Dutch Harbor, Amaknak Island

From the fog to Dutch Harbor

 Since leaving College Fjord, we’ve sailed in foggy conditions until we reached Dutch Harbor, where the sun broke out and we were greeted by several sea otters in the water. The harbor is the top fishing port in the U.S. We walked 2 miles into town to visit the Museum of the Aleutian Islands. The winds were blowing and we could smell fish from the nearby canneries. It told the story of the native people and how they lived as well as the Harbor’s World War II story. The Japanese attacked the harbor on June 3^rd, 1942 to destroy the oil tanks here.  

Japanese attack on Dutch Harbor

On June 6 and 7, the Japanese attacked Kiska and Attu islands and occupied the islands. In August 1942, the U.S. established a naval base on Adak island and managed to block almost all the supply ships to the Japanese held islands. In May 1943, the U.S. retook Attu island and after bombing Kiska island, they found it deserted by the Japanese. Unfortunately, we moved most of the native population in this area to warehouses in the Juneau area. The roofs leaked, there was no heat, and the water was unreliable. Another terrible example of how we treat native Americans.

Cannery barracks 

On the way back, we encountered lots of bald eagles, feeding off the nearby waters as well as the leftovers from the canneries.

Eagles soring