"Bering Sea" by U.S. National Park Service , public domain
Aleutian WWIIAmaknak and Unalaska Islands Tour |
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View to the Past
Base End Station at Ulakta Head overlooking Unalaska Bay, 2000
A Driving Guide to
World War II Buildings
and Structures on
Amaknak Island and
Unalaska Island
WORLD WAR II NATIONAL
HISTORIC LANDMARKS
IN THE ALEUTIANS
The Aleutian Islands, Alaska
NHL: National Historic Landmark
Map source: National Park Service, 1993
C.B. McCoy, Dutch Harbor, 1943. Courtesy Museum of the Aleutians.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Alaska District wishes to thank the
following persons and agencies for their assistance with this project:
City of Unalaska, Jeff Dickrell, Museum of the Aleutians, Anne Rowland,
Ounalashka Corporation, Philomena Hausler, Unalaska Historical Commission,
Qawalangin Tribal Council, National Park Service, D. Colt Denfeld,
and the State of Alaska Office of History and Archaeology
Aerial view, Amaknak and Unalaska Islands, ca. 1942. Courtesy National Archives, Pacific Alaska Region.
WORLD WAR II ON THE ALEUTIAN FRONT
In 1940, anticipating the spread of the war in Europe to the Pacific Theater, the U.S. military began construction of
forward-operating bases in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. By 1943, American troops were stationed throughout
this remote, 1,200-mile-long archipelago. From airfields at Adak, Dutch Harbor, and Fort Glenn, U.S. pilots flew
patrol bombers, fighter-bombers, and observation aircraft on combat and reconnaissance missions over the
Aleutians.
On June 3 and 4, 1942, six months after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Japanese pilots bombed Fort Mears and the
Dutch Harbor Naval Operating Base on Amaknak Island. Three days later, Japanese soldiers invaded Kiska Island,
600 miles west of Dutch Harbor, and Attu Island, 800 miles west of Dutch Harbor. American forces recaptured Attu
in June of 1943, at the price of many American and Japanese lives, and the Japanese army abandoned Kiska one
month later. U.S. troops remained in the Aleutians until the end of the war in 1945.
In 1985 and 1986, the federal government designated Adak Naval Operating Base, Dutch Harbor Naval Operating
Base and Fort Mears, Fort Glenn, and the battlefields on Attu and Kiska islands as National Historic Landmarks in
recognition of their significant contributions to the defense of the nation during World War II.
Dutch Harbor Naval Operating Base
“Every station, office, and activity ashore exists but to
serve the NAVY AFLOAT, UNDER THE SEAS, OR IN THE
AIR.” (War Diary, Dutch Harbor, Alaska).
Dutch Harbor Naval Operating Base was constructed as
a naval air station in 1940-1941, at a deep-water port on
Amaknak Island used for centuries by the Unangan
people and Russian fur traders. As the diary entry above
proclaimed, the base provided a landing field and
weather data for pilots and also repaired, refueled, and
reprovisioned the submarines and other U.S. ships that
patrolled the Bering Sea and Pacific Ocean.
Hospital wards at Fort Mears, Dutch Harbor, Alaska, ca. 1941.
Courtesy National Archives, Pacific Alaska Region.
Fort Mears
Fort Mears, named after Colonel Frederick Mears, was
established to defend the Dutch Harbor Naval
Operating Base. The fort was constructed during 19401941 on the narrow strip of land between Margaret Bay
and Unalaska Bay, the only flat terrain on Amaknak
Island. After the construction of Fort Mears was
underway, defense installations were also built at Hill
400, Mount Ballyhoo, Eider Point, and Summer Bay.
PBY-5-A parked in a revetment at the bottom of Mt. Ballyhoo, ca. 1942.
Courtesy National Archives, Pacific Alaska Region.
