What You Should Know
To review the Military History in Alaska, 1867-2000 visit the Joint Base Timeline.
To review the Military History in Alaska, 1867-2000 visit the Joint Base Timeline.
African American Army Engineers – WWII Alaska
Many know about the Buffalo
Soldiers and Tuskegee Airmen, but few remember the African American Tuskegee (Alaska
– Canada) Alcan Highway contributions during WWII. Be sure to read the history
on American
Experience. The completion of the Sikanni Chief River Bridge in Oct
1942 is credited as ending segregation, after a long fight, of the U. S.
Military in 1948.
Women Veterans
By 1994, over 1500 Native American
women and Native Alaskan women served in the military. At least 60 Native
American women served in the Eskimo Scouts before 1980. According to a 2013 Alaska Business article Ceremony
Honoring Alaska’s Women Veterans at State Capitol over 8500 female
veterans live in Alaska. Be sure to read
Native American Women
Veterans.
Where to Begin
Veteran Research
1. Alaska
History and Cultural Studies provides an overview of the importance of
military forces in Alaska.
2. Federal
Records may be located at the National Archives - Pacific Alaska Northwest
Region in Seattle, WA. This
collection holds Alaska Military Post Returns (1867 – 1916) and is a great
resource for officer research, as well as reviewing unit events.
WWI Selective Service
System Draft Records, 1917-1918.
3. With
Alaska having such a reputation for WWII, many researchers fail to review the
Alaska WWI Selective Service System Draft Records, 1917-1918. Over 16 thousand WWI draft registration cards
can be located on the FamilySearch
website.
Alaska State Archives
– WWI
4. WWI
Service Personnel Information 1923 lists WWI soldiers,
residence, branch of service, enlistment and discharge dates, and more for the
Territory.
5. Alaskans Military
Deaths compilation provides death dates and cause of death along
with branch and additional military information of service personnel.
National Cemeteries
6. Fort
Richardson Cemetery archives in Anchorage, holds information on WWII military
burial records. Although many veterans were re-interred in their home cemetery,
many remained at the Ft. Richardson Cemetery.
Read history of National Cemetery of
Ft. Richardson. For a listing of Veteran Administration (VA) recorded burials
visit the Interment.net
Ft. Richardson website or Find-A-Grave
(6678 names provided).
7.
Sitka National Cemetery, 1868-1870
established in Sitka, AK is administered by Ft. Richardson National Cemetery. Review
VA burial records at Interment.net
for Sitka National Cemetery. or Find-A-Grave.com (1317 names provided).
Alaska Veteran Museum
8.
The Alaska Veterans
Museum, located in downtown Anchorage, opened April 2011. Read news article: Veteran
Musuem Opens Downtown. Visit the Alaska Veterans Museum
website for their oral history collection, documentaries, and other military artifacts.
Looking
for Native American Veteran Research?
9.
Researchers of Alaskan Native Americans must
not bypass information on the WWII (1942 – 1947) military reserve force Alaska
Territorial Guard (ATG), often referred to as the “Eskimo Scouts.” Begin
research efforts by reviewing Office of
Veterans Affairs ATG. An ATG roster may be
found here. Be
sure to visit Searching for Veterans on Alaska’s Remote
Edges.
Kathleen Brandt
Accurate, accessible answers
No comments:
Post a Comment