* Engineers,
Lauded In
Territory
HEADQUARTERS, ALASKA
DEFENSE COMMAND:
This is a story that cannot even
yet be written, the story of the
Army Engineer fortification of
Alaska, where the outposts of de
fense grew into theater of oper
ations offenses.
This would be the story behind
* all stories with Alaska datelines
telling of the attacks on Attu and
Kiska and the bombing of the
Kuriles, for this would be the
story of the construction of the arc
of American bases that rise from
Seattle to Attu.
By the complete story of the na
mes and locations of the Alaskan
installations can be given out gen
erally for public and one-time en
emy alike, the Engineers will dou
btless have built a new volume of
construction history. From now,
as roads and warehouses replace
Jap battle stations on Kiska, back
to the fall of 1940 when the run
ways of Annette Island began the
base-by-base stretch of American
forces toward Tokyo, the Eng
0 ineers have been making history
in Alaska They have raised his
torical military centers and they
have pioneered construction oper
ations. Every bombe' that rises
against Japan takes off from an
Engineer-built runway, every sol
dier needing medical attention go
es to an Engineer-built hospital,
every Army man stationed in Alas
ka is barracked at an Engineer
built post.
The outline of the Engineers’
Alaska story would cover thawing
the perpetual snows and deeply
frozen ground to get footings for
the defenses, facing the eternal
rains wmrking in the 90 to 120
mile-an-hour “williwawvs”. blast
^ ing away stone mountains and
shore-lines, surveying uncharted
island* and sending troops to com
bat when necessary.
Motto of the 168-year-old Eng
ineer Corns is ‘Essayons ’ “Let us
try!” and Engineer tradition i* to
pay no mind to any obstacle The
Alaskan result is more than a
f300.000.0uu program of pioneer
air bases and installations despite
the grief* of weather, terrain,
transportation, and supply
The Engineer job in Alaska took
several armies, still on the job:
the armv of Engineer officers and
technical troop units the army
of civilian engineers the armv of
• civilian clerical wmrkers. and the
army of thousands of skilled civ
ilian construction workers. This
four-way partnership has worked
side by side, wnth high morale, at
• cities and isolated localities as
well. From the Armv Engineer
installations at Ketchikan out to
Attu. the civilian Engineer army
of worker* is on the job on this
building mission.
If the engineer story in the north
A A A A A A A A A A A A
COMPLIMENTS
—OF—
► BOB KITE
SCAVENGER
-JK nffn i^A a^a
Nome Directory
HENRY JOSEPH
LALLEY
ACCOUNTING. INCOME TAX
AND SOCIAL SECURITY
P. O. Box 156 Nome. Alaska
• IRA D. ORTON
Attorney At Law
Room 1—Nevada Bonding
Nome, Alaska
Seattle Office:
1912-13 Smith Tower
Telephone Elliot 8206
0. D. COCHRAN
Attorney At Law
Phono Main ttl
> Nome, Alaska
N. STRAND
NSW YORK LIFE INSURANCE
COMPANY
Phone Black 156
NOME, ALASKA
HAGEN
JEWELER AND OPTICIAN
Court House la Opposite Hi
Phone Main 4i
L O. O. F. No. A-5
NOME, ALASKA
Meets Every Friday—8:00 P. M.
Odd Fellow Hall
“STRICTLY PRIVATE”
TraBnark K«»Ur«t U I p.i»nt OAn
g? I
„ XT. 8 . A9M!Z
\ - ScMt\HHEp£. IN
DEAR AAOM:
ME AUD OS OF A\V BUDDIES WEUT IkTO
TOWN TOCAY & SAW A COUPLA MGUIEE..THE
SARSE. TUShiKS SCA\E OF US MIGHT BE r
‘ * ' * SEWT TD OWE OF TUE WES^RU 1UEA1RES
VOUR> SOU
P.&.PRCfcD'SMOW r> I ,f)i 0»‘ )
» • f -• wr'i ‘ * ■*••
is tremendous. Alaska is a big and
unbelievable land. The most
popular post card in the Terri
tory reveals that a map of Alaska (
superimposed on a map of the
states is as large as one-fifth of
the U. S. A., with the last of the
Aleutians over California, south
east Alaska ending in Georgia
and Point Barrow over Duluth.
