Newsmap. Monday, September 21, 1942 : week of September 11 to September 18 Side: 2 of 2
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"Tigers" in the Arctic
The "Flying Tigers" first became famous utinder Brig. Gen. Ch
in the China fighting. Somewhere in Alaska the General's son.
John S. Chennault, commands a fighter squadron which appro]
enough has become the Arctic branch of the famous Jap-killingU
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Heavy-weapons unit on four-hour march
"Flying Tigers" relax at a game of cards
Alaska's efenders Go U ergrnd
IN Alaska and the Aleutians, United States forces have mastered the
principle of dispersion in a big way. All over the Territory, the Army
has gone into the ground, thrown away all of its rulers and straight lines,
and knocked the old ideas of order into a cocked hat.Many yards separate each squad tent, mess hall and day room from the
installation nearest it so that no Japanese bomb will be able to find a
respectable target.
One result is that the soldier in Alaska is rapidly becoming the best
legged-up fighting man in the Army. His squad tent or quonset hut is
apt to be a mile from the company mess hall and several miles from the
post exchange. A land already famed for its magnificent distances is
rapidly multiplying its reputation with the U. S. Army. Stories make the
rounds about men on outpost who potshoot a bear without the sound
carrying to any other member of the organization.
Seven days every week, the time and energies of all ground forces are
used in the labor of building roads, digging to put installations below
ground and camouflaging the whole military scene. There has been no
time for close order drill.At some points in the islands the excavations for living quarters, mess
halls, recreation halls and other installations have been blasted out of
solid rock. Only the upper six feet of a squad tent remains above ground.
Foxholes and other defensive works are in construction wherever there
are troops; hence, more digging. After the underground hutments are
ready for occupancy, they are either painted 0. D. or covered with earthand bushes.
On the far end of the Aleutians the Japanese enemy employs the same
methods, dispersing and then digging in. On both sides, all measures
taken by ground forces are conditioned by a healthy respect for
the bomber.
In Alaska an Army mess line is seen only at a newly established post
where the outfit has not had time to get to ground. Elsewhere the kitchens
are underground. Food is good and plentiful, and varied by an occasional
haul of bear meat, or catches of trout and salmon taken from the freshrunning
streams by the men. The glacial drinking water is good and does
not require purification.
On the mainland the post exchanges are well supplied, but in the outer
islands such items as soap, candy, soft drinks, writing paper and reading
matter are at a premium. Shipping space must give priority to more
vital materials.
Lacking many of the comforts of home, these Aleutian garrisons at
least do not have to worry about an extremely hard winter. The islands
are not snow country. The snows fall horizontally and blow off almost
immediately, seldom drifting more than a foot or so deep. Winter
clothing is plentiful.
U. S. Air Forces have perhaps their toughest assignment patrolling the
Alaskan coast and the Aleutians. The newcomer must receive a special
course of training in Alaskan flying before he is ready for duty. Landing
fields are difficult. The weather and terrain are tricky. They say in
Alaska that if a pilot can win his battle with the elements, he ought to take
the measure of any other enemy. The great distances over the North
Pacific make patrolling an exhausting task.Two-man light tanks in mountain pass . . . and a jeep
Watching for enemy planes from fox holes
The Alaska Highway slashes through heavy timber
Heavy tractor removes a sand bar to deepen the river
Pontoon bridge will later be replaced by a permanent one
The airplane has made Alaska one of the most strategic spots in the world a
on the country's value. When we bought the territory from Russia in 1867 fe
grumbling about spending so much money on something very much unknown
Today we are spending four to eight times that amount for a military highway ac
The Territory has long since given back its purchase price many times in fis
taken there in 1939 alone was worth more than l 2 times the cost of the wt
Until this global war started, three-quarters of a century after the purchas
much of a frontier. Poor transportation was the basic barrier to developm
towns, the area skipped completely over the period of trains and automol
from ship and dog-sleds to the airplane.
Today Alaska is supplied by ship and airplane. The 1500-mile military
Army Engineers are ripping across Canada and Alaska from Dawson Creek to
all that.
Fairbanks will be 80 hours from the railhead at Edmonton over the highwa
nine days by sea and rail from a West Coast port. It might be compared to
to the middle of Kansas with the problems of construction multiplied several
The route is inland behind the protection of the mountain barrier. It link
established airports.
The first U. S. troops arrived at Dawson Creek March 9th at 1 a.m. Temp
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[United States.] Army Orientation Course. Newsmap. Monday, September 21, 1942 : week of September 11 to September 18, poster, September 21, 1942; [Washington, D.C.]. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1010/m1/2/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.