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“It was really the coolest trip of my lifetime,” Perras acknowledges of his seven-day adventure in the rugged terrain off the southwest tip of Alaska. “This had a resonance for me.”
What he would like to do now is to go back and write a book about the battle of Attu itself, and focus on some of the personal stories of servicemen who were at the front line of fighting between the Allies and the Japanese during the Second World War.
Perras was recruited in August by The History Channel to provide expert commentary for “Alaska’s Forgotten War,” a segment of its Save Our History series expected to air on March 4 (not in Canada, but eventually for sale on the channel’s Web site, www.historychannel.com).
He was an obvious choice, given that his research interests have dwelt since 1984 on Canadian history, strategic military studies and Canadian relations with its neighbour to the south. That’s when Perras decided to do his master’s thesis on Canada’s involvement in the defence of the Aleutians during the 1943 invasion of Kiska. (Some 35,000 American troops, including 5,000 Canadians, landed on Kiska ready to reclaim the island from the Japanese — only to find the invaders had vacated weeks earlier.)
The professor’s presence in an earlier documentary titled “The Bloody Aleutians” — produced by a Canadian team for The History Channel — also made an impression, as did his acclaimed book Stepping Stones to Nowhere: The Aleutian Islands, Alaska, and American Military Strategy, 1867-1945 (UBC Press, 2003).
“We chose Galen because he had great energy,” notes associate producer Meghan Fallon, an essential quality since filming involved long days outdoors in rigorous conditions with occasional hiking through driving winds and rain. “He looked great on camera,” Fallon adds, and he was also “a great resource in terms of helping us to develop the story further.”
A sense of wonder percolates as Perras describes being part of the seven-person crew that travelled to the Aleutians, in September, aboard a 25-seater 130 Hercules aircraft. He was especially excited to share the experience with decorated war veteran Dean Galles, a spry 85-year-old Montanan, who was a platoon leader in the 32nd Infantry Regiment on Attu when the bloodiest fighting took place in 1943.
This was the first time Galles had returned to the area or talked about his wartime experiences in any detail, and Perras was moved by his emotional reactions to the place.
Though the Aleutians have little military significance now, there are psychological overtones in terms of U.S. missile defence strategies. An airstrip and a Loran station staffed by some 25 U.S. Coast Guard members are all that indicate human habitation in the area today; ground travel is chiefly by all-terrain vehicle.
“It’s just one of those places that time has forgotten,” says Perras. “The Japanese invaded it basically by mistake. It’s one of the worst places in the world for two armies to meet each other.”