This is a pioneer story, with the
engineer units coming in ahead to
an undeveloped, often uninhabit
ed land, to hack out the timber, j
haul away the muck, thaw out;
the moraine to make way for the j
rest. It was well indeed that the
enemy thought of American bases
as late as June. 1942, as being
only something at Dutch Harbor.
Sitka, and perhaps something
near Juneau. It was then “sec
ret base” of Umnak that is cred
ited with saving Alaska and per
haps the Pacific Northwest, as the
land-based planes from that is
land turned back the Japanese in
vasion fleet.
The beginning of this story,
briefly, is August. 1940, when the
Seattle District of the U. S. Army
Engineers began a swift move
from peacetime operations into
national defense by initiating the
building of two air bases, Annette
Island and Yakuiat. Into the Ton
gass National Forest of moun
tained, marshy Southeast Alaska,
through muskeg formation of
matted vegetation, roots, and moss
three to 20 feet deep, the engi
neers carved down and laid out
Annette Island. There is more to
any air base than merely a run
way. from troop housing and a
chapel to electrical and plumbing 1
systems and from payrolls of civ
ilian construction workers to
shipping up the supplies. So skill
fully was Annette done that the
Air Corps recommended to the
‘Wo*- TVmarfmp*it that the ensti
v>c pntruc+pd with all air
Then there was Yakutat, no
simple runway job, either. With
120 to 160 inches of annual rain,
witdh abundant snow, often a foot
in 24 hours, with the dragline op
erating on timber mats to keep
from miring down, paving was no
easy task. But the concrete run
ways had to go down. To keep the
concrete mix from being ruined
before it could set in place for an
air base, the engineers brought
up two giant canvas tarps from
Mud Mountain Dam and worked
under tents on this runway job.
Mainr Francis J Loomis of Ta
coma. then a cantain. was resident
engineer at the beginning of Yak
utat construction. He had just
received the Legion of Merit "for
the leadership initiative, and
Swilitv * J' ^
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come the tremendous difficulties
of weather, shortages of person
nel and equipment, and delays in
shipping on the Yakutat assign
ment."
There was the Alaska Railroad
cut-off, an engineer iob to bring
the coast shipping closer to the re
mo'e interior, to take out the
steep grades and snow-b'»und
passes of winter railroading. The
engineers set up their transits on
a glacier with only the fading
trail of Mike Sullivan’s 1696 mule
freight line over the mountain to
follow. Now the civilian contrac
tor. engineer troons. and civilian
workers point with pride to an
Armv-Navv “E" for this .iob that
blasted through the moirntp'-’' bP_
Fairbanks in the heart of Alaska,
nenth glaciers and snow beds.
There was the winter job near
where 60 and 70 degree below
zero winters weren’t easy. Bull
dozer blades shattered like glass
and truck springs were snapping
after 16 hours in that weather
and no lubricating oil on the mar
ket would perform along with
the thermometer. It took steam
drilling to melt the permanently
frozen earth before the engineers
could get the cats to working on
it.
There was, of course. Umnak.
where construction equipment was
shipped for months under the red
herring name of “Blair Packing
Co.", and where the engineers
'lent with m>id for a pillow and
lived in packing craves until they
could get the airfield in use. When
*he engineer officer and civilan
party went in. late in 1941. the
wind was sometimes too high for
work and with no more advance
bases ahead. Umnak was pretty
close to Japan, but morale wa«
high. Morale was high all
through the muddy construction
history of Umnak. where the first
steel mat runways in the Aleu
tians were put down in time to
help with the defense of Dutch
Harbor. Alaska still talks of
Umnak’s land-baced planes,
frightening to the Jap invasion
fleet bound for the Dutch Harbor
Naval Staton.
There was the Andreanof Ar
mada. a motley collection of craft
laden with engineer construction
enuipment and supplies, moving
father out into the Aleutians.
There were island surveys under
Jap eyes and fire and there was
the procession of new engineer
built airfields clogged out of more
A lpnt ion mnH
The task that the corps of en
g’neers was called up^r. to per
form in Alaska was a large one
and because of the time element
the task had to be done around
’ho clock. It meant work when
work wasn't possible. Engine*
reports say tersely “a number o:
large bases were compe ted unde
fd\-orce oond'tions in the shortest
possible time.’’
