Japanese Occupation Site, Kiska Island

The Japanese occupation of Kiska in June 1942 marked the peak of Japan's military expansion in the Pacific; it created great alarm in North America that a Japanese invasion would be mounted through Alaska; it posed a serious threat to United States-Siberian communications (lend-lease to Russia), and it caused the Allies to divert tens of thousands of military to the Alaskan Theater who could have been deployed elsewhere in the Pacific. Significant too was the successful Japanese withdrawal of the entire force in 1943 without a single loss of life, despite constant surveillance of American air and sea forces. This withdrawal caused the utmost embarrassment to the United States when, eighteen days later, a huge Allied assault force of 34,000 men invaded the deserted island. The event was best summed up by the army's commanding general in Alaska, Simon B. Buckner, who said, "To attract maximum attention, it's hard to find anything more effective than a great big, juicy, expensive mistake."