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Because the Japanese had the advantage of time, the Americans attacked with quadruple the force — more than 12,000 soldiers. (Alaska State Library, Aleutian/Pribilof Project Collection, ASL-P233-V111)

Veterans reflect on cost of reclaiming U.S. soil 75 years after Battle of Attu

Seventy-five years ago, Japan and the United States were locked in one of the bloodiest battles fought on American soil: the Battle of Attu. In 1943, American troops were streaming into Alaska in preparation for one of the deadliest battles of World War II. One year earlier, Japanese soldiers had bombed Dutch Harbor, seized Attu Island and took the Alaska Native people who lived there as prisoners of war.

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