<P> During World War II, the Aleutian Islands Campaign focused on the three outer Aleutian Islands--Attu, Agattu and Kiska--that were invaded by Japanese troops and occupied between June 1942 and August 1943 . During the occupation, one Alaskan civilian was killed by Japanese troops and nearly fifty were interned in Japan, where about half of them died . Unalaska / Dutch Harbor became a significant base for the United States Army Air Forces and Navy submariners . </P> <P> The United States Lend - Lease program involved the flying of American warplanes through Canada to Fairbanks and then Nome; Soviet pilots took possession of these aircraft, ferrying them to fight the German invasion of the Soviet Union . The construction of military bases contributed to the population growth of some Alaskan cities . </P> <P> Statehood for Alaska was an important cause of James Wickersham early in his tenure as a congressional delegate . Decades later, the statehood movement gained its first real momentum following a territorial referendum in 1946 . The Alaska Statehood Committee and Alaska's Constitutional Convention would soon follow . Statehood supporters also found themselves fighting major battles against political foes, mostly in the U.S. Congress but also within Alaska . Statehood was approved by Congress on July 7, 1958 . Alaska was officially proclaimed a state on January 3, 1959 . </P> <P> In 1960, the Census Bureau reported Alaska's population as 77.2% White, 3% Black, and 18.8% American Indian and Alaska Native . </P>

When did alaska become part of the united states of america