ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Helena Pagano’s family history traces back to her great-grandfather, who was the final chief of an Alaska Native community on Attu Island, situated in the Bering Sea much closer to Russia than the U.S. mainland. Sadly, he perished from starvation while imprisoned after Japanese forces invaded during World War II, taking the island’s residents away from their homeland and never allowing them to return.
In recent months, Pagano’s advocacy for Japan to provide greater restitution for the injustices faced by her great-grandfather and the other Attuans has intensified. This renewed call for justice was sparked by her first trip to the island this past summer. Accompanying Japanese officials who were working to recover the remains of World War II soldiers, Pagano witnessed the exhumation of bones from the tundra.
Pagano expressed her sentiments, stating that the Attuans were stripped of their homeland and family, and emphasized that their story remains largely untold, highlighting the lack of support from Japan in this context. Attu Island, part of Alaska’s Aleutian Islands, was among the few U.S. territories occupied by Japan during the war, along with Guam and the Philippines.
On June 7, 1942, Japanese troops invaded Attu Island, resulting in the death of the local radio operator. The residents were held captive for three months before being forcibly taken to Japan. In 1943, U.S. forces launched a fierce campaign to reclaim Attu, facing treacherous weather conditions. This battle, known as a “forgotten battle” of the war, resulted in the deaths of over 2,500 Japanese soldiers, with the United States suffering around 550 fatalities.
Among the 41 Attu residents imprisoned in Japan, 22 succumbed to malnutrition and other illnesses over the course of two years, including Pagano’s great-grandfather, Mike Hodikoff. He and his son both lost their lives due to food poisoning after being forced to forage for food among decaying refuse.
Following the war, the few surviving Attuans were barred from returning to their island as U.S. military officials claimed the costs for reconstruction were too high. Instead, they were relocated to Atka Island, roughly 200 miles away. The last of the surviving Attuans passed away just last year.
In 1951, Japan extended a $4,000 annual compensation offer to surviving Attuans for three years, which was a significant amount at the time, but most accepted it while Pagano’s grandmother declined, reasoning that monetary compensation could not sufficiently address the trauma experienced by the prisoners of war.
Pagano, who heads Atux Forever, a nonprofit aimed at preserving Attuan culture, noted that Japan has never addressed the families’ losses from the deaths of their loved ones or the devastation of their land and culture stemming from the war. She stressed that the emotional scars continue to linger among the approximately 300 Attuan descendants still residing in the U.S.
In addition to seeking further reparations, Pagano desires Japanese government support for establishing a cultural center for Attuans in mainland Alaska, as well as collaboration with the U.S. on restoring Attu Island’s environment by removing remnants of military equipment and a peace memorial that was erected without consultations with Attuan descendants or veterans.
Officials from Japan’s Health, Labor, and Welfare Ministry, along with its Foreign Ministry, stated they have not received any formal requests for additional reparations from the Attu people.
Historically, there have been demands for compensation regarding various injustices during the war, including abuses against POWs and wartime laborers. The Japanese government maintains that all compensation matters were previously settled under a treaty signed in San Francisco in 1951, where signatories gave up their rights for further claims, according to Yoshitaka Sato from the Health, Labor, and Welfare Ministry. However, some funds were established for comfort women in 1995 and 2015.
Pagano argues that the treaty should not limit the possibility of further reparations.
Attu Island is located within the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. Pagano’s visit in August was arranged through a vessel operated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. She was taken aback when she discovered that the Japanese officials would be conducting exhumations, deeming it disrespectful since the remains retrieved might belong to either Attuan residents or U.S. soldiers.
The deputy manager of the refuge, Jeff Williams, explained that the exhumation approval came just before the trip commenced.
The site of the former Attu village, where the bones were discovered, is property of the Aleut Corporation, a regional organization established to benefit Alaska Natives. A representative from the corporation acknowledged the historical trauma experienced by the Attuan people and expressed support for collaborative efforts aimed at achieving comprehensive solutions.
As the population of war veterans diminishes, there has been increasing pressure on the Japanese government to expedite the recovery of remains from battles fought abroad. So far, more than half of the approximately 2.4 million Japanese servicemen who died outside Japan have had their remains recovered.
Japan’s first recovery operation on Attu occurred in 1953, retrieving the remains of about 320 soldiers, which were sent back to Japan. However, the status of other remains remains unresolved.
Sato mentioned that U.S. regulations dictate where Japanese officials can conduct searches for remains and mandate environmental protections.
Recovery operations on Attu faced delays due to U.S. environmental concerns, with requirements for extensive assessments prolonging efforts. A new survey was proposed that allowed digging in a limited area, leading to the discovery of two sets of suspected Japanese remains, which are currently held in Anchorage for evaluation by experts who will assess the possibility of conducting DNA testing.
During her stay on the island in August, Pagano dedicated time to collecting water samples from a creek to examine for any environmental toxins. Unlike others who returned to the ship for the night, she chose to camp on the island, likely marking the first overnight stay by an Attuan since the community was forcibly relocated nearly 82 years prior.
Reflecting on her experience, Pagano shared her feelings of tranquility and completeness during her time on Attu Island.
