News Letter 1941 Jul-Dec - Air Force Historical Studies Office

Air OperadoDs In Alaska
By Lieut. John C. A. lVatkln8
A
NY air base where a soldier may spend his offduty
hours prospectin~ for and actually finding
gold--or where he might saunter out after supper
and shoot a moose--certainly is an air base with
some definite attractions.
There are such Arm~ Air Forces stations--in
Alaska, which has been a part of the United States
for so long that it cartnot accurately be described
as a -new base" but which has become recently, for
obvious reasons, one of the nation's new military
frontiers.
Soldiers stationed at the ne~ fields there really
are finding gold in their off-duty hours (not all
of them, but some; not much, but a little) and the
statement about bagging a moose after supper
wouldn't be very much of an exaggeration were it
not for a local policy which prevents the troops
on duty in the tetritory from enjoying a very
large share in some of the best hunting in the
world.
Looking at it from all ahgles, it would be possible
to claim, with so.e justification, that
soldiers stationed 8 t a p1a~e where fresh eucumbe rs
cost 39~ each, and a bowl of chili 7St, might feel
it necessary to sperld ~ll their spare time looking
for gold. There isno question about the attractiveness
of certain phases 01 duty in Alaska, but
neither is there m~ch doubt that it is the most
expensive place under the ~ericah flag where an
Air Forces officer or ~nlisted man could be stationed.
A group of officers from A.A.F. headquarters, in
Washington, stopped in .Fairb~~ks testaurant while
on a recent inspection trip thtough the territory.
While they were eating (no CUcUmbers), a man came
up, introduced himself and said that he had been a
carpenter at Ladd #ield, he~r the little inland
mining town. He had ~uit, however, because he
wasn't making enough moneYI No future in it.
Thereupon a brash ybung se~ond lieutenant in the
group asked him jus~ how rnoch he had been making.
'Oh, $85 a week,dtht! local citizen replied in
an off-hand manner, tossing a handful of silver
dollars down and ordering ~ round of the best for
the gen t1ernen.
Two typical stations to which our personnel may
be assigned are Ladd Field, which is about 150
miles south of the Arctic Circle, and just as cold,
and Elmendorf Field, at Fort Richardson near the
little seaport of Anchorage, just about as far
OCTOBER r9-f.r 7
south and down below a chain of mountains which includes
historic and magnificent Mount McKinley.
Saying that Elmendor f Field is part of Fort Richardson
seems to the casual observer like saying that
the dog is part of his tail, since the air base is
very large and dominates the whole station, but
that's the official designation.
The two fields, one very cold and one with a
fairly mild climate--comparatively speaking--have
a great many things in common.
Ladd Field is a cold weather experimental station
for the Army Air Forces, commanded by Lieut.
Col. Dale V. Gaffney, and for this reason, duty
there differs in some respects from duty elsewhere
in Alaska. Comparing it broadly to Elmendorf, it
is a much more attractive post. It has permanent
quarters for its enlisted men, as compared to the
typical cantonment-type barracks at the field
farther south, and a few permanent and, on the inside,
very attractive quarters for married and
bachelor officers. There are not enough of these
to go around, however, and many of the officers
who bring their wives to Alaska (at their own expense,
although it is a three-year tour) must pay
stiff prices for houses oropartments in Fairbanks.
Ladd is situated in the middle of what appears
to be a glacial plain. In fact, a glacial stream,
or slough, meanders through the reservation. Mile.s
away, snow-covered mountains may be seen on clear
days, but most < '-", territory around the field is
fairly flat and covered with a thick growth of
aspens and evergreens. The ground consists of a
surface of mu3keg--a mattress-like, thick, springy
mass of vegetation which probably will be peat in
another 1,000 years or so--with gravel and ice
underneath. Ice is everywhere beneath a few feet
of muskeg and gravel, and the trees consequently
wither and die when their roots have passed down
through this areable blanket. The result is that
the expanse of woods is a vast patchwork of yellow
and green from the air, with the dying trees toppling
over when they reach a certain growth and
the muskeg no longer is able to bear their weight
and pulls loose from the gravel beneath.
'Summer"extends from late May until late
September, with the temperature averaging around
65 degrees. The days are fairly warm, but a
blouse or jacket usually is necessary in the evenings
and early mornings. During the winter, the
temperature has dropped as low as 70 degrees below