Sixty-six years ago on June 2, Lloyd Adams landed on Unalaska Beach, stationed with the 40th Coast Artillery, Battery E.
The 19-year-old and his fellows put up their tent and went to bed. The next morning, he was greeted with the arrival of Japanese planes beginning their two-day attack on Dutch Harbor.
At his annual lecture on the June 2 anniversary of the bombing, high school teacher and local historian Jeff Dickrell recounted the Japanese attack and covered the entire Aleutian front throughout World War II.
Dickrell’s accuracy was monitored by the honored guest in the audience in the high school auditorium, Dutch Harbor veteran Adams, who returned for the first time since 1942, accompanied by his wife, Loretta.
Before enlisting in the Army in April 1941, in Michigan, Adams had hired out to a farm in Michigan. The family he was working for required to attend the local Methodist church every week, which is where he met Loretta.
During Adams’ two years in Unalaska, Adams kept in contact with Loretta, to return home and marry her after his enlistment.
Dickrell pointed out the vast changes Amaknak Island underwent due to military development from the reduced size of Margaret’s Bay to the connection of Expedition Island into a small peninsula where UniSea stands today.
During the presentation, Dickrell said his biggest pet peeve was that there was color photography during the war, but it’s cheaper to print in black and white so most photos are without color. Even though Dickrell has more than 1,000 pictures, he only included 201 in the presentation.
Fortifying Unalaska
Beginning in prewar Unalaska, military development began in 1938 when the treaty with Japan ended, allowing the U.S. government to fortify the Aleutians.
“In one year, Dutch Harbor went from a small fueling city to the development of Fort Mears,” Dickrell said.
The first day of attacks, the Japanese planes showed up at dawn. Anti-aircraft guns were ineffective, and bombing proceeded.
Dickrell asked Adams where he was during the bombings on June 3. Adams said he was positioned near the village close to the cemetery, where the Memorial Park stands today. When he first arrived in Unalaska, all he had was his clothes and supplies and didn’t have a weapon yet.
After the morning bombings, as the injured were brought to safety, Adams finally received a gun. There were about 30 casualties on the first day, and a lot of people wounded.
Dickrell shared a story of a civilian contractor working in Unalaska at the age of 16. After being wounded during the bombing he returned home to become one of the founders of NASCAR.
“You see? Everything comes back to the Aleutians,” Dickrell proclaimed.
Originally, the Japanese were only going to attack one day. But they discovered there wasn’t a base on neighboring islands to the northwest and decided to attack Unalaska, aiming specifically for antennas, a second day.
During the second day, the troops on Dutch Harbor were more prepared. After the first attack, the troops had moved guns and relocated civilians from buildings to foxholes in the mountains for their protection.
After the second attack on Dutch Harbor, the Japanese planes retreated but accidentally accumulated over Fort Glen on Adak where several PBY wooden airboats were doing routine air patrols. A dogfight ensued.
The Aleutian front progressed to the battle of Kiska, where it is reported to be the “bloodiest battle of World War II,” a claim that Dickrell challenged.
“The reason it’s called the bloodiest battle is because of the ratio, but the total numbers are significantly less,” Dickrell said.
Throughout the entire Aleutian campaign, the military continued to fortify and push the Japanese out. After the Japanese forces had been removed from the Aleutians, military forces were kept in the Aleutians in defense. During this time, Adams spent two years in Unalaska and a year in Adak before returning to Michigan.
66 years later
During Adams’ visit, one of his goals was to find out where he was positioned during his first 11 months on the island. When driving with Bobbie Lekanoff on the Extra Mile Tours around Unalaska and Amaknak islands, he described a river with a lot of salmon, a plateau and a large ravine. Lekanoff brought Adams up to the top of General’s Hill and successfully found his position.
When his battery was first positioning itself on top of General’s Hill, which Adams knew as Hill 400, the men had to carry the supplies up the hill on their backs because the machines were bringing up the machine gun equipment.
Adams was able to find where his old mess hall was and described the suspension bridge built over the large ravine.
Adams told stories during the tour of going skiing across the frozen lake further up the mountain and fishing in today’s Iliuliuk River, before the lake.
“It was wall to wall with salmon. We used to have to push them aside to get across.
Some of the men used to use nets to just scoop out the fish, and it would go straight to our mess hall,” Adams recalled.
“If I didn’t have anything to do, I’d always be wandering the hills looking at the flowers and the birds,” Adams said. “But that was harder to do over on Ballyhoo.”
After being stationed on General’s Hill for 11 months, Adams and his men were moved to Ballyhoo for 11 months. After that, he was transferred to Adak to provide support there.
“It turned out to be about 33-1/2 months up here (in the Aleutians),” Adams said.
Adams returned to Michigan and reunited with Loretta. In 1946, he signed up again for the Army.
For additional reading on the Aleutian campaign, Dickrell suggested reading “The Aleutian Warriors,” “Those Navy Guys and Their PBYs: The Aleutian Solution” and “Koga’s Zero.”
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Aleutians veteran remembers
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