During mid to late 1942, Amchitka Island was the location of the destruction of a U.S. submarine and another close call. On 19 June, while on a reconnaissance mission to the island, S-27 was on surface charging its battery when it got caught in a current and crashed into rocks. Fortunately, the commanding officer was able to get the whole crew safely to the shore and six days later they were found and brought back to Dutch Harbor. In December, S-35 ran into a storm near Amchitka. A wave hit over the bridge, sending water into the control room and injury the captain. Fires then broke out in the control room and forward battery and spread throughout the ship. The submarine was barely able to make it back, but six months later it was again battle-ready and fighting in the Alaskan waters. (Perras)
        Debate as to where to move next began when troops had successfully occupied Adak Island. Kiska Island was seen to be the next target of American forces, however many argued for the capture of Amchitka Island first. Were the Japanese to take the island before us, they argued, their positions of Attu and Kiska would be much stronger. In contrast, were we to strike first, we could use the island's proximity to the latter of these to launch air raids thus weakening the resistance to recapture. RADM Kinkaid, scheduled to take over Task Force-8 for RADM Theobald in early January 1943 had to convince DeWitt to accept the Amchitka plan and abandon his Tanaga Island plan. By 17 December both services agreed to take Amchitka, both to prevent the Japanese from spreading there and to obtain close range support for the eventual U.S. campaign on Kiska and Attu. (History of...)
        On 12 January, 1943, U.S. Army forces landed unopposed on Amchitka Island, placing them within fifty miles of the most important militarily of the Aleutian islands left in the hands of the Japanese: Kiska. As if concerns of a Japanese attack weren't enough, forces on Amchitka were challenged to simply survive the harsh weather of the small island. A violent squall came on their first night first night there, destroying many landing boats. A blizzard that lasted almost two weeks began on the second night. Amid bombing raids from Japanese forces on Kiska, American engineers struggled to complete an airfield on Amchitka, doing so in mid-February. When, on 21 February, American air raids on Kiska from the new field began, Japanese attacks on Amchitka dramatically decreased. (United States Army)