Castner's Cutthroats

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Castner's Cutthroats was the nickname of a band of Alaskan U.S. Army scouts during World War II. The name Castner's Cutthroats comes from the their leader, Colonel Lawrence Castner.^[1] These men often lived a hard and dangerous life in the Alaskan wilderness. This led them to call themselves Cutthroat because they were an irregular unit of the United States Military. The unit was made up of Aleuts, Eskimos, miners, hunters, trappers and fishermen. Their background in survival and hunting made them ideal scouts. These men had names in keeping with their unit's nickname, such as Bad Whiskey Red, Aleut Pete and Waterbucket Ben.^[1] Based along the Aleutian Islands, the unit played a key role in the defense of mainland Alaska from Japanese invasion.

1 Mission
2 Equipment
3 Memorial
4 See aso
5 References

[edit] Mission

Designated as the 1st Combat Intelligence Platoon (Provisional), the unit played an integral role in the defense of Alaska. They headed reconnaissance and intelligence gathering missions along the Aleutian Islands. The unit conducted most of their operations on the Japanese-occupied islands of Attu, Agattu, and Kiska. They also helped pre-plan landing zones for amphibious assaults on the Japanese-held islands. One of the major success of Castner's Cutthroats was the building of an airfield. The army had lost several planes, not to the Japanese, but to Alaskan weather. In order to shorten the distance between the Japanese and American air bases, the military needed an additional airbase. Alaska's terrain made it difficult for one to be located. Castner's Cutthroats found a lake and ingeniously proposed to drain it and use the sandy bottom floor for landing.

[edit] Equipment

They carried .22 caliber target pistols and sniper rifles, instead of the standard issue Springfield rifle, or M1 Garand. Trapper Nelson packs held all their supplies for their long mountainous treks. They lived off the land, which allowed them to stay light, unlike most military units of the time. To move from island to island, the men used canoes, from which they hunted salmon. The salmon was dried and stored for the winter, furthering the unit's ability to stay out in the field.

[edit] Memorial

In Kuluk Bay, Alaska, the Cutthroats staged a reconnaissance mission. At the spot on the beach where they first came ashore, a plaque has been erected which reads:

"On August 28, 1942, the U.S. Naval submarines, USS Triton and USS Tuna, surfaced 4 miles due east of this beach and disembarked a 37-man U.S. Army intelligence-gathering unit lead by Colonel Lawrence V. Castner. The unit was known as "The Alaska Scout," or more affectionately as "Castner's Cutthroats." Their mission was to gather information about the Japanese troop strength on Adak and to report their findings to the landing force already on its way from Dutch Harbor. No enemy troops were found, and on August 30, a 17-ship landing force with 4,500 men and tons of heavy equipment arrived. Their mission: to build an airstrip and troop staging area in preparation for the retaking of the enemy-occupied Aleutian Islands of Attu and Kiska. "^[2]