World War II in Dutch harbor

Many of us are unaware or have forgotten that part of World War II was fought in Alaska on the Aleutian Islands. The Japanese actually captured Attu, the furthest most western island, and imprisoned the native peoples In Japan. They also captured Kiska Island, and imprisoned the members of the U.S. Aerological Detail stationed there--a group of about 12 men.

But just before these events, the Japanese bombed Dutch Harbor. These bombing attacks on June 3 and 4, 1942 coincided with the Japanese attack on Midway. They apparently hoped to draw the southern Pacific fleet north to Alaska, but that did not occur, and was one of the major turning points in the war.

Japan sent bombers and Zeros which left over 100 civilians and servicemen dead and wounded. Barracks, fuel tanks, and other structures were set afire, including the ship "The Northwestern" which had been retired as a passenger ship and was being used as a fuel plant. It now lies scuttled in Captain's Bay. (Yes, the Northwestern crab boat which is owned by Sig Hansen on the Deadliest Catch is named for this ship.)

One Japanese Zero was shot down over Akutan (the island where Dutch Harbor is located) and proved very valuable in determining what it's strengths and vulnerabilities were. The Navy and Army personnel here on that day were equipped with World War I guns and supplies, and were no match for the ultra fast Zeros.

After this attack, a huge influx of military personnel were sent to Dutch Harbor and Unalaska. The Navy stayed in Dutch, and the Army moved out to Unalaska, and at one point 40,000 men were stationed here. The built all kinds of fortifications, barracks, gun emplacements, mess halls, communications buildings, dormitories, etc. both in the lower elevations and in the peaks surrounding the area. The assumption was that the Japanese would try to take the Aleutians as a prelude to seizing land in North America, but it never happened.


Today all of these military structures heavily dot the landscape. Many are in use today, having been re-built, re-sided, or adapted to modern use. The old submarine dry dock is now a dry dock to repair smaller fishing vessels, for example. But especially in the hills and peaks, the structures have simply collapsed with the weather and time. The boards just lay, not even rotting, looking like some giant hand or huge wind (more likely) had pushed them over.


The area belongs to the Native Corporation (like Tribes in the lower 48), and is a National Historic Area, which means nothing can be removed, so the remains do just that--remain! On Ballyhoo, the major peak near Dutch Harbor( which I'll write more about in another blog), the last of the buildings standing collapsed just this year! Other buildings, such as the Aleutian World War II Visitor Center, are carefully renovated and immaculately kept structures. (It was the Aerology Building which monitored and predicted harsh Aleutian weather.)

There are a few people here who still remember World War II, but as everywhere, this generation is rapidly disappearing. There is a strong attempt here to keep that history alive, and you only need to keep your eyes open to take in a wealth of information.

Industrial Tour

Today I'll take you along on our tour of the Alyeska Fish Processing Plant, seen above. It is the oldest processing plant in Dutch Harbor, and the third largest. It pays best (over $10/hr., when minimum wage is $7+), so has very little worker turnover, and is not unionized.

We get to wear tall rubber boots so we can wade through the 4" deep disinfectant pools throughout the plant. You must also wear those really cute little blue mesh net hair covers that look like bowl covers. Our tour guide is a PhD in Marine Biology from Oregon who is also the local scout leader and mows the church lawn! Ready now?

The Pollock are brought to the plant in the holds of ships which contain 31 degree sea water to keep the fish cold. They are sucked from the hold of the ship with a giant vacuum tube, water and all. A machine actually cuts off the heads and tails, guts them, fillets them then sends them on to another small machine that takes off the skin. All automated.

The fish fillets then pass over a light table, as seen above, where they are inspected for any pieces of bones or impurities. If the defect is minor, they may be fixed by a specialist at another light table. The fillets are washed and packaged in one of two ways. Some are placed, not touching each other, alternating between layers of blue plastic in boxes which are then frozen. (Picture above) Many more are sent into a quick freezing machine that has air of -4 degrees which moves at 100 mph. It flash freezes the fillets, which emerge and are quickly dipped in a water bath. This gives them a glossy ice coating which prevents them dehydrating during shipping. They are then packed loose in pallet-sized boxes and shipped.

The fillets are the most valuable, but there is a lot of fish that isn't suitable for a fillet. This is ground extremely fine, washed twice, "wrung out" with a big press, and emerges as fish protein. It is what is used to make artificial crab, among other products. It is mixed with sugar and a bit of TSP so that the cells of the fish won't pop during freezing, then is packaged in plastic bags, placed in metal pans, and frozen by huge extremely cold pressure plates which the pans and fish go through. The surimi, as it is called, emerges stone hard, is boxed, and shipped.

