Governor Bill Walker has declared today Dutch Harbor Remembrance Day. Statewide all flags will fly at half-mast in recognition of Japan’s World War II attack on Dutch Harbor.
The 1942 bombing was the first hostile action on Alaskan soil; twenty-five service men were killed. Later on, Dutch Harbor was attacked again as well as the communities of Adak, Kiska, and Attu.
In response to the June 3rd strike, the United States uprooted Unangan people and sent them to internment camps in Southeast Alaska where they suffered from disease and malnutrition.
Harriet Hope was a child in Unalaska during the bombing and later sent to an internment camp. She says she was shocked about Gov. Walker’s decision.
“I thought, 'Oh my God! Finally they’re recognizing this day has some kind of importance,'" Hope said. "And I just thought it was wonderful. And probably half the people living here don’t know about it so maybe through the lowering of the flags they’ll ask about it.”
Gov. Walker hopes Dutch Harbor Remembrance Day will honor the military who served and died defending the United States, and the Aleut people who died while interned.
