
37.
Imperial Japanese Army
–
The Imperial Japanese Army or IJA, literally Army of the Greater Japanese Empire, was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan, from 1871 to 1945. Later an Inspectorate General of Military Aviation became the agency with oversight of the army. During the Meiji Restoration, the forces loyal to Emperor Meiji were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist daimyōs of Satsuma. This central army, the Imperial Japanese Army, became even more essential after the abolition of the han system in 1871. One of the differences between the samurai and the peasant class was the right to bear arms, this ancient privilege was suddenly extended to every male in the nation. In 1878, the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office, based on the German General Staff, was established directly under the Emperor and was given broad powers for military planning and strategy. The Japanese invasion of Taiwan under Qing rule in 1874 was an expedition by Japanese military forces in response to the Mudan Incident of December 1871. The Paiwan people, who are indigenous peoples of Taiwan, murdered 54 crewmembers of a merchant vessel from the Ryukyu Kingdom on the southwestern tip of Taiwan. 12 men were rescued by the local Chinese-speaking community and were transferred to Miyako-jima in the Ryukyu Islands and it marked the first overseas deployment of the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy. Not surprisingly, the new led to a series of riots from disgruntled samurai. One of the riots, led by Saigō Takamori, was the Satsuma Rebellion. Thenceforth, the military existed in an intimate and privileged relationship with the imperial institution, top-ranking military leaders were given direct access to the Emperor and the authority to transmit his pronouncements directly to the troops. The sympathetic relationship between conscripts and officers, particularly junior officers who were mostly from the peasantry, tended to draw the military closer to the people. In time, most people came to look more for guidance in matters more to military than to political leaders. By the 1890s, the Imperial Japanese Army had grown to become the most modern army in Asia, well-trained, well-equipped, however, it was basically an infantry force deficient in cavalry and artillery when compared with its European contemporaries. The Sino-Japanese War would come to symbolize the weakness of the military of the Qing dynasty and this was the result by Japans 120, 000-strong western-style conscript army of two armies and five divisions, which was well-equipped and well-trained when compared with their Qing counterparts. The Treaty of Shimonoseki made the Qing defeat official, with a shift in regional dominance in Asia from China to Japan. In 1899–1900, Boxer attacks against foreigners in China intensified eventually resulting in the siege of the legations in Beijing
38.
Chichagof Harbor
–
Chichagof Harbor is an inlet on the northeast coast of the island of Attu in the Aleutian Islands in Alaska. It is named after Russian Admiral and polar explorer Vasily Chichagov and it is the location of the Aleut village served by an American pastor and his wife
39.
Japanese aircraft carrier Zuikaku
–
Zuikaku was a Shōkaku-class aircraft carrier of the Imperial Japanese Navy. One of six carriers to participate in the Pearl Harbor attack, in 1941, Zuikaku, under the command of Captain Yokokawa Ichibei, and her sister ship Shōkaku comprised Carrier Division 5. On 26 November 1941, she left Hitokappu Bay for the attack on Pearl Harbor as part of the Kido Butai and her aircraft complement consisted of 15 Mitsubishi A6M fighters,27 Aichi D3A dive bombers, and 27 Nakajima B5N torpedo bombers. On 7 December, she launched two waves of aircraft against American military installations on the island of Oahu, in the first wave,25 dive bombers attacked Wheeler Army Airfield and five fighters attacked the airbase at Kaneohe. California later sank, while Maryland escaped Pearl Harbor with moderate damage, Zuikakus aircraft also attacked the Australian bases at Rabaul on 20 January 1942 and Lae in New Guinea on 21 January. In May 1942, she was assigned along with Shōkaku to support Operation Mo, alerted by intercepted and decrypted Japanese naval messages, the Americans dispatched the carriers USS Yorktown and Lexington to stop this operation. On 8 May 1942, during the Battle of the Coral Sea, the carrier forces located one another and launched maximum-effort raids. Hidden by a squall, Zuikaku escaped detection, but Shōkaku was hit three times by bombs and was unable to launch or recover her aircraft. In return, torpedo and dive bombers from both ships hit Lexington, which was scuttled by torpedoes from an escorting destroyer. Zuikaku was undamaged in the battle, but sustained losses in aircraft. This required her to return to Japan with her ship for resupply and aircrew training. On 24 August 1942, in the Battle of the Eastern Solomons and she was based at Truk for the next few months. On 26 October 1942, in the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, her aircraft again damaged the repaired Enterprise, however, Shōkaku and Zuihō were both severely damaged by American air attacks, and Zuikaku had to recover their surviving aircraft in addition to her own. Of the 110 aircraft launched by the three Japanese carriers, only 67 returned to Zuikaku and she then returned to the home islands via Truk for training and aircraft ferrying duties. In February 1943, she covered the evacuation of Japanese ground forces from Guadalcanal, in May, she was assigned to a mission to counterattack the American offensive in the Aleutian Islands, but this operation was cancelled after the Allied victory on Attu on 29 May 1943. Later in 1943, under the command of Captain Kikuchi Tomozo, she was based at Truk. In 1944, she was based at Singapore, in June, she was assigned to Operation A-Go, an attempt to repulse the Allied invasion of the Mariana Islands. On 20 June, a bomb hit started a fire in the hangar, but Zuikakus experienced damage control teams managed to get it under control, after this battle, Zuikaku was the only survivor of the six fleet carriers that had launched the attack on Pearl Harbor
40.
