Aleutian World War II National Historic Area

Introduction

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The Aleutian World War II National Historic Area is a U.S. National Historic Site on Amaknak Island in the Aleutian Island Chain of Alaska. It's located near the city of Unalaska, formerly called Dutch Harbor. The site offers visitors a glimpse of both natural and cultural history. It also traces the historic footprints of the U.S. Army Base, Fort Schwatka, located at the Ulakta Head on Mount Ballyhoo. In 1996, the United States Congress designated this a National Historic Area as a way of educating future generations both about the history of the Aleut peoples, and the role the Aleutian Islands played in the defense of the United States in World War II. It is owned and operated by the Ounalashka Corporation. But as an affiliated area of the National Park Service receives funding and technical assistance for development and preservation.

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Backstory and Context

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Fort Schwatka is 800 miles west of Anchorage, the nearest large urban center. It was one of four coastal defense posts built to protect Dutch Harbor (crucial back door to the United States) during World War II. Fort Schwatka is also the highest coastal battery ever constructed in the United States, at 897 feet about sea level. The other Army coastal defense facilities were Fort Mears, Fort Learnard, and Fort Brumback. Engineers designed the concrete observation posts and command stations to withstand earthquakes and 100 mph winds. Although today, many of the bunkers and wooden structures of Fort Schwatka have collapsed, the gun mounts and lookouts are among the most intact in the country.

The remote Aleutian Islands have been home to the Unangas (Russian: Унаӈан), or Aleut (Russian: Алеу́ты), people for more than 8,000 years. During World War II, they became a fiercely contested battleground in the Pacific. This thousand-mile-long archipelago saw invasion by Japanese forces, the occupation of two islands; a mass relocation of Unangas civilians; a 15-month air war; and one of the deadliest battles in the Pacific Theater.

The U.S. military starting building forward-operating bases in the Aleutian Islands in 1940. By 1943, American troops were stationed throughout the archipeligo. From airfields at Adak, Dutch Harbor, and Fort Glenn, U.S. pilots flew patrol bombers, fighter-bombers, and observation aircraft on combat and reconnaissance missions over the Aleutians. On June 3 and 4, 1942, six months after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Japanese pilots bombed Fort Mears and the Dutch Harbor Naval Operating Base on Amaknak Island. Three days later, Japanese soldiers invaded Kiska Island, 600 miles west of Dutch Harbor, and Attu Island, 800 miles west of Dutch Harbor. American forces recaptured Attu in June of 1943, at the price of many American and Japanese lives, and the Japanese army abandoned Kiska one month later. U.S. troops remained in the Aleutians until the end of the war in 1945.

The Aleutian World War II National Historic Area follows the historic footprint of the U.S. Army Fort Schwatka, located at Ulakta Head on Mount Ballyhoo. Named for Lt. Frederick Schwatcka, the fort is one of four coastal defense posts built in 1942 and 1943 to protect the Dutch Harbor Naval Operating Base. Lt. Schwatcka conducted several military surveys in Alaska in the 1880s, including in Unalaska. The fort overlooks Dutch Harbor and was key to its protection. Although many of the bunkers and wooden structures of Fort Schwatka have collapsed, the gun mounts and lookouts are among the most intact of their era in the country.

The Visitor Center is located in the historic Naval Aerology building. The Aerology Building is one of the most intact and architecturally significant World War II buildings in the Aleutian Islands. The center interprets both the military events of the Campaign and the relocation and overwhelming hardships faced by the Alaska Native residents of the Aleutian and Pribilof Islands. Inside there are exhibits and a reconstructed 1940s radio room. In a 1940s-style theater, World War II-era films, including "Report from the Aleutians" and "Alaska at War," are regularly shown.

Sources

Aleutian Islands World War II National Historic Area, U.S. National Park Service. Accessed July 27th 2020. https://www.nps.gov/aleu/index.htm.

Dutch Harbor Bombing, June 1942, U.S. National Park Service. Accessed July 27th 2020. https://www.nps.gov/aleu/learn/historyculture/raid-dutch-harbor.htm.