Canadian Troops In The Aleutians

Funny thing,  I had started writing and writing about the Canadian Military's role in the Aleutian Islands Campaign in WW2 and the post just kept on going and going.  For my taste, it was too long for one blog post so I decided I needed to break it up so that each division:  Royal Canadian Navy (RCN), Royal Canadian Army (RCA), and the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) can get the recognition they deserve.

RCAF F/O Robert W. Lynch (my grandfather)
& an AAF Officer in Kodiak, AK
about to ref the troops  hockey game. 

Just like many people did not know that there was even battle fought in Alaska in WW2, even fewer knew that the Canadians were fighting right alongside the United States to defend the North American continent.  Some would say defending 'America' but the way I look at it, if Alaska was being invaded then British Columbia and Canada could have been next, maybe just as a stepping stone to the south, but a stepping stone none the less.  

When the Aleutian battle first started in June 1942, six months after Pearl Harbor, the American defense was already stretched thin due to what was going on in Europe and the Pacific and it was clear it needed to establish a stronger northern defense.  It was only natural that the Canadians were called on to help defend their continent.  In 1940, to ensure help was available when needed, the two countries along with the Soviet Union signed the Pacific Joint Agreement on Defense, which basically stated that each nation would supply troops, ships, and planes to its neighbor if thy neighbor needed to defend themselves against an enemy attack.  Of course, this would be specifically helpful to the United States in regards to the eminent threat of Japan against Alaska.  So in a nutshell, a big nutshell,  that is how Canadians became involved.

Below is a very brief summary of  each divisions contributions to the Aleutian Campaign.  

Canadian Troops disembark on Kiska 9/1943
Source-Dept of National Defense Canada 

The Royal Canadian Navy had 3 large ships, several corvettes, minesweepers and some sub chasing auxiliary vessels and not to forget, the many men needed to man those vessels.  Those ships saw duties in water as far north as Dutch Harbor to Amchitka as well as guarding the more southern waters of the inside passage.  Canadian boats were attacked, Seamen died and many were injured.

The Canadian Army were also involved from beginning to end, from guarding the inside passage where transport and military boats would pass to the final offensive mission, where 5300 Canadian troops landed with the Americans to re-take Kiska.  At least, 313 never to return home.

Royal Canadian Air Force
Source- Canada Wings

The Royal Canadian Air Force,  had approximately 500 personnel up north with at least 5 squadrons participating, No.111F, No.14F and  No.8B were stationed up north and 2 further south manning Annette Island.   Both the No. 111F and No.14F went on regular offensive missions and 11 of the dedicated and brave Canadian Airmen won American Air Medals for their service.  Many Canadian airmen were lost, not due to enemy attacks, we survived those, but due to the harsh and dangerous flying conditions in the Aleutian Islands, noted to be the worst in the world, with low ceilings, intense fog and spontaneous strong crosswinds.

Although by numbers, the Canadians may have had fewer troops but by no means were they less valuable to the success of this forgotten campaign. I can say now, having lived in both Canada and the United States, that Americans want to hold onto their pride and Canadians want to hold onto theirs, but in the end we are all North Americans and we should all feel proud that we worked together right here on our soil to keep it protected and in tact.

From the words of my grandfather, RCAF F/O Robert W. Lynch, No. 111F Squadron, when asked by historian, M.V. Bezeau "How the detachment blended into the AAF's 11th Pursuit and how were it's relations?"

"Pilots are pilots, consequently we had no trouble blending into the routine of the 11th Pursuit's operational duties.  We definitely retained our identity and our relations could not have been better."

In closing, I need to say that I am no war expert, nor author, so what I share with you, is what I have learned researching for thousands of hours (according to my 9 year old) the information about this campaign.  Along the way I have met and spoken with some wonderful people; veterans, historians, Alaskans, authors and regular joe's. Thank you all for helping me along this journey.  What fun, and it has only just begun! 

War Is REAL And Never Insignificant

It's true, there was actually a war fought right here on North American soil .  The Japanese did bomb the continent.  Lives were lost, many lives were lost, maybe not as many as in Germany but tell that to the family of a loved on who was fighting in Alaska in WW2.  War is war.

To be  honest, I am not a fan of 'war', I mean who is really?   I know there are people who are absolutely fascinated with war, and those people bring immeasurable value, and protection to our country. To me, the history of the war is what interests me. After all, wars have helped shape our society as we now know it.