Japanese battleship Musashi
–
Musashi, named after an ancient Japanese province, was one of two Yamato-class battleships built for the Imperial Japanese Navy, beginning in the late 1930s. The Yamato-class ships were the heaviest and most powerfully armed battleships ever constructed and their secondary armament consisted of four 15. 5-centimetre triple-gun turrets formerly used by the Mogami-class cruisers. They were equipped with six or seven floatplanes to conduct reconnaissance, commissioned in mid-1942, Musashi was modified to serve as the flagship of the Combined Fleet, and spent the rest of the year working up. The ship was transferred to Truk in early 1943 and sortied several times that year with the fleet in unsuccessful searches for American forces and she was used to transfer forces and equipment between Japan and various occupied islands several times in 1944. Torpedoed in early 1944 by an American submarine, Musashi was forced to return to Japan for repairs and she was present during the Battle of the Philippine Sea in June, but did not come in contact with American surface forces. Musashi was sunk by an estimated 19 torpedo and 17 bomb hits from American carrier-based aircraft on 24 October 1944 during the Battle of Leyte Gulf, over half of her crew was rescued. Her wreck was located in March 2015 by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, Musashi had a length of 244 metres between perpendiculars and 263 metres overall. She had a beam of 36.9 metres and a draught of 10.86 metres at deep load and she displaced 64,000 long tons at standard load and 71,659 long tons at deep load. Her crew consisted of 2,500 officers and enlisted men in 1942, the battleship had four sets of Kampon geared steam turbines, each of which drove one propeller shaft. The turbines were designed to produce a total of 150,000 shaft horsepower, using steam provided by 12 Kampon water-tube boilers, to give her a maximum speed of 27 knots. She had a capacity of 6,300 long tons of fuel oil. Musashis main battery consisted of nine 45-calibre 46-centimetre Type 94 guns mounted in three gun turrets, numbered from front to rear. The guns had a rate of fire of 1.5 to 2 rounds per minute and these had become available once the Mogami-class cruisers were rearmed with 20. 3-centimetre guns. Heavy anti-aircraft defence was provided by a dozen 40-calibre 127-millimetre Type 89 dual-purpose guns in six twin turrets, Musashi also carried thirty-six 25-millimetre Type 96 light anti-aircraft guns in triple-gun mounts, all mounted on the superstructure. The ship was provided with two twin mounts for the licence-built 13. 2-millimetre Type 93 anti-aircraft machine guns, one on each side of the bridge. While the ship was under repair in April 1944, the two 15.5 cm wing turrets were removed and replaced with three triple 25 mm gun mounts each. A total of twenty-one triple 25 mm mounts and 25 single mounts were added at that time, giving the ship a light AA armament that numbered one hundred and thirty 25 mm guns. The ships waterline belt was negligibly thinner than the Yamatos at 400 millimetres thick
41.
Japanese battleship Haruna
–
Haruna, named after Mount Haruna, was a warship of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War I and World War II. Designed by the British naval engineer George Thurston, she was the fourth and last battlecruiser of the Kongō class, laid down in 1912 at the Kawasaki Shipyards in Kobe, Haruna was formally commissioned in 1915 on the same day as her sister ship, Kirishima. Haruna patrolled off the Chinese coast during World War I, during gunnery drills in 1920, an explosion destroyed one of her guns, damaged the gun turret, and killed seven men. During her career, Haruna underwent two major reconstructions, beginning in 1926, the Imperial Japanese Navy rebuilt her as a battleship, strengthening her armor and improving her speed and power capabilities. In 1933, her superstructure was rebuilt, her speed was increased. Now fast enough to accompany Japans growing carrier fleet, Haruna was reclassified as a fast battleship, during the Second Sino-Japanese War, Haruna transported Imperial Japanese Army troops to mainland China before being redeployed to the Third Battleship Division in 1941. On the eve of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, she sailed as part of the Southern Force in preparation for the Battle of Singapore, Haruna fought in almost every major naval action of the Pacific Theater during World War II. She covered the Japanese landings in Malaya and the Dutch East Indies in 1942 before engaging American forces at the Battle of Midway, Haruna participated in the Battle of the Philippine Sea and the Battle of Leyte Gulf in 1944, engaging American vessels in the latter. In 1945, Haruna was transferred to Kure Naval Base, where she was sunk by aircraft of Task Force 38 on 28 July 1945. Haruna was the fourth and last of the Imperial Japanese Navys Kongō-class battlecruisers, the class was ordered in 1910 in the Japanese Emergency Naval Expansion Bill after the commissioning of HMS Invincible in 1908. Their heavy armament and armor protection were greatly superior to those of any other Japanese capital ship afloat at the time, the keel of Haruna was laid down at Kobe by Kawasaki on 16 March 1912, with most of the parts used in her construction manufactured in Japan. Due to a shortage of available slipways, Haruna and her sister ship Kirishima were the first two ships of the Imperial Japanese Navy to be built in private shipyards. Launched on 14 December 1913, Harunas fitting-out began in early 1914 and she was completed on 19 April 1915. Harunas main battery consisted of eight 14 in heavy-caliber main guns in four twin turrets, the turrets were noted by the U. S. Office of Naval Intelligence to be similar to the British 15-inch turrets, with improvements made in flash-tightness. Each of her guns could fire high-explosive or armor-piercing shells a maximum of 38,770 yd at a firing rate of two shells per minute. In keeping with the Japanese doctrine of deploying more powerful vessels before their opponents, Haruna, the main guns carried ammunition for 90 salvoes, and had an approximate barrel life of 250 to 280 rounds. In 1941, separate dyes were introduced for the shells of the four Kongo-class battleships. Her secondary battery was originally sixteen 6 in 50-caliber medium guns in casemates, eight 3 in guns
