Attu Boy: A Young Alaskan's WWII Memoir

In June 1942 the Japanese army invaded Attu, a remote island at the end of the Aleutian Chain. Soldiers occupied the village for two months before taking its Alaska Native residents to Japan, where they were held until the end of the war. After harassing American and Canadian forces for little over a year, the Japanese forces quietly withdrew. After the war, the Attuans' return to Alaska was not a joyful reunion. When they were released, the Attuans were not allowed to return to their home, but were settled instead in Atka, several hundred miles from Attu.
"Attu Boy" is Nick Golodoff s memoir of his experience as a prisoner of war in Japan during World War II as a young boy. Nick was six years old when Japanese soldiers invaded his remote Aleutian village. Along with the other Unangan Attu residents, Nick and his family were taken to Hokkaido, Japan. Only 25 of the Attuans survived the war; the others died of hunger, malnutrition, and disease. Nick tells his story from the unique viewpoint of a child who experienced friendly relationships with some of the Japanese captors along with harsh treatment from others. Other voices join Nick s to give the book a broad sense of the struggles, triumphs, and heartbreak of lives disrupted by war. "

Summary

Offers a rare look at the lives of civilian prisoners and their captors in WWII-era Japan. This book tells of author's bittersweet return to a homeland torn apart by occupation and forced internments. It is a testament to the struggles, triumphs, and heartbreak of lives disrupted by war.

Product details

• Authors: Nick Golodoff
• Assisted by: Rachel Mason (Editor)
• Publisher: Univ Of Alaska Pr
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 15.05.2015
• EAN: 9781602232495
• ISBN: 978-1-60223-249-5
• No. of pages: 180
• Dimensions: 153 mm x 231 mm x 15 mm
• Weight: 198 g
• Subjects: Fiction > Narrative literature > Letters, diaries; Non-fiction book > Politics, society, business > Biographies, autobiographies; Japan, Alaska, Amerikanische Geschichte, 1940 bis 1949 n. Chr., Memoiren, Berichte/Erinnerungen, Geschichte allgemein und Weltgeschichte, Asiatische Geschichte, Kriegsgefangene, Moderne Kriegsführung