Everything is used. The roe sacks are saved and sorted by color and size into as many as 26 grades. This is done by photographic computers. The skin is saved and run through a special machine (invented and patented by our guide--see picture) which turns it into collagen for pharmaceutical purposes. (Last year the plant made $5 million as a result of utilizing fish skins!) The bones are ground up for bone meal which is used for fertilizer.

The fish oil is extracted from the heads, tails, guts, etc. and the factory burns it as fuel because it is cheaper and less polluting than diesel and makes them more energy independent. The rest of the muck is processed into fish meal, which is totally odorless, and is used in aqua farming in Japan to feed to the eels.

Nothing else is left! Pollock is the life blood of the fishing industry in Dutch Harbor, in spite of the more glamorous crab season. Pollock pays the bills. The seasons run during January and February then again from June through August. Alyeska also processes crab and cod in season in different parts of the plant.

Hope you enjoyed our tour today. Remember the next time you eat fish how many people it took to get it from the sea to your table.

The Quintessential Symbol of Unalaska

The oldest, most prominent, and most architecturally unusual building in Unalaska is the Russian Orthodox Church, which we toured today. Our guide was the daughter of the area's nationally recognized, preeminent Unangan artist, Gert Svarny, who is now 80 years old. (More about Gert in an other blog.)

When the Russians came in the late 1700s to enlist the native people to hunt sea otters for their fur, they introduced them not only to barbaric cruelty, but also to the Russian Orthodox faith. The Native people saw this as very spiritually powerful, and a small chapel was built in 1808. The people requested that a priest be assigned to them in 1824, and the chapel was re-built in 1826.

When World War II came to the Aleutian Islands all of the native peoples were re-located to other parts of Alaska. (More about that in another blog.) They were concerned about the church treasures, so took the chandelier and the big icons down, packaged them and buried them! The small items they took with them to have a church where they were going.

The ravages of weather took their toll, and the icons are in terrible shape today. (At one point they were covered with cooking oil, as recommended to stop moisture damage. At another time they were advised to shellac them, which resulted in the canvas being stretched, and a strong yellow haze obscuring them.) One by one, as they can afford, the icons are being beautifully restored, but it is a long and costly process.

This tiny congregation, almost exclusively Unangan, is now served by a priest who comes in once a month for services, and the lay people manage the rest of the time. When a member dies, the able members of the church come together to prepare the body, place it in the coffin, and prepare the service. This is truly a frontier, and that is how things are done on the frontier. Our guide had been involved with yesterday's funeral and said, "It's hard, but you just can't refuse."

The View from Here

Today I bring you two views of the world from our front porch. The sunny picture shows that the house faces north, straight up the Iliuliuk (sometimes spelled Iliuliuk, which was the natives' name for the settlement at Unalaska) Bay and on into the Bering Sea. It is sort of cool to think about looking out on the Bering Sea! Yesterday morning, this was the view. Incredible!

By yesterday evening (that is from 6 to midnight, when it is still light out) the view was as you can see in the other picture. In addition, it was raining! When you see the morning weather, you can generally count on the afternoon being radically different. The discussion goes: Hmm--it is cold and cloudy. Does that mean this afternoon will be better and we might even see the sun? Or does that mean that this afternoon will be worse--the wind will come up and it will rain? Either is possible. If we lived here long enough, we might be able to predict which is more likely to occur.

Interestingly the Unangan people (Unangan is the natives' name for themselves; Aleut being a Russian name) traditionally do not talk about the weather. Since talking will not change the weather, it is not useful to discuss it. Most modern Unangans (or Unangax or Unangas), however, talk about the weather just like all the rest of us. It is always interesting to us to hear an Unalaskan resident say, "Wow, it is really windy today." We don't know what is normal windiness, so we usually just observe and listen.

PS--My apologies for the sorry state that this blog got into in the past few days. I thought it was all chronological with appropriate dates, but something in the last two days went really haywire and scrambled the entries. I think I have them straightened out now. Also a big thank you to those of you who have communicated with me about the blog. I really appreciate the words of encouragement.

The Church

I am the church, you are the church, we are the church together...

Of course much of what we do revolves around the church and its people. We have been warmly and wonderfully welcomed here. We've had island tours, fishing trips, "movie night" on a Blu-Ray TV, even a volunteer to take the dogs for a run once. We've had referrals to special people and special stores, and formed what will likely be lasting friendships.

It is the custom of this congregation on the first Sunday of the month to have not only Holy Communion, but also a potluck following the service. So we've not been deprived of either church fellowship or food!

