Castner's Cutthroats

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.
Active1942–45
CountryUnited States of America
Branch United States Army
TypeReconnaissance platoon
Size65 personnel
Nickname(s)"Castner's Cutthroats"; "Alaskan Scouts"
EngagementsWorld War II
Commanders
Notable
commanders
Lawrence Varsi Castner

Castner's Cutthroats was the unofficial name for the 1st Alaskan Combat Intelligence Platoon (Provisional), also known as Alaskan Scouts. Castner's Cutthroats fought during World War II and were instrumental in defeating the Japanese during the Aleutian Islands Campaign. The unit was composed of just sixty-five men selected to perform reconnaissance missions in the Aleutian Islands during the war.[1]

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