Some of the remaining defense fortifications of the
Naval Operating Base can be seen on the lower slope of
Mount Ballyhoo, just north of the airport runway. These
structures include earthen revetments, which shielded
aircraft from enemy fire and the Aleutian wind, and
concrete munitions-storage magazines. Tall concrete
blast walls protected the entrances to many of the
magazines.
The photograph above shows wards of the 250-bed
hospital at Margaret Bay. In addition to treating
injuries from training exercises, construction accidents,
and rat bites, the hospital also treated men who
contracted diseases such as pneumonia, mumps, and
German measles. The nurses at Fort Mears Hospital,
the Naval Air Station Hospital, and the field hospital in
Pyramid Valley were the only women stationed at
Dutch Harbor during World War II.
1
HOW TO USE THE DRIVING GUIDE
The six driving routes—shown on the map on the facing page—were chosen based on the following
criteria:
Land ownership
Most of the land on Amaknak and Unalaska islands is owned by members of the Ounalashka Corporation,
descendants of the Unangan people who have lived on these islands for over 8,000 years. Some World
War II structures, such as those on Hill 400 and Tundra Drive, were not included in this guide because
the access roads are on private property.
Accessibility and Safety
All six routes are within the City of Unalaska road system and can be driven in a two-wheel-drive rental
car during the summer. Some roads, such as Overland Drive in Unalaska Valley and the road to the top of
Mount Ballyhoo, have not been included in this guide because of unstable road conditions. Although it is
possible to drive on these public-access roads in a four-wheel-drive vehicle during the summer, portions
of the roads are steep and narrow with large jagged rocks and many deep ruts.
BEFORE YOU BEGIN . . . .
Ounalashka Corporation
Land-Use Permit
All visitors planning to walk or hike anywhere beyond
the City of Unalaska road system must obtain an
Ounalashka Corporation Land-Use Permit.
This
permit can be purchased at the Visitors Center or at the
Ounalashka Corporation Office.
Weather Safety
Aleutian weather is unpredictable. Within minutes,
conditions can change from sunny and calm to strong
wind and driving rain. Always carry a jacket and a hat,
and dress in layers.
Screw pickets. Top: Unalaska Island, 2001.
Bottom: Amaknak Island, 2001.
Souvenirs
Collecting “souvenirs” such as stone tools, ivory, eagle
feathers, bones, or any World War II-era artifacts,
including shell casings or nails, is illegal.
Hazards
Anti-personnel stakes (also known as screw pickets or
Rommel stakes) were installed throughout Amaknak
and Unalaska islands during World War II in
anticipation of a ground assault by enemy troops.
Double and sometimes triple rows of these sharpened
iron spikes were planted in the ground: the first 4-foothigh row was strung with barbed wire; another parallel
(offset) row of stakes was placed in front. The tops of
the stakes in the second row protruded only 4 to 6
inches above ground, hidden by tall grass. Many of
these stakes are still in the ground.
WATCH WHERE YOU STEP
2
MAP: All Routes
3
MILITARY CONSTRUCTION
Naval Air Station (N.A.S.), ca. 1942. Road at far left is East Point Loop Road: power
plant, main dock, Navy Mess Hall, Station Brig, and Navy Barracks are still standing.
Courtesy National Archives, Pacific Alaska Region.
In September 1940, workmen from
Siems-Drake, the civilian contractor,
arrived on Amaknak Island to begin
construction of Garrison 1 at Margaret
Bay and the naval air station at Dutch
Harbor. The 5-mile-long site for these
installations consisted of swampy tundra,
rocky hillsides, and steep embankments.
High winds scattered stacked lumber,
horizontal rain made footing treacherous,
and dense fog often obscured the site
itself.
Not surprisingly, employee
turnover was high: “as each ship brought
a new recruitment of workers to Dutch
Harbor, another pulled out of port with a
larger number leaving Alaska” (National
Register Nomination, 1992).