Yesterday George conducted a memorial service for a 49 year old man who was killed in a helicopter crash. He left a wife, five children (ages 7 to 28) and 4 grandchildren. He was the manager of a cattle and caribou ranch on Umnak, the next island to the west. Here being a "cowboy" means riding a helicopter, not a horse, because of the huge distances involved. One of the stories told about him was how the volcano on the island exploded about three years ago. This man had only his two-seat helicopter at his disposal, and his whole family plus guests at the ranch. He ferried each of 12 people, one at a time, off the island to Unalaska Island. When the ash got too thick to land at the helicopter pad, he took the remaining folks off the beach.

It helps a great deal in getting to know a place to have a community to relate to and a role other than "tourist."

Stores and No-such-stores

Shopping in Unalaska is done primarily in Dutch Harbor. There is one smaller grocery--a Mom & Pop style owned by the Alyeska cannery--and it is on the Unalaska side of the community, but both the major stores are in Dutch.

The Alaska Ship Supply is kind of like a Fred Meyer--automotive, hardware and building supplies, groceries, and one of only two stores that sell alcohol. Grocery stores don't even sell beer--all alcohol is at the two special stores. (The other is a specialty liquor shop.)

In case this is all too strange, there is a Safeway store here! It even has a bakery and small deli inside. It is not unlike the Safeway stores in Cheney and Spokane, with the exception of the prices, as mentioned earlier. When we drive there we frequently see fishermen out in the empty lot next door drying, repairing, or re-stringing their nets, as we did when this picture was taken.

Of more interest are the stores that are missing. There is no dry cleaners--Unalaskans do not buy clothes that can't be washed! There are no drug stores or pharmacies. The clinic fills prescriptions, and over-the-counter stuff is available at the grocery stores. And there is no mortuary or funeral home! This is interesting, and I need to inquire more about it. A lady who died this morning is being buried on the island on Monday in a casket that was flown in. What they do with her between today and Monday, and who does it remains a mystery.

Some services are provided sporadically. A Veterinarian comes to town for one week every four months. A piano tuner comes to town once a year and tunes all the pianos--churches, schools, homes, etc.

Since there are no stores offering clothing other than work clothes and tourist stuff, a lot of purchases are made on the Internet. There is no place to buy shoes (other than work boots), bedding, hobby and craft supplies, etc.

On the other hand, there are stores you might not expect to find--an office and electronics store and two cell phone companies. The big commercial fishing store is really interesting--like a warehouse filled with chains, ropes (line), anchors, and tools you can't imagine. There is only one gas stations in town, and it is not a brand you've ever heard of.

Every week in the newspaper (yes there is a newspaper, and a radio station, too) is the "Alaska Bush Shopper." It is a series of ads encouraging you to buy such things as outboard motors, four wheelers (ATVs), generators, heaters, wood stoves, and major parts for repairing your snowmobile. Most of these products are shipped out of Anchorage, and a few from Fairbanks.

Folks talk about going to Costco, like we do. However here that is a luxury, maybe once-a-year event that is combined with other business. Cost of the round trip ticket to Anchorage and back? Approximately $800. That's an expensive Costco trip!

While there are excellent government services here, there is no garbage pick up, and no mail delivery. All parcels must be picked up at the post office, so all addresses are a P.O. Box. Some companies don't ship to P.O. boxes. One of the unintended positive consequences of having the "Deadliest Catch" TV program filmed here, is that when ordering, residents plead for shipment, explaining that they live in the "Deadliest Catch place." Often that creates understanding on the other end of the line, and orders are shipped!

We take so much for granted. People living in the bush, like any other frontier, know that nothing is certain.

Wildflowers Abound

I have always loved wildflowers, and always like to know their names. I've been taking a lot of wildflower pictures here, as you can see. Some are pictures of things familiar, like Lupine and Buttercups; some are pictures of more unusual flowers, like Arctic Lilly and Hooded Ladies' Tresses. Many of the wildflowers here are extremely small, and one must look closely to see them. Some are more showy, and this is the time of year when there are a lot of flowers of all sizes in bloom.

The Pastor's wife left us a wildflower identification book specifically for Unalaska Island. It is wonderful--complete with colored pictures, description, and pen and ink botanical drawings on each flower. I've about worn it out. As time passes, of course different things bloom, so this is a never-ending pursuit. Even such mundane tasks as walking the dogs can result in pictures of two dozen or more kinds of wildflowers.

So here's a test--can you match the names of the flowers with the pictures above? (Did you know? If you need to see pictures more closely, you can just click on the picture you want and get a full sized view.)

Primrose
Coastal Paintbrush
Violet
May Flower
Purple Orchid
Buttercup
Dwarf Dogwood
Cinquefoil
Aleutian Heather
Lupine
Moss Campion
Bluebell
Spoonwort or Scurvey Weed
Photographer (Sorry, no points for this one!)

So--would you make a good Unalaskan?