Where the Williwaw Blows

Months of existence in a literal hell of mud, ice and fog have taught U.S. fighting men much about the Aleutians. Many of their lessons have been bitter. But they had the satisfaction last week of knowing that the Japs they are fighting are faring even worse. Jap-held Kiska had been plastered by more than a million high explosive and incendiary bombs during April. Jap raids on American positions were infrequent, of little consequence.

In the cloud-hung volcanic wastes that are the Aleutians, U.S. forces live as they never dreamed men could--like moles in quarters buried in the ground except for metal or tent roofs. "Not nice," they say, "but safe."

It seldom gets extremely cold in the Aleutians--temperatures below zero are rare--but it never gets warm. The williwaws* chill the bleak islands. The men on the islands wear bulky, waterproof clothes, fur-lined caps or knitted "phantom hats" which can be lowered over the face. Coveralls and boots are standard outer wear for ground crews.

If simply living on the Aleutians is hard, fighting is incredibly harder. Treacherous currents and dangerous winds, hazardous offshore reefs, tiny islets popping up out of the sea or vanishing mysteriously make navigation a nightmare for the Navy. For U.S. airmen it is even worse. Said one of them: "We've got landing strips where the wind blows west on one side, east on the other--and that's no joke!" They take off on a perfectly clear day, fly 20 minutes and find themselves suddenly in zero-zero weather. It is not unusual to have a ceiling of 50 feet with visibility of ten miles or more.

Because they have no weather reports, they resort to makeshifts, take chances. Old flying boats venture out and up through pea-soup overcasts, often to rescue flyers from a sea so cold that few men have survived after floating in it for more than 30 minutes. More men and planes have been lost to the weather than to the Japs.

Fighter pilots are said to be either old or bold, never both. In the Aleutians they are mostly bold. Often on their way home from missions they dogfight each other out of sheer exuberance. The officers don't try to stop them, agree they need the outlet.

For entertainment, the men listen to U.S. West Coast short-wave radio programs, exchange taunts with Jap flyers, many of whom speak English with a Harvard accent. Many of the men haven't seen a woman--old or young, white or native--for months. But their morale is generally excellent.

* Sudden gusts of cold land air common along mountainous coasts of high latitudes.

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