war in the Aleutians

[Papa G]

does anyone know what the most complete and detailed book there is on the subject.

the planning, units used, order of battle, photo's etc.

my dad was in training in the Mohave desert for Africa, when the division was split up and he and many others were going to the Aleutians.
dad never talked about his WWII time except as i have mentioned. the only Alaskian picture of him there is of him in front of a building with a wolverine painted over the door, and him in his bomber jacket and saucer cap, no date on the picture. he mustered out as a member of the 15th AAF.

confused over how he started out as a grunt in training, to end up in the AAF.
nor do i know what he did there, infantry, or some other job assignment.

thanks to all

Information

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[gunner]

Hi,
Rear Admiral Samuel Elliot Morison wrote a good one.
Aleutians, Gilberts and Marshalls, June 1942 – April 1944, vol. 7 of History of United States Naval Operations in World War II. Champaign: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0316583057.

But i dont know if he wrote the best one.

Here`s a link to wikipedia and at the end is a listing for more books.
Aleutian Islands Campaign - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Regards

Gunner

[campperrykid]

More info on more books and videos , starting with the 5 star rated book :"The Thousand Mile War ":
Amazon.com: Thousand-Mile War: World War II in Alaska and the Aleutians (Classic Reprint Series (Fairbanks, Alaska), No. 4.) (9780912006833): Brian Garfield: Books

There are 20 pages of books & videos listed under " Customers Who Bought... Also Bought". Many are directed related to the actual campaign.
My father was also in the Aleutians , including Engineer Ridge on Attu. He never talked about the actual fight on the ridge but it was clear that the approachs to the US positions were " a real mess" the next morning.

[us019255]

My father Tech Sargent Russell H. Hauser was one of the heroes who spent years in the Aleutian Islands. Mostly boring, cold duty as he arrived after the Japs had been defeated.

He was with the Signal Corps. Handled message traffic, intercepted Jap messages, and sent fake massages. The Alaskan fishing fleet had been commandeered for war service. The fishing boats had lots of transmitters installed and ranged widely over the North Pacific pretending to be fleets of warships. According to my dad it worked.

[jdmcomp]

My dad told me he wound up in the AAF when the DI asked one morning if anyone wanted to volunteer for the AAF. He said he and the four other fastest guys got in. Spent the war in Texas at Laredo teaching gunnery. Was a hell of a shot.

[stockerphil]

How did you make out in your search??? Did you happen to find any website dedicated to those who served in the Aleutians?

My best friend, Ken Blakeney served in the Aleutians, but I don't remember which islands.

He was in his 30's when I was seven, but he taught us youngsters how to shoot (bb gun), bow and arrow (hand made from lemon wood stave) etc and took us fishing.

Told of shooting a Japanese when the both suddenly saw each other, of the cold, how when he returned to the main land they had some trouble convincing him to stop carrying his rifle- in the chow hall. Talked about the huge piles of artillary shells and a pocket battleship moored in the shelter of the island and some chunk of rock sticking up out of the sea near by.

Wish I remembered more.

Also told of boot camp training in judo. He had earned some money boxing before entering the service so when the DI chose him as the second draftee to demonstrate judo throws on, the Di was decked since he didn't throw his weight behind the punch - just threw the punch.

A couple of years ago I got vol 1 and 4 of Stan Cohen's "The Forgotten War". They are pretty good. I believe there was another but can't find it right now.

Stocker Phil