L-R F/O Jim Gohl,  F/O Robert Lynch, & F/O John Ingalls
RCAF 111F Squadron, 1942

When my grandfather passed in 1996 and we discovered all his war memorabilia, it intrigued me.   But then life got busy and I forgot all about it until a few months ago when my neighbor had asked me what kind of plane my grandfather flew in WW2.  That lead me to countless hours, and still counting by the way, of research on the Aleutian campaign. It saddens me that the Aleutian campaign is known as the "The Forgotten War", that all those servicemen who endured the most treacherous conditions and sacrificed their lives for the immediate safety of our North America were not given the recognition they deserved.  That historians and other war strategists at the time deemed the Japanese invasion as a minor and insignificant distraction.  Again, war is war, people died, people suffered.

The Aleutian Islands, where that war was fought, were so remote that it has been said, many of them felt abandoned by the county and that they were left up there to die.  Suicide and mental breakdown rates were higher than any other war.  They lived in tents or Quonsets huts in sub zero temperatures, supplies were hard to get due to their remoteness.  Mail from home, their main source of joy, took months to arrive.  Everything had to be shipped in on boat with limited supply space which took weeks or even months sometimes, depending on the weather which was seldomly good.  Besides living conditions that were difficult,  the flying conditions for the airmen was even worse.  They had to brave long journeys over the rough Bering Sea, flying through the spontaneous thick Alaskan fog never knowing if a mountain was going to pop up out of the sky.  The Aleutian campaign claimed the highest loss of aircraft due to weather related crashes with over 150 aircraft lost due to climate alone.  The weather also was responsible for thousands of troops that suffered from frost bite related injuries, which to those of you who live in warm climates and are unfamiliar with the pain of frostbite,  it can be so severe you can lose body parts.

Quonset Hut on Adak, AK 1942
source- National Park Service

The number of servicemen lost in combat is still unclear at this point, the numbers are inconsistent depending on the sparse literature out there, but it is reported to have had the worst casualty rate since Hiroshima.  If that is not war, I don't know what is.

 Now, can you imagine what would have happened if the Japanese were met with no defense and were allowed to take over Kiska, Attu or Dutch Harbor without a fight.  Heck yea, they would have kept right on marching towards the mainland.  Doesn't sound so insignificant to me.  The North needed to be defended, and I am so thankful that those troops were there.

If you know of any Aleutian Island Veterans, either Canadian or American, I would like to honor them in the "In Memory" page.  Please contact me for details and spread the word and share this site with your friends.

Geography 101- The Aleutian Islands

I just had to start with this post because after speaking about this to several people recently I realized that most people do not even know where the Aleutian Islands are.  The most common response I have gotten is- 'somewhere south, somewhere tropical'.  Umm yea, not so much, let's try the complete opposite direction.  Look up, way up North, to Alaska.

The Aleutian Islands are a string of 14 volcanic islands (yes with a few that are currently active) plus many more smaller ones, that extend about 1,200 miles southwest off the Alaska Peninsula.  They are surrounded, to the south, by the Pacific Ocean and, to the north, by the Bering Sea.  They make up the most westward part of the United States.  The Islands are very mountainous as they are a continuation of the Aleutian Range on the mainland, with peaks reaching 6,200 feet, some of which come up straight up from the sea creating a dramatic and beautiful rocky coastline.

Islands of Four Mountains, Alaska

The Islands are almost free from trees and are covered with a dense growth of shrub like plants with costal areas covered in peat bog, wet spongy layers of decomposing vegetation. The islands are said to be one of the rainiest places in the United States with an average of 250 rainy days a year, which is more precipitation than rainy Seattle or Vancouver.  They are under an almost constant fog with seasonal temperatures ranging from 30-52 degrees Fahrenheit. (Yikes, that is a little chilly for this former Canadian who now has some thin Florida blood.)  The Aleutians are known as the birthplace of the winds; the cradle of the storms.  The climate in the chain can change in an instant with Williwaws, sudden gusts of strong winds descending from the cold snowy mountains to the sea,  developing seemingly out of no where. 

The Islands are sparsely populated with only an estimated population of 8,100 people, half of which live in Unalaska (Dutch Harbor), AK, one of the largest Islands located on the eastern side of the chain.

Unalaska (aka Dutch Harbor), Alaska

In World War 2, the beautiful and mysterious Aleutian Islands were invaded by the Japanese. The first invasion took place in June 3rd, 1942 on Dutch Harbor and days later the Japanese went on to claim the two most westerly Islands of Kiska and Attu.  My Grandfather was a fighter pilot and served in the Aleutian Campaign to rid the Islands of its forgein invaders and keep North America safe.  

This is how I came to know of the Aleutian Islands, Alaska,  and I am now on a mission to know more, a lot more about this barren but magnificant part of North America!