Though they are eru;er now.
the construction jobs of the engi
neers in the north are not yet over
and this not-yet-written construc
tion story is not yet ended. The
Seattle Engineer District has not
been charged with Alaska con
struction responsibility since May
1942. when the Alaska Defense
Command took over, in order # to
direct the jobs from the scene o'
ac’ion. Under Lt. Gen. Simon
Bolivar Buckner. Jr., command
ing general, Alaska Defense Com
mand, and his engineer staff of
ficer. Col. George J. Nold, and
Col. Nold's construction chief.
Col. Charles F. Baish. the engi
neer construction story is going
ahead. The Seattle District un
der Col. Richard Park continues
cc* hiring personnel, perfomn
"<_* derhm. supplying equipment
rnd material.
Tht civilians are s*il! in nart
nership in Alas a wi'h the Corps
of Engineers and more civilians
are going north all the time, re
cm;fed from every part of th?
: stales for that part of America
that is not yet a state. If there is
, any American who has not yet
i found his or her war job, perhaps
:t is waiting in Alaska, at some
: army engineer office or project.
General Buckner, only recently.
! paid a significant tribute to the
I engineers’ civilian helpers on the
Alaska story, when he said "The
work of civilians employed by the
army engineers in Alaska has
been admirable and a valuable
contribution to the war effort
Civilian engineers, civilian cleri
cal workers and civilian construc
tion workers are ‘doing their part’
in the ,iob of moulding Alaska
to perform special Alaska ser
mto a huge base from which of
fensive blows will be struck at *
Tokyo itself.”
(OFFICIAL PUBLICATION)
Report Of The Financial Condition
OF THE
Miners and Merchants Bank of Alaska
Locate ? Vote. Territory of Alaska, at the close of business on the
31st day of December, 1943.
RESOURCES
Loans and discounts ..-.$ 181,982.75
Loans on real estate ...-.52,718.70
Overdrafts ...-.— 911 94
United States bonds and securities . 1.226.696.88
Other bonds and warrants .----- 116,004.50
Stocks, securities, judgments, claims etc.——
Banking house, furniture and fixtures .-. 41,130.5n
Other real estate owned ..
Due from other banks .-...-.— ~ ’ ‘
Checks on other banks and other cash items ..
Exchanges for clearing house .-.
Cash on hand .. 163.670.10
Expenses in excess of earnings ..
Gold Bullion on Hand ...-.
TOTAL . $2,091,391.02
liabilities
Capital stock pa.d in .—. $ 100.000.00
Surplus fund .-.. 25,000.00
Reserves ....... -.-.—
Undivided profits less expenses paid . 83,168.52
Dividends declared but unpaid
Due to other banks ..v.... ..
Demand deposits . 1.621,256.48
Time deposits ....— . 256,966.02
, Cashier’s and certified checks .
Notes and bills rediscounted
Bills payable (including certificates of deposit) for
money borrowed .
TOTAL $2,091,391.02
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA )
Territory of Alaska ) ss.
Second Division )
I. H. G GABRIELSON. Cashier of the above named bank, do
solemnly swear that the foregoing statement is true to the best of
my knowledge and belief.
H. G. GABRIELSON. Cashier.
[
(Correct—Attest):
G. R. JACKSON
H G. GABRIELSON
Directors.
Subscribed and sworn to before me this 7th "f, January, 1944.
BEVERLY A. MORGAN
Votary Public in and for the Territory ol Alaska. My commission ex
pires December 17, 1947.
SCORCHY SMITH
OURS/ DROP DOWN,
SKIP/ TWE NATIS'LL
FOLLOW... INTO TWE
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AFFAIRS AT THE “GINGHAM j
TEA SHOPPE* ARE NOT SO 1—
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TH* BOSS ACT1N6 STRANGE —
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ALL
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ME My SALAPy L **
YESTEPDAV. MG.
SPIMONI' j—7-1-'
NO KIDDINT
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I TELL YA TH'GUYS j EVERYBODY^
NUTS!!-HE TRIED NUTS/--- \
TO PAY ME MY ~ IMAGINE ME
SALARY SHOOT/M
TWICE*' BISCUITS
INSTEAD OF
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