Environment

Photos: Research vessel Tiglax visits Attu Island in the Aleutians

Seven decades have passed since U.S. soldiers recaptured Attu Island from Japanese forces in one of the bloodiest battles of World War II.

Once they recovered the most remote island in the Aleutian Chain, American forces transformed it, briefly, into a strategic hub. But that decades-old infrastructure has been crumbling under influence of harsh winds, weather, and time.

Now, Attu is scheduled for what may be the first of many stages of cleanup -- but it's unlikely the military will ever be able to turn back the clock to a time before conflict.

Read more: Officials plan ambitious cleanup effort for decades-old pollution on remote Attu Island

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