"We found out we were going to Attu, and we all said, where the heck is that?" (Video interview, 8:16)

Dean E. Galles

Dean Galles at time of interview [8/12/2007] War: World War, 1939-1945 Branch: Army Unit: 2nd Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division Service Location: Attu Island (Aleutian Islands); Kwajalein Island (Marshall Islands); Leyte Island (Philippines); Okinawa Island (Ryukyu Islands) Rank: Captain

After training in the Mojave Desert with the expectation of heading to North Africa, service on Attu came as a shock to Captain Dean Galles. Landing at Massacre Bay in the spring of 1943, he coped with trenchfoot and inadequate supplies before engaging in hand-to-hand combat with the enemy in the Battle of Attu in May, 1943, during which he was bayoneted four times. After a brief respite in Hawaii, later service brought further injuries: his unit saw combat on Kwajalein and Leyte, where he contracted dengue fever, and Okinawa, where he was shot. In 2005, he returned to Attu as part of a documentary film project, an experience that he characterizes as "eerie" but rewarding.