| 1st Alaskan Combat Intelligence Platoon | |
|---|---|
 The last three surviving members of Castner's Cutthroats –Ed Walker (left), Earl Acuff (center), and Billy Buck – at the Anchorage Museum of Natural History in 2008 for an opening of an exhibition. Another surviving member, Alfred A Brattain was alive in Olympia, Wa. at the time of the opening but was inadvertently overlooked when another surviving member said he had died. He died September 21, 2008. | |
| Active | 1942–45 |
| Country | United States of America |
| Branch |  United States Army |
| Type | Reconnaissanceplatoon |
| Size | 65 personnel |
| Nickname(s) | "Castner's Cutthroats"; "Alaskan Scouts" |
| Engagements | World War II |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Lawrence Varsi Castner |
Castner's Cutthroats was the unofficial name for the1st Alaskan Combat Intelligence Platoon (Provisional), also known asAlaskan Scouts. Castner's Cutthroats fought duringWorld War II and were instrumental in defeating the Japanese during theAleutian Islands Campaign. The unit was composed of just sixty-five men selected to performreconnaissance missions in the Aleutian Islands during the war.[1]
The brainchild of ColonelLawrence Varsi Castner (1902–49), an Army intelligence officer serving inGeneral Simon Bolivar Buckner's Alaskan Defense Command, the band was organized in order to create a unit that was fully functional with only minimal outfitting.[citation needed] Castner chose men skilled at flourishing in the tough conditions of the Alaskan wilderness including the nativeAleuts andEskimos,sourdough prospectors, hunters, trappers and fishermen. Their background in survival and hunting made them ideal scouts.[citation needed] Appreciating their unique talents, Col. Castner did not enforce standard military procedures on his unit. They were given a great deal of freedom in order to get the job done. The name "Castner's Cutthroats" was given by the military press during the war,[2] but the name preferred by the men was Alaska Scouts.[3]
The commanding officer chosen to lead Castner's Cutthroats was Captain Robert H. Thompson, aMontana State University football star from Moccasin, Montana. Thompson was hugely popular with his men and developed a deep love of Alaska. After leaving the Castner's Cutthroats, he stayed in Alaska as a guide, hunter and bush pilot until his accidental death in 1955.
He was joined in early 1942 by Lt. Earl C. Acuff, a University of Idaho graduate and rival football player. Acuff had been stationed on a remote Aleutian island to spy on Japanese planes. After several months went by without hearing from him, the army charged Castner's Cutthroats with recovery of his body. When they found him alive and well, he was quickly transferred to the Alaskan Scouts.
I was living like a king. I was diving for king crab and eating fresh seafood and fowl – wild ptarmigan, ducks and geese – for dinner. They told me not to break radio sound unless I saw a Japanese plane, so I didn't. When the Alaskan Scouts came to 'rescue' me, they started thinking that maybe they'd like to stay with me.
— Lt Acuff[4]
Source:[5]
In June 1942, the JapanesebombedDutch Harbor and landed troops on the westernAleutian Islands ofKiska andAttu, which were quickly occupied within a few days. Reacting to the Japanese occupation, Ephriam D. Dickson III of the Field Museums Branch for theU.S. Army Center of Military History wrote that the American public and leaders were "concerned that Japan might use these islands to launchair raids against thePacific Northwest, especially targeting theBoeing bomber plant andBremerton Navy Yard inSeattle".[6]
Castner's Cutthroats were selected to headreconnaissance missions and helped plan landing zones foramphibious assaults on the Japanese-held occupied islands. During the American counterattack, Castner's Cutthroats main mission was to serve as guides and messengers for theU.S. Army. However, when battle preparations were being made toinvade Attu andKiska, they warned the Army that wheeled vehicles would not function on the permafrost and the soldiers would need to be outfitted with warm gear and plenty of food, a warning that was largely ignored. Consequently, many soldiers owed their lives to Castner's Cutthroats for protecting them from the weather and providing them with food.
One of the major successes of Castner's Cutthroats was the building of an airfield onAdak Island. TheU.S. Army Air Forces had lost several planes, not to the Japanese, but toAlaskan weather. In order to shorten the distance between the Japanese and American air bases, an airfield on Adak Island was proposed and Castner's Cutthroats were sent in to scout for a suitable location. Due to the mountainous terrain of the area, no acceptable site was available. Instead, Castner's Cutthroats dammed a lagoon and drained it to use the sandy bottom floor as a temporary landing strip. Engineers later came in and improved the area.
Standard issue for Castner's Cutthroats was a Trapper Nelson pack, hunting knife,.22LR caliber target pistol and asniper rifle, instead of the standard issueSpringfield rifle, orM1 Garand. However, when it came to firearms, personal preference was the deciding factor. Al Brattain, a crack shot, preferred the M1 Garand because its reduced recoil did not spoil his aim. 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 usedcanoes, from which they fished forsalmon. The salmon was dried and stored for the winter, furthering the unit's ability to stay out in the field.
InKuluk Bay, Alaska, theCutthroats 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,USSTriton andUSSTuna, surfaced 4 miles due east of this beach and disembarked a 37-man U.S. Army intelligence-gathering unit led by Colonel Lawrence V. Castner. The unit was known as "The Alaska Scouts", or more affectionately as "Castner's Cutthroats." Their mission was to gather information about the Japanese troop strength onAdak and to report their findings to the landing force already on its way fromDutch 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 ofAttu andKiska."[7]
Castner retired from the military towards the end of World War II and remained in Alaska. After spending a year as a vice-president of the fledglingAlaska Airlines, he founded a cold storage and wholesaling business in Anchorage, and was regarded as an up-and-coming leader of the local business community. This would prove to be short-lived, as Castner died in December 1949. A short street in Anchorage, located near theKENI Radio Building, is named for him.
William "Billy" Buck, one of the last three surviving members of Castner's Cutthroats, died on 1 August 2011 inAnchorage,Alaska at the age of 90.[8]
Ed Walker died shortly after Buck on 28 October 2011, at the age of 94, also inAnchorage,Alaska.[1]
Earl C. Acuff was the last surviving member of the Cutthroats. He died on 13 February 2013, at the age of 94 inBlacksburg, Virginia.[9]
