241 The Royal Canadian Legion MANITOBA & NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO COMMAND www.mbnwo.ca Invasion time was drawing near and as they pulled away from Amchitka, the ship ran aground on a sand bar. The ship tried to free herself but had to wait several hours for the tide to come in before she floated free. There was no damage to the ship, however. It was now time for the invasion of Kiska, code named Operation “Cottage”. The Canadian force of approximately 6,000 men would land at one end, while the American force of 26,000 would land on the other, in two landings August 15 and 16. Members of the 1st Special Service Force consisting of Canadian and American troops highly trained in amphibious and paratroop duty would be the first to go, in the early morning hours in advance of the main body. The men of the regiment were all keyed up and busy getting their gear in order, sharpening knives and bayonets. That night, no one got much sleep. In the morning, they woke to naval gun fire as the warships bombarded the island. They ate a good breakfast, then got up on deck with their gear, and watched the Infantry climb down the rope ladders into the L.S.T. barges and head for the beaches. They were soon to follow. The barges carrying the guns and crew were able to get quite close to shore as the weather was calm for a change. As Bert remembered it, he did not even get his feet wet jumping from rock to rock. The guns were pulled off the barges onto the beach and inland, with tow ropes. Ammunition boxes were very heavy and had to be carried by two men. They quickly got the guns loaded and ready to fire but it was late in the afternoon when the order “Stand by to fire” came. It seemed the enemy had been contacted at last. But the order to fire never came and they wondered why. As it turned out, the Canadian Infantry, unopposed by the enemy, moved in beyond their objective and came under fire. They called for artillery support. The mistake was soon discovered, however, before any casualties occurred. There were a few skirmishes during the night between nervous American troops. A number of them were killed by their comrades in the darkness. A U.S. destroyer struck a Japanese mine and sank with the loss of 71 men. Four Canadians died due to booby traps left by the Japanese. Two of these were Lieutenant S. Vessey, Rocky Mountain Rangers, and P. Poshtar, Winnipeg Grenadiers. Two men of Le Régiment de Hull entered a Japanese bunker, as they marched to their new positions, two weeks after the initial landing. They were looking for souvenirs. They heard the explosion and rushed over to see the body of G. Boisclair blown to bits, and his buddy G. Desardines, who was behind him, came stumbling out with his hands over his face. He sustained severe head injuries and died in military field hospital a month later. These Canadians were buried on Kiska and were reinterred at the Fort Richardson National Cemetery in Alaska after the war. A few days after the invasion of Kiska it became apparent there were no Japanese left on the island. They had managed to evacuate their 6,000 troops in heavy fog shortly before the invasion, they learned later. Radar blips, possibly Japanese subs, had decoyed the American fleet out of their blockade positions. The Americans fired on these targets and had to refuel and rearm, leaving the way open for the Japanese to get their men off. The military could not believe the enemy had evacuated and thought they had holed up in the hills, as they had done in Attu. After Kiska was secured, they found a massive underground defense system, and military gear of all descriptions including a British naval gun captured in Singapore. There was a midget submarine base, which had received a (continued) VANDERSTEEN, Bert (continued)
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