Despite these challenges, the civilian contractor worked an accelerated schedule and, by September of the following
year, completed Garrison 1 and many of the structures at the naval air station. After Siems-Drake employees were
evacuated from the Aleutians in June 1942, the Navy Seabees took over construction.
BUILDING DESIGN
Design of the Margaret Bay garrison followed the standards
developed by the Army for its stateside construction. Garrison 1
included a hospital, PX, chapel, mess halls, barracks, recreation
buildings, and warehouses. Arctic entries and blackout windows
were added to most of the buildings. Typically, buildings were
painted white and aligned in a grid pattern. These neatly-spaced
white buildings gave the garrison the appearance of a permanent
military installation, but they also provided a highly visible target
for enemy pilots.
The infrastructure of the naval base at Dutch Harbor included
above and below-ground fuel tanks, power plants, docks, a ship
repair facility, warehouses, and a system of underground tunnels. Pacific Hut, Fort Mears, ca. 1942. Courtesy University of
The Navy hired Michigan architect Albert Khan to design the Alaska Fairbanks.
buildings. Khan’s designs emphasized construction adapted to the space limitations of the site, as well as protection
from the harsh climate. Although the barracks, mess hall, and station brig he designed were successful on both
counts, these buildings, like the buildings of Garrison 1, were vulnerable to enemy attack because a large number of
personnel were concentrated in a small area.
After the June 1942 bombing, military planners re-evaluated the placement of all existing structures. A variety of
camouflage techniques were used on buildings, such as olive-drab paint, setting a structure directly into the hillside
and benching it with sod, draping netting over the roof, and rubbing the exterior with mud and water.
For the newly created garrisons in Unalaska Valley and Pyramid Valley, the standard 63-man barracks design was
replaced with small, randomly dispersed cabanas, Quonset huts, and Pacific huts. The men living in the
prefabricated, 16-by 20-foot wood-frame cabanas sometimes gave them names such as “Bring ‘Er Inn,” “Squirrel
Cage,” “Beli-Acres,” and “Sleepy Hollow” (The Aleutian, July 8, 1943). The prefabricated metal Quonsets, measuring
from 16 by 36 feet to 20 by 40 feet, and the wood-and-metal Pacific huts were also assembled on site. These huts,
in addition to the heavier elephant steel (Armco) huts used for munitions, became the new “standard” and the
building type most commonly associated with World War II in the Aleutians.
4
ALEUTIAN WORLD WAR II NATIONAL HISTORIC AREA
Soon after the construction of Dutch Harbor Naval Operating Base and Fort Mears was underway, construction
began on Fort Schwatka and Battery 402, a coastal defense post at the top of Mount Ballyhoo. Over 350 troops
were quartered at Fort Schwatka in barracks, Quonset huts, and cabanas. In clear weather, the top of Mount
Ballyhoo provided a panoramic view of approaching enemy aircraft and submarines. Two 8-inch anti-aircraft guns
were positioned on Ulakta Head. In 1996, Congress dedicated Fort Schwatka and Battery 402 as a World War II
National Historic Area. A land-use permit from the Ounalashka Corporation is required to visit this privately owned
park, which is operated in conjunction with the National Park Service.
MILE 0: ALEUTIAN WORLD WAR II VISITOR CENTER
Aerology Operations Building (1941)
Aerology Building, ca. 1942. Courtesy National Archives,
Pacific Alaska Region.
Aleutian World War II Visitors Center, 2001 (Aerology Building, Dutch Harbor
Naval Operating Base). Mount Ballyhoo in background.
The former Aerology Operations Building, now the Aleutian World War II Visitors Center, is shown on each of the
route maps as the designated starting point for the six driving tours. During World War II, the upstairs of the
building housed meteorological equipment used to provide navy pilots and ship captains with weather forecasts,
including information on wind speed and direction, impending storms, and the height of ocean swells. The Naval
Air Transport Service operated on the first floor.
