“Ghosts in the Fog: The Untold Story of Alaska’s WWII Invasion”
by Samantha Seiple.
Scholastic Press, New York, 2011, 221 pages, 7-9.
Images of wars are constantly shown each day on television newscasts. Most of these war broadcasts are from the Middle East and usually involve some type of religious extremism. Some of the countries in which these wars are taking place seem “backward” to Americans. Because of this, war seems far away and not part of American life. While most Americans know that Imperial Japan attacked the United States Naval Fleet at Pearl Harbor in 1941, very few people are aware of the Japanese military invasion of the Aleutian Islands in Alaska in 1942. The Alaskan Campaign to retake these Aleutian Islands turned into a brutal and bloody conflict. Samantha Seiple tells the harrowing facts about this battle in “Ghosts in the Fog: The Untold Story of Alaska’s WWII Invasion.”
With the destruction of so much of the Pacific Fleet on Dec. 7, 1941, the United States military was rocked off its feet. In rapid succession, the Japanese military attacked and conquered the Philippines, Singapore and French Indo-China. Underequipped and ill-prepared, the United States tried to imagine where the next strike might be. Shortly after the Battle of Midway, the country found out. The Japanese launched a full-scale attack on the Aleutian Islands in Alaska.
The Japanese successfully landed their forces in Alaska. Now the American government was forced to attack the islands to reclaim their own territory. These battles were very important because imperial command posts in the Aleutians could have given Japan bases to launch attacks on the West Coast. It is hard to imagine a worse place to fight a war. The Aleutians are cold, wind-driven and frequently covered in fog. These awful conditions are worsened by poor American planning. The ten thousand man strong Seventh Infantry Division was sent to drive the Japanese invaders from the islands. Amazingly enough, the American High Command sent the Seventh Division from a desert training base into the cold and brutal Aleutians. The soldiers were told that the battle would take only three days, so there was no need for winter clothing. The troops would pay for this stupid decision with frostbite as the battle stretched into months. The author also tells the story of what happened to the Native Americans and American civil workers during these battles. Since the Japanese believed in the “bushido” code, anyone surrendering was considered to be a coward and could be treated with contempt. Seiple gives detailed accounts of what happened to prisoners and the names and types of airplanes and military hardware used in the conflict.
So how did the United States finally dislodge the Japanese Army from Alaska? What happens if a country isn’t ready when it is attacked? Why is it necessary to remember the WWII invasion of Alaska? To find out the answers to these and other questions about this important story, go to the library and check out “Ghosts in the Fog: The Untold Story of Alaska’s WWII Invasion” by Samantha Seiple.
The author has done a considerable amount of research on the Alaskan invasion. The book is filled with accounts from diaries, military statements and weather reports. Seldom have battles been fought in such fog shrouded conditions. This book would be very useful in junior high and middle schools. We need to remember that the United States is not impervious to military attacks, or that wars are always in someplace far away. This book is a helpful reminder of the need for a country to be prepared because the price of freedom is eternal vigilance.
