Book Description

This book attempts to put the reader on the battlefield with the ground soldier. Men who fought on Attu, officers and enlisted men, told their stories to Lieutenant Robert J. Mitchell of the 32nd Infantry, one of the regiments engaged. Lieutenant Mitchell was wounded during the latter stage of the battle and while convalescing wrote the accounts which are now published as Part Two of the book. These stories tell of the discomforts and perils, the failures and successes, the fear and courage, the many fights between small groups and the occasional humor, of which battle consists. In preparing these accounts for publication, every effort has been made to keep them as nearly as possible in the exact form in which they were written down by Lieutenant Mitchell; consequently, a minimum of editorial changes has been made. Part One, written by Sewell T. Tyng, is an introduction in the form of a connected narrative of events leading up to the invasion of the Aleutian island of Attu and a detailed account of the battle which resulted in the capture of Attu by American forces. This narrative is based on official sources and on material collected by Captain Nelson L. Drummond, Jr., Field Artillery, formerly of the Alaska Defense Command. Captain Drummond visited Attu shortly after the battle, studied the terrain, and interviewed participants of all ranks. The volume has been prepared in the War Department under the supervision of the Military Intelligence Division. Aerial photographs are by the 11th Air Force; battle photographs are by the U.S. Army Signal Corps; and terrain feature photographs are by Captain Drummond, assisted by Private First Class A. E. Johnson, 50th Engineer Regiment. The panoramic sketch is based on an original by the 50th Engineer Regiment.