History
The islands were named Near Islands by Russian explorers in the 18th century because they were the nearest of the Aleutian Islands to Russia. They are the farthest of the islands from mainland Alaska.
During the Second World War, the Japanese Imperial Army occupied the Near Islands in 1942. American forces retook the islands during the Aleutian Islands Campaign in 1943.
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Topographic map sheet
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Near Islands in 2008
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United States troops hauling supplies on Attu Island in May 1943.
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“Regarding History as the slaughter-bench at which the happiness of peoples, the wisdom of States, and the virtue of individuals have been victimized—the question involuntarily arises—to what principle, to what final aim these enormous sacrifices have been offered.”
—Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770–1831)
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