Attu man imprisoned in Japan as child tells story

May 19, 2015

University Relations

Nick Golodoff, captured as a child and imprisoned in Japan, tells his story in a new posthumously published book, “Attu Boy: A Young Alaskan’s WWII Memoir," from the University of Alaska Press.

Golodoff was six years old when Japanese soldiers invaded his remote village on Attu Island in the Aleutian Chain. Along with the other Unangan Attu residents, Golodoff and his family were taken to Hokkaido, Japan. Only 25 of the Attuans survived the war; the others died of hunger, malnutrition and disease.

Golodoff tells his story from the unique viewpoint of a child who experienced friendly relationships with some of his Japanese captors but harsh treatment from others. Other voices join Golodoff’s to give the book a broad sense of the struggles, triumphs and heartbreak experienced by people whose lives the war disrupted.

Japan's army invaded Attu, at the western end of the Aleutians, in June 1942 and stayed for a little over a year before quietly withdrawing. Soldiers occupied the village for two months before taking its Alaska Native residents to Japan, where they were held until the end of the war.

When the Attuans were released, they were not allowed to return to their home. They were settled on Atka, another island several hundred miles east of Attu.

Except for his imprisonment in Japan, Golodoff lived his life in the Aleutian Islands. He died in 2013. Also known as Bine, Golodoff had a huge heart, especially for kids, and respected his elders, animals and the land.

Brenda Maly, Golodoff’s granddaughter and a resident of Atka, worked for more than a decade to help him transform his memories and stories into "Attu Boy." She wrote the book's preface. Rachel Mason, who works as a National Park Service cultural anthropologist in Anchorage, edited the book.

For more information about this title and many more, please visit www.uapress.alaska.edu or call 800-621-2736.