Fairbanks - Day Two

6/25/13

One of the main motivators for my trip to Alaska was to see where my father spent his “formative years” as an Army Air Corps crew chief between 1942-46 at Ladd AAF, Fairbanks.  He and my Mom met as he transited Watertown, SD AAF during those years flying back and forth to Alaska.

I was able to access Ft. Wainwright today for a few hours though photographs were not permitted due to this being an active-duty military installation.  The original large hanger, four barracks, base chapel, the mess hall, and the commanding officers house are all that way still standing, as they were at the time my dad arrived here.  I did a short walking tour around that small area on the northeastern side of the base.

During the war Ladd AAF was the transfer point for more than 8,000 aircraft to the Soviet Union.  My dad was assigned to the Cold Weather Test Detachment that I found is still active here today.  Harsh winter weather had to be mastered by pilots and mechanics to maintain war-readiness.  About 800 Soviet soldiers were based here at the time working to transfer aircraft desperately needed to fit Germany on the Eastern Front.  The “forgotten war” was also fought here on Attu Island in the Aleutian Chain when the Japanese landed and occupied the only North American soil of the War.  What a change my dad must have felt coming from Texas to a very cold, dark (6 months of the year) and foreign place!

Joy rejoined me for lunch at the Elf’s Den in North Pole made famous by a visit from Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives TV Show.  And no trip to the North Pole would be complete without a visit at Santa’s House.