Unalaska Island, located in the remote Aleutian archipelago, played a significant role in a largely forgotten military campaign during World War Two. Positioned where the northern Pacific Ocean meets the Bering Sea, the island marks the transition between North America and Siberia. Despite being further west than Hawaii, its proximity to East Asia makes it a unique and isolated community in Alaska.
Part of the Aleutian Islands, an 1,100-mile volcanic chain extending toward Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula, Unalaska experiences one of the harshest environments on Earth outside the polar regions. Its windswept coastlines are rugged and almost entirely treeless, while the region’s seismic activity frequently triggers earthquakes. Many of its volcanoes, including the active Makushin volcano, have erupted in the last 250 years. The area’s unpredictable weather, characterized by cyclonic storms, hurricane-force winds, heavy rain, and dense fog, significantly impacts climate patterns across Canada and the continental US.
Today, about 4,200 people reside on Unalaska Island, including fishermen and the Indigenous Unangax̂ people. Also known as the Aleuts, the Unangax̂ have lived in the region for at least 9,000 years, developing a subsistence lifestyle reliant on the sea. However, their population has significantly declined due to disease and the cultural erosion caused by colonialism. There are now approximately 2,000 Unangax̂ in Alaska and the Aleutian Islands.
Russians also have a historical presence on the island. Following the first European exploration of the Aleutian Islands in 1741, Russian fur traders established a settlement on Unalaska in 1759. The island became a colony of the Russian Empire in the late 1700s. Russian Orthodox missionaries followed the traders, building churches and converting many Unangax̂. Even after the US acquired Alaska from Russia in 1867, the Orthodox influence endured. The Church of the Holy Ascension, built in 1896 on the site of an earlier church from 1824, remains an important cultural and historical landmark. It houses a significant collection of Russian religious icons and artifacts, some donated by Catherine the Great.
Before World War Two, the US had a minimal military presence in the Aleutians. However, after the attack on Pearl Harbor, their vulnerability became apparent. On June 3-4, 1942, Japanese planes bombed Dutch Harbor in Unalaska, killing 50 people. Soon after, Japanese forces occupied Kiska and Attu, marking the first invasion of US soil since 1812. The SS Northwestern, a steamship destroyed during the attack, still rises above the water as a haunting reminder of the battle.
In response, the US and Canada deployed 145,000 soldiers to defend and reclaim the Aleutians. They fortified the islands with bunkers and artillery, including Bunker Hill and Fort Schwatka. The campaign was grueling, with harsh terrain and severe weather leading to thousands of deaths on both sides. By August 1943, the Japanese were expelled, and the battles faded from public memory.
During the war, the US government forcibly evacuated the Unangax̂, giving them little notice and allowing them to take only one suitcase each. Over 880 people were interned in abandoned canneries in southeastern Alaska under harsh conditions, where 10% of them perished. When they returned in 1945, many found their villages destroyed. In the 1980s, the Unangax̂ fought for restitution, receiving financial compensation and an official apology in 1988. A memorial stone in Unalaska commemorates this tragic chapter.
After the war, Unalaska emerged as a commercial fishing hub. Dutch Harbor became the US’ top fishing port, featuring prominently in the reality show Deadliest Catch. Hundreds of millions of pounds of fish are processed annually, with pollock making up 80% of the industry. The seafood processing plant UniSea operates with high environmental standards, utilizing fish oil to power its facilities.
Unalaska’s nutrient-rich waters sustain a vast array of marine life, including orcas, porpoises, sea otters, seals, and whales. Seabirds thrive along the coastlines, making the island a sought-after destination for birdwatchers. The dramatic landscape of rolling meadows and rugged mountains offers breathtaking trails that reveal the wild, untamed beauty of the Aleutians, balancing the island’s harsh conditions with its stunning natural allure.
