Aleutian Islands Beautry
I watched this amazing documentary on the Discovery Channel about the various wars that the United States fought in the mid 20th century to protect the Alaskan borders from Japanese and Russian invasions.

The Japanese had taken over the Aleutian Islands of Attu and Kiska, in the Bering Sea. The climatic and geographical conditions on these remote islands were so harsh that Colonel Lawrence Castner appointed a small group of locals (Castner’s cutthroats) for helping out the American troops fight the Japanese intruders.

Aleutian Islands Aerial View

These Alaskan Scouts could survive under any conditions in these remote regions provided they were given a knife to hunt and a rifle to protect themselves. They would usually always travel ahead of the American troops and help them acclimatize to the hostile environment. They would teach the American troops on how to hunt for food, protect themselves from the harsh climate and move efficiently across the cold and wild Alaskan terrain.

Castner’s cutthroats played a very important role in winning back the Attu and Kiska islands that the Japanese had invaded. The documentary showed the actual historical events that took place in Alaska and how the scouts always came on top of the situation. They even helped the American army build a runway for their Bombers by drying a local waterbody which cut the flying distance for these bombers by half.

I must say I was really impressed by this documentary and by the deeds of Castner’s cutthroats.

Aleutuan Islands 1

You can read more about them here.