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Ashtray

A dull brass and lead ashtray with a minimalist model of a machine gun in the middle of it.

Collection of Royal Alberta Museum, Edmonton, Alberta, H11.105.172

brass, lead, 17.4 x 11.5 x 10.4 cm, Second World War

Inscribed around the base of this ashtray is “Aug 16 1943 KISKA.” Kiska is an Alaskan island that the Japanese attacked and occupied in 1942. In 1943, the Canadian government sent a force to assist the American military in the recovery of these islands. On August 16, 1943, the Canadians landed on Kiska only to find that the Japanese had left a few weeks earlier leaving most of their weapons and equipment behind. The Canadian troops occupied the island for a few months coming home in November 1943.