Stretching in a broken arc between Alaska and Japan, the Aleutian Islands formed a remote yet strategically vital frontier during the Second World War. From Nome in the east to Attu in the far west, the islands hosted a chain of bases that supported air, naval, and infantry operations against Japanese forces occupying the outer Aleutians. Adak and Shemya served as crucial airfields and logistical hubs for the Eleventh Air Force and Navy patrols, while isolated outposts like Attu bore witness to some of the harshest ground combat fought on American soil. Together, these locations anchored the northernmost Allied advance across the North Pacific.
Well worn Zippo with diagonal lines engraved «NEMO» and «SHEMYA» on one side and «ADAK» and «ATTU» on the other, each fitted with a mounted .30 bullet. The Shemya side with a Canadian Bluenose dime, the Attu side with a U.S. Lincoln cent.