Windows on the octagonal upper floor allowed radio operators a 360-degree view of Mount Ballyhoo to the north,
Dutch Harbor to the east, the airfield to the west, and Fort Mears and Unalaska Bay to the southeast. After the naval
base was decommissioned, the City of Unalaska used the Aerology Operations Building as an airport terminal until
1985.
The National Park Service, in cooperation with the land owner, Ounalashka Corporation, has restored the exterior of
the Aerology Operations Building to its original 1940s-era appearance, and rehabilitated the interior as an
interpretive center. The Aleutian World War II Visitors Center was dedicated in July 2002.
Torpedo Bombsight and Utility Shop (1942)
Several yards directly west of the
Aerology Operations Building is the
former Torpedo Bombsight and Utility
Shop. This two-story steel-frame
structure, measuring approximately 80
feet by 120 feet, was where torpedoes
were given a final check before loading,
and repaired if necessary. A parachute
loft and packing room were located
upstairs.
Torpedo Bombsight and Utility Shop, 2001.
5
Route 1
EAST POINT LOOP ROAD
Turn left out of the Visitors Center parking lot onto Airport Beach Road. Continue straight at the stop sign onto East Point Loop
Road. You may encounter heavy equipment and many large trucks as you drive through this industrial area. Please use caution.
Mile 0.1
Powerhouse (1942)
This 93-foot by 103-foot concrete and reinforced-steel building
originally supplied electrical power to Dutch Harbor Naval
Operating Base. It now supplies power to the City of Unalaska.
The 5-foot-thick walls and 6½-foot-thick roof were built to
withstand the force of a 250-kilogram bomb. After the hill
directly behind the Powerhouse was hit by Japanese bombs in
June 1942, it became known as “Suicide Hill” because of the
men who died there.
Mile 0.3
Navy Barracks Buildings 1 and 2
Navy Mess Hall (1942)
Enclosed walkways
once connected these
large wood-frame
buildings designed by
Albert Khan.
The
self-contained, fuelefficient complex
provided welcome
relief from the wind,
rain, and snow as the
men walked from
Mess Hall, Dutch Harbor Naval Operating Base,
ca. 1943. The mess Hall could seat 500 people.
their barracks to the
Courtesy National Archives, Pacific Alaska Region. mess hall. An air raid
shelter was located beneath the barracks (J. Dickrell, Center of the
Storm). The barracks, now used as warehouses, retain their
original 1940s appearance.
Mile 0.3
Living quarters for the Siems-Drake construction crew was a
refurbished 1889 freight and passenger ship, the S.S.
Northwestern. The ship housed 280 workers and its steam turbogenerators furnished 2,300 volts of electricity to the naval base.
On June 3, 1942, Japanese pilots bombed the ship, causing a fire
that lasted for three days. Damaged beyond repair, the S.S.
Northwestern was towed to the end of Captains Bay where it
remains, half submerged. In 1994, the S.S. Northwestern
Shipwreck Site was listed in the National Register of Historic
Places.
Mile 0.8
Mile 0.3
Station Brig (1942)
(For a better view of the building, turn right at the next street,
Delta Way)
Rocky Point (oil-dock tank farm)
Diesel and gasoline storage tanks were once located on the beach
below Rocky Point (not visible from the road). These tanks were
bombed during the 1942 attack on Dutch Harbor. Fire from the
burning tanks produced thick black smoke that covered the
shoreline for days.
Mile 0.8
Cottage (private residence) (1912)
This wood-shingle house pre-dates World War II and is one of
the oldest homes on Amaknak and Unalaska islands.
Mile 0.8
Radio transmitter power plant
(private property) (1919)
This concrete structure supplied power to the Naval Radio
Station Apartment House in the 1930s and 1940s. During World
War II, the doors were reinforced with freestanding concrete
blast walls.
Mile 0.8
Former Navy Barracks, 2001.
