| Japanese weather station office on Kiska, September 1943. “You are dancing by foolisch (I’m Deutsch) order of Rousebelt. We shall come again, and kill out separately Yanki-joker.” On June 6, 1942, 500 men of the 3rd Special Naval Landing Force from Maizuru landed on Kiska, killed 2 of the 10 United States Navy weather station personnel, and took charge of their dog, named Explosion. An additional 2,000 Japanese were stationed on Kiska during 1942. On July 29, 1943, after sustained air attack for months, the garrison was removed by Imperial Japanese Navy warships. This movement went undetected by the United States and Canada. 3 weeks later, after further air bombardment, 35,000 American and Canadian soldiers landed on Kiska; in the fog and poor weather, 92 were killed, and 221 were wounded in friendly fire engagements and due to Japanese booby traps. Offshore, the United States Navy sustained heavy damage to USS Abner Read (DD-526), which lost her stern to a mine. 71 were killed, and 47 were wounded. Believing the War Department analysis that the Japanese had taken to caves inland, the Allies searched the island. Japanese food stood on mess hall plates. They examined dozens of tunnels dug to avoid the rain of bombs. Booby traps were everywhere, and bomb disposal teams were busy. The wreck of Imperial Japanese Navy submarine I-7, beached off Twin Rocks in Vega Bay and scuttled by demolition charges, was entered by 7 United States Navy divers from USS Florikan (ASR-9). They recovered code books and other intelligence documents. The evacuation was so rushed that the dispatch blackboard in a shack on Kiska Harbor Beach still had a breakdown of the submarines and subchasers operating during the evacuation. The Japanese left a poem scrawled on a door of 1 of their huts about sub chasers removing the garrison, intended for the Americans to read. Committing 35,000 soldiers and hundreds of warships and transports to invade an abandoned island was criticized in the American press. The Japanese press mocked the invasion of Kiska. At the same time as the Kiska operation, Allied forces landed in Vella Lavella, New Georgia. An additional 35,000 men would’ve shortened that campaign, which lasted until October, when that Japanese garrison was also evacuated. When the Allies landed on Kiska, they recovered Explosion the dog, who had been taken care of by the Japanese garrison, but left ashore when they evacuated. | |
| Image Filename | wwii2426.jpg |
| Image Size | 255.88 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 1956 x 1527 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | United States Navy Bureau of Aeronautics |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | September 1, 1943 |
| Location | Kiska |
| City | Aleutians |
| State or Province | Alaska |
| Country | United States |
| Archive | Alaska State Library |
| Record Number | ASL-P430-90 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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