Film director revisits his roots with tale of Aleutian campaign

Director and producer of independent films Tom Putnam returned to his native Oregon last week to provide a forum to discuss his latest film "Red, White, Black and Blue." The Bend Film Festival was the venue for the documentary that was six-and-a-half years in the making.

The film is about an invasion of United States territory: the country's first full-scale invasion since the War of 1812. Hidden by the U.S. government for many years and still disguised as a footnote in history, the invasion by the Japanese of the Alaskan island of Attu was remarkable on two counts: first, for the ability of the government to keep it a secret for so long; and second, for the lack of proper equipment and training delivered to the American troops who were tasked with re-capturing the small Alaskan island.

The interest in the Japanese side of the war was imparted to Putnam by his father who grew up in Seaside, Oregon.

"My father told me about how the Japanese submarines would surface and shell the area, but it was never in the news. I became interested in the story and found that there was a lot of the war that was never very visible and decided that it would be an interesting subject for a documentary," said Putnam.

Putnam tracked down two survivors of the invasion who are now well into their 80s. The story is told primarily though the reflections of Bill Jones and Andy Petrus who have remained friends over the 60 years since the battle of Attu.

As the two old warriors retrace their steps over this desolate, untouched battlefield, which is still a living museum littered with crashed airplanes, collapsing buildings and unexploded bombs and mines, the line between past and present begins to blur and long-forgotten memories resurface with moving force. The film is a story of how combat changes lives forever: even 60 years later there is pain and tears.

On June 7, 1942, the 301st Independent Infantry Battalion of the Japanese Northern Army invaded the island of Attu, a day after invading nearby Kiska. Much of the native population of the island had been forcibly evacuated before the invasion and interned in camps in the Alaskan Panhandle. The 42 inhabitants who remained on Attu were taken to a prison camp near Otaru, Hokkaido.

According to General Hideichiro Higuda, Commander of the Japanese Northern Army, the invasions of Kiska and Attu were part of a threefold objective: to break up any American offensives against Japan by way of the Aleutians; to place a barrier between the U.S. and Russia in case Russia decided to join the war against Japan; and to make preparation for airbases for future offensive action against the United States.

On May 11, 1943, the operation to recapture Attu began. A 19-day battle ensued. A shortage of landing craft, unsuitable beaches and equipment that failed to operate in the appalling weather caused great difficulties in projecting any force against the Japanese. In an effort to prevent anyone from knowing the location of the invasion, none of the troops were issued winter clothes or even gloves. Many soldiers suffered from frostbite and some died from exposure because essential supplies could not be landed or having been landed could not be moved to where they were needed, as vehicles would not work on the tundra.

On May 29, the last of the Japanese forces suddenly attacked near Massacre Bay in one of the largest banzai charges of the Pacific campaign. The charge, led by Colonel Yamasaki, penetrated U.S. lines far enough to encounter shocked rear-echelon units of the American force. After furious, brutal, close-quarter and often hand-to-hand combat, the Japanese force was killed almost to the last man and only 28 prisoners were taken.

The film was an education for the director, and he returned to Central Oregon as changed person as a result of the film.

"The film was enlightening to me. I saw the complicated, and sometimes contradictory, mindset of a nation at war and what it really means to be an American hero," he said.