Secret mission with Russia
Aunt Phil’s Trunk Volume Four, released in 2009, shares the highs and lows during the World War II years in Alaska’s history. Follow the GIs north as they build the Alaska-Canada Highway, drive the Japanese from the Aleutian Chain and turn Anchorage into a metropolis. This volume also shines a spotlight on the Cold War, the Natives’ struggle for equality and the march toward statehood. Just as with Volumes two and three, this book has more than 350 historical photographs that complement the entertaining stories from 1935 to 1960.
Secret mission with Russia
America and the Soviet Union had a secret pact during World War II. Soviet pilots landed at Ladd Field in Fairbanks on Sept. 24, 1942, to begin training for their missions between Alaska and Russia.
Alcan Highway built in record time
Thousands of GIs with the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, along with more than 6,000 civilians, laid 1,400 miles of primitive road through the wilderness of Canada and Alaska in record time. Built in less than nine months, the rough trail and its 133 bridges were a great accomplishment, especially considering the extreme temperatures and conditions.
Japanese bomb Aleutians
Dutch Harbor families awoke early on June 3, 1942, unaware that their world was about to explode. But soon the drone of Japanese Zeros cracked the silence of the dawn. By 5:45 a.m., more than a dozen bombers and fighters were screaming over their town. Alaska State Library, Aleutian/Pribilof Project Collection, ASLP233-v150
On May 11, 1943, U.S. troops headed for Attu Island in the military’s first-ever amphibious landing. A campaign that was expected to last a few days, stretched into weeks, and it wasn’t until May 29 that the American pincers finally closed. Before the battle was over, there would be 549 American and 2,351 Japanese dead.
