The Battle of Attu

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  • In this June 1943 file photo, a U.S. squad armed with guns and hand grenades close in on Japanese holdouts entrenched in dugouts during World War II on Attu Island, part of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. May 30, 2018 will mark the 75th anniversary of American forces recapturing Attu Island in Alaska’s Aleutian chain from Japanese forces. It was the only World War II battle fought on North American soil. (AP)
  • In this June 23, 1943, file photo, U.S. Army reinforcements land on a beach during World War II on Attu Island, part of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. May 30, 2018 will mark the 75th anniversary of American forces recapturing Attu Island in Alaska’s Aleutian chain from Japanese forces. It was the only World War II battle fought on North American soil. (AP)
  • In this May 26, 1943, file photo released by the U.S. Navy, American soldiers and equipment land on the black volcanic beach during World War II at Massacre Bay on Attu Island, part of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. May 30, 2018 will mark the 75th anniversary of American forces recapturing Attu Island in Alaska’s Aleutian chain from Japanese forces. It was the only World War II battle fought on North American soil. (U.S. Navy via AP)
  • In this August 1943 file photo, a bugler sounds taps during a memorial service while a group of GIs visit the graves of comrades who fell in the reconquest of Attu Island, part of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. May 30, 2018 will mark the 75th anniversary of American forces recapturing Attu Island in Alaska’s Aleutian chain from Japanese forces. It was the only World War II battle fought on North American soil. (AP)
  • In this May 28, 1943, file photo, soldiers who took part in the American landing on Japanese-occupied Attu in the Aleutians, from left, Pvt. John E. Terknett, of Eastland, Texas, whose wallet and notebook were ripped by a shell which wounded him across the chest, Pvt. Joseph E. Kenski, of Detroit, with a finger through a knitted cap he was wearing when he suffered a head wound, and Sgt. Forrest Wright Johnson, of Flat River, Mo., showing a bullet-creased boot, smile after arriving at a Pacific Northwest Army base hospital. The 75th anniversary of American forces recapturing Attu Island in Alaska’s Aleutian chain from Japanese forces will be marked on May 30, 2018. It was the only World War II battle fought on North American soil. (AP)
  • This Aug. 22, 2017, photo provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, shows a titanium Peace Memorial at the crest of Engineer Hill on Attu Island, Alaska. One of the bloodiest World War II battles in the Pacific was waged 75 years ago this month on Attu Island in Alaska’s Aleutian Islands. American forces reclaimed the island on Memorial Day 1943, 11 months after Japan seized it. (Lisa Hupp/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service via AP)
  • In this Aug. 22, 2017, photo provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, an artillery monument sits above Massacre Bay on Attu Island, Alaska. One of the bloodiest World War II battles in the Pacific was waged 75 years ago this month on Attu Island in Alaska’s Aleutian Islands. American forces reclaimed the island on Memorial Day 1943, 11 months after Japan seized it. (Lisa Hupp/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service via AP)
  • In this May 19, 2018, photo World War II veterans Allan Seroll, left, of Massachusetts, and William Roy Dover, right, of Alabama, right, attend a 75th anniversary celebration of the Battle of Attu in Anchorage, Alaska. Dover was an American soldier who took part in the May 1943 effort to reclaim Alaska’s Attu Island from the Japanese. It was the only World War II battle fought on North American soil. (Mark Thiessen/AP)
  • In this May 19, 2018, photo World War II veteran Joseph Sasser, of Carthage, Miss., attends a 75th anniversary celebration of the Battle of Attu in Anchorage, Alaska. Dover was an American soldier who took part in the May 1943 effort to reclaim Alaska’s Attu Island from the Japanese. It was the only World War II battle fought on North American soil. (Mark Thiessen/AP)
  • In this May 19, 2018, photo World War II veteran William Roy Dover, of Haleyville, Ala., speaks at a 75th anniversary celebration of the Battle of Attu in Anchorage, Alaska. Dover was an American soldier who took part in the May 1943 effort to reclaim Alaska’s Attu Island from the Japanese. It was the only World War II battle fought on North American soil. (Mark Thiessen/AP)
  • In this May 19, 2018, photo World War II veteran Joseph Sasser, of Carthage, Miss., attends a 75th anniversary celebration of the Battle of Attu in Anchorage, Alaska. Dover was an American soldier who took part in the May 1943 effort to reclaim Alaska’s Attu Island from the Japanese. It was the only World War II battle fought on North American soil. (Mark Thiessen/AP)