Delta Western Dock,
S.S. Northwestern (1940-1942)
Naval Radio Station Apartment
House (private property) (1932)
For many years, this six-unit apartment building was the only
brick structure in the Aleutians. It was constructed to provide
family housing for the radio operators working at the nearby
naval radio station. The building was remodeled during World
War II for use as a Chief Petty Officers quarters and mess hall.
During the war, a colorful sea-life mural was painted on the
walls of the basement lounge, and work crews camouflaged the
exterior of the building with olive-drab paint. The building
sustained only minor shrapnel damage in the June 1942 bombing
of Dutch Harbor.
This small concrete and reinforced steel structure was part of the
mess hall and barracks buildings complex. The Brig consisted
of two standard cells, one solitary-confinement cell, and a small
exercise area. On September 17, 1942, the crew of the U.S.S.
Reid sank a Japanese submarine near Kiska Island. Five
Japanese crew members survived and were taken prisoner.
According to the official report, the prisoners were brought to
the Brig at Dutch Harbor Naval Operating Base and questioned
individually. “All prisoners freely answered questions … and
some information of military value was obtained” (War Diary, Sept.
1942). After questioning, several prisoners were taken to the
nearby Aeronautical Expedition huts (no longer standing) where
they were held until September 28, 1942, when the U.S.S.
Chaumont transported the captured submarine crew to the Naval Radio Station Apartment House (left) and radio transmitter power plant
(right), 2001.
continental U.S. for internment.
6
MAP: Route 1
7
Route 2
AIRPORT BEACH ROAD (NORTH)
Turn right out of the Visitors Center parking lot onto Airport Beach Road. (To visit the Sitka Spruce Plantation National
Historic Landmark, take the first left off Airport Beach Road onto Biorka Drive. Sitka Spruce Park is approximately one block
uphill on the left.)
Sixty years after the war, only a few structures from Fort Mears
remain along Airport Beach Road. In 1942, hundreds of
buildings―mess halls, barracks, hospital wards, warehouses,
and mechanic shops―surrounded Margaret Bay and extended to
the shore of Unalaska Bay.
Mile 0.7
Bombing of Fort Mears (1942)
Early on the morning of June 3, 1942, where the Grand Aleutian
Hotel now stands and across the street on the shore of Unalaska
Bay, Japanese aircraft dropped 16 bombs on Fort Mears. The
commanding officer had known for several days that an enemy
attack was expected, and had ordered his troops to evacuate the
garrison and take cover in trenches and foxholes on the
surrounding hills.
Tra gicall y,
50
soldiers who had
arrived in Dutch
Harbor late on the
night of June 2
were not informed
of the evacuation,
and the following
morning
the
bombing killed 25
Bombing of Fort Mears, June 3, 1942. Courtesy
of these men and
Anchorage Museum of History and Art, B11.15.94.
injured the others.
experienced during the winter of 1942-1943: “canned sweet
potatoes and sauerkraut for two days;” “only pancakes and
sauerkraut for two weeks;” “down to two meals a day of canned
sauerkraut;” and “rations ran out; all we have is flour and
cauliflower, no salt” (Robert Garrett, Henry Oehrig, E.F. Paulus, and
James Massey, interviews in The Williwaw War).
Mile 1.1
Trench on Hill 200 (1941-1942)
Turn left at gas station onto Salmon Way.
The clearest view of the
trench is from the
Museum
of
the
Aleutians parking lot
below Hill 200. The
trench line was dug in
an offset pattern to
prevent an enemy
soldier from jumping
Trench on Hill 200 overlooking Salmon Way
into the trench and
and the Museum of the Aleutians, 2001.
firing straight down the
line with an automatic weapon. The uneven pattern would also
have prevented an enemy pilot from making one long,
continuous strafing run above the trench.
Return to Airport Beach Road and turn left.
