Dutch Harbor received no specific warning before the first Japanese aircraft arrived, although its units had been on alert for days. Gun crews acted without direction from headquarters, using 3-inch and 37 mm guns, .50-caliber machine guns, and even small arms against aircraft flying low over the base. Bombs that hit two barracks killed 17 men from the 37th Infantry Regiment and eight from the 151st Engineers. During the night, the 206th moved guns from exposed mountain positions toward Unalaska and the harbor to prepare for an expected landing. Moving the guns also kept troops occupied and served as a deception by shifting firepower away from exposed prepared positions. Civilian contractors filled sandbags for the new positions, turning the interval between raids into a hurried local mobilization.
Notable Point · 2:16:12-2:20:11
Dutch Harbor's improvised ground defense
Gun crews, infantrymen, and civilian contractors improvised defenses during and between the two Japanese raids on Dutch Harbor.