A Japanese force of roughly 1,140 infantry occupied Attu and captured its small population of Unangan residents along with Charles and Etta Jones. Charles Jones was killed after refusing to repair a radio he had destroyed to deny it to the occupiers. Etta Jones was transported to Japan and remained captive until August 1945. The nearest American forces were at Dutch Harbor and nearby air bases, while an occupation Japan initially expected to end in 1942 continued into 1943. The campaign brought occupation, killing, deportation, and captivity to people already living on Attu.
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Attu's occupation and civilian captivity
The seizure of Attu brought Japanese occupation directly to the island's Unangan residents and two American civilians.