Homesteads on Fort Richardson, Alaska - The USARAK Home Page ...

Chapter 6.0World War II and FortEstablishmentFigure 3. Troops exercising in front of tents.Courtesy of Anchorage Museum of History andArt. B94.26.3.The Anchorage population underwent a rapid population explosion in the late 1930sand early 1940s. When World War II started in 1939 with Hitler invading Poland,the Chilkoot Barracks was the only active military base in Alaska. Only elevenofficers and 286 enlisted men staffed the Barracks near Haines. Territorial delegateshad earlier pointed out Alaska’s strategic position and urged military reinforcements,yet the warnings went largely unheeded until the war started in Europe.36 Once a threat was identified, however, the military moved very quickly.There were 8,000 troops in Alaska by 1941, 60,000 in 1942 and 152,000 by 1943. 37The military presence in Alaska would bring unprecedented numbers of peopleinto the territory. Development began at a breakneck pace from 1939 and continuedthroughout the War. A cold-weather test facility was started in Fairbanks, now knownas Fort Wainwright. 38 Glenn Highway construction began in the spring of 1941 andwas completed in October 1942. The Alaska Highway, connecting the territorywith the rest of the United States was built in 1942 by U.S. Army Engineers andfinished in just eight months. Many other large construction projects throughoutAlaska were completed during the war years. In all, the government spent over abillion dollars on military activities and construction projects in Alaska from 1941to 1945. 39The 1940 Anchorage population of 4,000 more than doubled within a year and ahalf, as military personnel and construction workers for the Army base flooded intothe city. Anchorage quickly became an important center ofoperations due to its strategic location between the Aleutiansand the southeast coast. 40 In 1939/1940, Executive Orders8102 and 8343 were issued by presidential decree andwithdrew 45,939 and 40,563 acres of land respectively forthe establishment of Fort Richardson. Several other majorland acquisitions expanding the reservation boundaries occurredup until 1949 41 (See Appendix C). Construction forFort Richardson was started on June 8, 1940, and continuedthroughout the long winter. Building was only stopped whennails could no longer be driven through frozen wood. 42 Manytroops were housed in tents at first while permanent barrackswere built. 43 Two runways, hangers and parking areasfor Elmendorf Field were completed by October of 1941,as well as barracks for the troops. 44 Fort Richardson served36Public Information Officer. The U.S. Army in Alaska. Pamphlet 360-5 (Alaska: U.S. Army, July 1972) p. 85.37Miller. The Frontier in Alaska and the Matanuska Colony. p. 180.38John H. Cloe. “The Legacy of War” in Ann Chandonnet’s (ed) Alaska at War, 1941-1945 (Anchorage, Alaska: Alaska War Committee,1995) p. 393.39Public Information Officer. The U.S. Army in Alaska. p. 85.40Cloe. “The Legacy of War” p. 395.41Installation Commander’s Annual Real Property Utilization Survey, 1985. 172D Infantry Brigade (Alaska) Fort Richardson. p. 5-1.42Talley & Talley, “Building Alaska’s Defenses in World War II.” p. 6143Jean Potter. Alaska Under Arms. (New York: Macmillan Company, 1942) p. 38.44Talley and Talley. “Building Alaska’s Defenses in World War II.” p. 61.<strong>Homesteads</strong> on Fort RichardsonAlaska15