Mile 2.0
Marine Railway and Shop
Building (1941-1944)
(For the best view of this building, turn right at Gilman Road
Mile 0.7 Pill Boxes (1941-1942)
These hexagonal reinforced-concrete structures were named for and park near the intersection of Gilman Road and Airport
their resemblance to a style of woman’s hat with a flat crown Beach Road)
and straight sides. Pill boxes provided emergency shelter in case
of enemy bombing and were also used as machine gun bunkers. The former Marine Railway and Shop Building is the only World
W.J. McKinistry, who was stationed at Dutch Harbor during War II structure at the former Iliuliuk Submarine Base that has
retained both its historic appearance and original function. Just
World War II, remembered
as navy vessels were repaired here 60 years ago, fishing boats
that “they told us [on June 4,
today are winched into the Shop Building for repair on a set of
1942] that the Japanese were
tracks (the railway) that leads up the shore from Iliuliuk Harbor.
making a ground invasion of
The submarine dock was removed after the war, and the other
Dutch Harbor [rumor] and
structures associated with the submarine base have been either
asked for volunteers to go
removed or extensively remodeled.
down to the barracks area to
help man a pill box on the
beach. I volunteered, but
don’t ask me why!”. Pill Box overlooking Hog Island in
(interview in The Williwaw War).
Mile 0.7
Unalaska Bay, 2001.
Hog Island, (1942-1944)
Fort Mears Garrison 7
After the June 1942 bombing, troops from Fort Mears were
dispersed to Unalaska Island and to nearby Hog Island (named
by Russians who raised pigs there in the early 1800s). From
Hog Island, Garrison 7 radio operators transmitted critical
meteorological data, tide information, and constant weather
updates to the military outposts along Unalaska’s coastline.
Although only a mile from Amaknak Island, the 250 men
stationed on Hog Island were often stranded for weeks at a time
when bad weather prevented supply boats from reaching them.
Their diary entries attest to the serious food shortages The Marine Railway and Shop Building, 2001.
8
MAP: Route 2
9
Route 3
AIRPORT BEACH ROAD (SOUTH)
Turn right out of the Visitors Center parking lot onto Airport Beach Road. At Mile 1.9, turn right onto Henry
Swanson Drive, just before the wooden bridge to Unalaska Island. Pull over immediately to left, near bridge. Park facing
south. Hill 400 is now on your immediate right; Agnes Beach and Pyramid Valley are on your left, across Captains Bay.
Hill 400 Coastal Defenses, Amaknak Island
The residents of Unalaska were allowed to return to their homes
in April 1945. When the ship docked just south of Agnes Beach,
the people did not realize at first how much their homes had been
damaged because Haystack Hill blocked their view of the town.
Nick Galaktionoff, who was 20 years old at the end of World
War II, described his homecoming in a 1992 interview: “At
Unalaska, they unload us at Captain’s Bay dock and from the
army truck—up the valley way. . . by the time we got in the town
there it looked bad” (B. Smith, Making It Right, Vol. II). Another
Unangan elder remembered “When we came [back] to Unalaska
we were happy and we were sad at the same time. Windows
[were] broken, doors kicked in, personal belongings were gone.
It made you feel like crying whenever someone got to go inside
of their homes” (Anfesia Shapsnikoff, 1972 interview in Old
Two months after the
bombing of Fort Mears,
Navy Seabees began
constructing a defense
installation on Hill 400.
Also called Bunker Hill
and Little South America
(for its geographic
shape),
Hill 400
overlooks Unalaska Bay,
Panama gun mount and ammunition huts on
Iliuliuk Harbor, and
Hill 400, overlooking Unalaska Bay, 2000.
Captains Bay.
This
strategic location provided an ideal coastal defense site.
Panama mounts for 155-mm guns were installed at the top of Buildings, New Foundations).
