Penultimate survivor of Attuan World War II prisoners dies at 82

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Elizabeth Kudrin was 1 year old when she became a prisoner of the Japanese Imperial Army. In 1942, Japanese forces invaded the Aleutian island of Attu. The residents of the village of Attu were taken prisoner and moved to Japan.

When the war ended, the Attu prisoners were freed but half of them hadn’t survived. They weren’t allowed to return to Attu. Their village had been destroyed. Eleven of the survivors were relocated to Atka — a village over 500 miles from their home.

Elizabeth Kudrin was one of two remaining survivors from Attu. She passed away on Feb. 19, 2023.

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