10 Mind-Blowing Facts You Never Knew About World War II

9. The Japanese Invaded Alaska

Many Americans at one point in time or another believed our country to be invincible. Growing up I heard several individuals quote with pride how enemy forces had never occupied the land since the early 1800s. It's this kind of nationalistic zeal, which probably inspired John Milius to make Red Dawn. The real problem with this attitude is it's not a realistic world view nor is it reality. In what could be the least talked about campaign of World War II the Japanese actually invaded Alaska. In 1942, the navy's skeleton crews stationed on Attu and Kiska, tiny patches of land which make up the tail end of Alaska's Aleutian islands, woke up to find overwhelming invasion forces upon them. The Japanese had dared to take American soil and the retaliation would be fierce, but American forces struggled till late 1943 to retake the islands. Several bloody battles were fought and if you ever find yourself for some reason on Kiska or Attu you can still see several signs of the war.