Hill 400. Small elephant-steel magazines stored ammunition
and fuses; larger concrete-and-steel ordnance magazines were Mile 2.1 Cabana (private home)
Unalaska Island
cut into the side of the hill. The two-tiered Base End Station on
Because
so
many
of the homes in the town of Unalaska were
top of Hill 400 is visible from Airport Beach Road.
unhabitable at the end of the war, the Army moved a number of
buildings down from Pyramid Valley as temporary housing for
Pyramid Valley, Unalaska Island
A concrete power plant is the only structure remaining in the the Unangan. These 16- by 20-foot wood-frame buildings, called
valley where a 50-bed hospital, dental clinic, morgue, cabanas, were relocated in an area of town between Broadway
warehouses, Quonset huts, and cabanas once stood in 1943. Avenue and the Iliuliuk River that eventually became known as
After the war, some cabanas were moved or salvaged for “New Town.” Moving and
lumber; the rest of the buildings were removed during a 1986 remodeling cabanas, as well
as salvaging lumber from
federal environmental cleanup.
them, became common
The most visible reminders of World War II in Pyramid Valley practice in Unalaska in the
are the Sitka spruce trees planted during the 1940s as part of a post-war years and in the
military tree-planting program in the Aleutians. The goal of decades to follow. Many of
this program, promoted by General Simon Bolivar Buckner, these cabanas are still in use
was to “reduce the monotony of the landscape for thousands of as housing. Please respect
soldiers, … curb erosion, … and rectify Nature’s apparent the privacy of residents as Cabana (private residence), Unalaska
omissions” (D. Bruce and A. Court: Trees for the Aleutians). Despite the you drive past these homes. Island, 2001.
severe winter storms of Southwestern Alaska, a number of the
trees planted in this valley have survived.
Mile 2.5 Unangan World War II Monument
Unalaska Island
Note: The unpaved road through Pyramid Valley is a public
right-of-way; the land, however, is privately owned. If you
visit this area and intend to get out of your car, you will need
to purchase a land-use permit from Ounalashka Corporation
(available at the Visitors Center).
Agnes Beach and Captains Bay Dock,
Unalaska Island
In response to the June 1942 bombing of Fort Mears and Dutch
Harbor Naval Operating Base, the military ordered the
evacuation of all Unangan people in the Aleutian Islands. Two
months later, 189 residents of Unalaska were taken by ship to a
relocation camp in Southeast Alaska. During the 2-½ years the
Unangan were forced to live in the relocation camp, “there was
widespread and wanton destruction of [their] property . . . [by]
armed forces personnel and civilians alike” (Military report in
The Williwaw War). Furniture and personal items were stolen or
vandalized, and plywood ripped from the inside walls of
homes.
10
Turn left at Raven Way. Pull into City Hall parking lot and walk
up a short path to the top of the knoll overlooking Iliuliuk Bay.
This stone monument was erected as a memorial to the Unangan
people who sacrificed their homes and their lives during the war.
In 1988, Congress passed An Act Concerning War-Time
Relocation of Civilians (Public Law 100-383).
This act
acknowledged
the
injustices
and
unreasonable hardships
endured by the Unangan
people of the Aleutian
Islands (Smith: A Sure
Foundation). In
1989,
Congress authorized
reparation payments to
each of the 400 survivors
of the internment camps
Unangan monument overlooking Church of the
Holy Ascension, 2001.
(Alaska Geographic: Dutch).
MAP: Route 3
11
Route 4
UNALASKA TOWN SITE
Turn right out of the Visitors Center parking lot onto Airport Beach Road; drive south on Airport Beach Road and cross over
the bridge to Unalaska Island. Continue downhill past City Hall and cross the Iliuliuk River Bridge. On the north side of the
bridge, Airport Beach Road becomes 5th Street. At the first stop sign, turn left onto Broadway Avenue.
Mile 2.8
National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Aleutian Pribilof
Burma Road Chapel (1942)
The former Burma Road Chapel, now the Unalaska Convention Islands Association, and the Russian Orthodox Church.
and Visitors Bureau, is the only remaining military church on
Unalaska Island and Amaknak Island from the World War II era.
Despite new doors, windows, and paint, the building is still
recognizable as a 1940s-era structure. The Sitka spruce on each
side of the chapel were likely planted soon after the chapel was
built, as part of the military tree-planting program.
Mile 3.1
Bomb Site (1942):
Bureau of Indian Affairs Hospital
Just
past
the
intersection
of
Broadway Avenue and
Cathedral Way is the
site where the Bureau
of Indian Affairs
Hospital once stood.
In early June 1942,
hospital personnel
received word from
base intelligence that
Bureau of Indian Affairs Hospital, June 1942 after an enemy air strike
Japanese bombing. Courtesy University of Alaska was expected at Dutch
Anchorage Archives, C.A. Clower Collection.
Harbor. The hospital
staff immediately moved patients to nearby dugout shelters. On
June 4, a Japanese bomb hit next to the hospital, severely
damaging the building. Only two people were in the hospital at
the time, the head nurse and the janitor, but neither was injured.
In an interview, ward attendant Martha Tutiakoff recalled that the
explosion “tore out the whole end of the building and destroyed
the nurses’ quarters and all their belongings. It twisted and
shattered the rest of the building...[but] there was no fire” (The
Williwaw War). The hospital was rebuilt, but burned in the 1950s.
1898 Church of the Holy Ascension, ca. 1943. Courtesy University of Alaska
Anchorage Archives, Harris M Whiting Collection.
Mile 3.2
Bishop’s House (1883)
The Bishop’s House, with its distinctive Italianate styling and
Victorian trim, was designed and constructed in San Francisco,
shipped piece by piece to Unalaska, and then reassembled at its
present site. The 30-foot-square elementary school that was
once attached to this building burned in 1960.
Mile 3.7
Unalaska Memorial Park and
Cemetery
This small memorial park was constructed in 1992 next to the
Unalaska Cemetery. The park displays memorial plaques
honoring Unalaskans lost at sea, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the
Unangan people and military personnel who died during World
War II. Benches overlooking Illiuliuk Harbor flank a pill box
Mile 3.2 Church of the Holy Ascension
and the 9-foot-high, solid brass propeller salvaged from the S.S.
(1898)
National Historic Landmark
The site on which the present Church of the Holy Ascension was Northwestern by the City of Unalaska. Most of the grave
constructed in 1898 has been the site of the Russian Orthodox markers in the cemetery are Russian Orthodox, and some of the
Church in Unalaska for almost 200 years and the spiritual center gravesites and surrounding fences are more than 100 years old.
of the Unalaska community. Parishioners regularly maintain and
repair the building. After the Unangan were evacuated from
Unalaska in August 1942, the military used the Church primarily
as a warehouse until 1945, and the building received no
maintenance for three years (A Sure Foundation).
When the Unangan returned home in April 1945, they found their
church in severe disrepair. Holes in the roof and broken windows
had allowed “wind and rain [to penetrate] behind loose shingles
and siding, causing a permanent dampness to the
building” (Making It Right, Vol. I). The parishioners repaired their
church as best they could, but could not afford the extensive
structural restoration required, and the condition of the building
continued to deteriorate. The Church of the Holy Ascension was
designated a National Historic Landmark in 1970. It was restored
in 1996 at a cost of 1.4 million dollars, with funding from the
Unalaska Cemetery, 2001.
12
MAP: Route 4
13
Route 5
UPPER UNALASKA VALLEY
Turn right out of the Visitors Center parking lot onto Airport Beach Road. Continue on this road until you cross the Iliuliuk
River Bridge into the Unalaska Town Site, where Airport Beach Road becomes 5th Street. At the corner of 5th Street and
Broadway Avenue, turn right onto Broadway Avenue and follow the road until you reach the washout.
The Move to Unalaska Valley
After the 1942 bombing of