Alaska Territorial Guard - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Alaska Territorial Guard (ATG) or Eskimo Scouts was a military reserve force

Military reserve force

A military reserve force is a military organization composed of citizens of a country who combine a military role or career with a civilian career. They are not normally kept under arms and their main role is to be available to fight when a nation mobilizes for total war or to defend against invasion...

component of the US Army, organized in 1942 in response to attacks on United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

soil in Hawaii

Hawaii

Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...

and occupation of parts of Alaska

Alaska

Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...

by Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. The ATG operated until 1947. 6,368 volunteers who served without pay were enrolled from 107 communities throughout Alaska in addition to a paid staff of 21, according to an official roster. The ATG brought together for the first time into a joint effort members of these ethnic groups: Aleut, Athabaskan, White

White people

White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...

, Inupiaq, Haida, Tlingit, Tsimshian

Tsimshian

The Tsimshian are an indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest Coast. Tsimshian translates to Inside the Skeena River. Their communities are in British Columbia and Alaska, around Terrace and Prince Rupert and the southernmost corner of Alaska on Annette Island. There are approximately 10,000...

, Yupik, and most likely others. In later years, all members of some native

Indigenous peoples

Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....

units scored expert sharpshooter

Marksman

A marksman is a person who is skilled in precision, or a sharpshooter shooting, using projectile weapons, such as with a rifle but most commonly with a sniper rifle, to shoot at long range targets...

rankings. Among the 27 or more women members were at least one whose riflery

Marksman

A marksman is a person who is skilled in precision, or a sharpshooter shooting, using projectile weapons, such as with a rifle but most commonly with a sniper rifle, to shoot at long range targets...

skills exceeded the men. The ages of members at enrollment ranged from 80 years old to as young as twelve (both extremes occurring mostly in sparsely populated areas). As volunteers the Alaska Territorial Guard members were those that were too young or too old to be drafted during WWII.

One first-hand estimate states that around 20,000 Alaskans participated, officially or otherwise, in ATG reconnaissance

Reconnaissance

Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....

or support activities.

The ATG served many vital strategic purposes to the entire Allied

Allies

In everyday English usage, allies are people, groups, or nations that have joined together in an association for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out between them...

effort during World War II:

They safeguarded the only source of the strategic
Military strategy
Military strategy is a set of ideas implemented by military organizations to pursue desired strategic goals. Derived from the Greek strategos, strategy when it appeared in use during the 18th century, was seen in its narrow sense as the "art of the general", 'the art of arrangement' of troops...

metal platinum
Platinum
Platinum is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Pt and an atomic number of 78. Its name is derived from the Spanish term platina del Pinto, which is literally translated into "little silver of the Pinto River." It is a dense, malleable, ductile, precious, gray-white transition metal...

in the Western Hemisphere
Western Hemisphere
The Western Hemisphere or western hemisphere is mainly used as a geographical term for the half of the Earth that lies west of the Prime Meridian and east of the Antimeridian , the other half being called the Eastern Hemisphere.In this sense, the western hemisphere consists of the western portions...

against Japanese attack.
They secured the terrain around the vital Lend-Lease
Lend-Lease
Lend-Lease was the program under which the United States of America supplied the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, China, Free France, and other Allied nations with materiel between 1941 and 1945. It was signed into law on March 11, 1941, a year and a half after the outbreak of war in Europe in...

air route between the United States and Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

.
they placed and maintained survival caches primarily along transportation cooridors and coastal regions.

In addition to official duties, ATG members are noted for actively and successfully promoting racial integration

Racial integration

Racial integration, or simply integration includes desegregation . In addition to desegregation, integration includes goals such as leveling barriers to association, creating equal opportunity regardless of race, and the development of a culture that draws on diverse traditions, rather than merely...

within US military forces, and racial equality

Racial equality

Racial equality means different things in different contexts. It mostly deals with an equal regard to all races.It can refer to a belief in biological equality of all human races....

within the communities they protected.

Several former members of the ATG were instrumental in achieving Alaska Statehood

Alaska Statehood Act

The Alaska Statehood Act was signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on July 7, 1958, allowing Alaska to become the 49th U.S. state on January 3, 1959.-History: the road to Statehood:...

in 1959, as members of the Alaska Statehood Committee and/or delegates to the Alaska Constitutional Convention

Alaska Constitution

The Constitution of the State of Alaska is the constitution of the U.S. state of Alaska. It was ratified in 1956 and took effect with Alaska's admission as a state on January 3, 1959.-The statehood movement:...

.

In 2000 all ATG members were granted US veteran

Veteran

A veteran is a person who has had long service or experience in a particular occupation or field; " A veteran of ..."...

status by law, acknowledging the contribution of the ATG, some of whose members are still living. But efforts to find the surviving ATG members and assist them through the application process are difficult due to lack of written records, oral cultures, lack of trained staff, passage of time, and unclear bureaucracies and advocates.

Nevertheless, active correction of the historical record is proceeding through the Alaska Army National Guard, office of Cultural Resources Management and Tribal Liaison (888 248-3682 toll-free) as well as the Office of Veterans Affairs, State of Alaska, PO Box 5800, Ft. Richardson, AK 99505-5800, 907.428.6016 (Office)

Conditions leading up to the ATG

Before World War II, Alaska was regarded by US military decision makers as too distant from the contiguous United States

Contiguous United States

The contiguous United States are the 48 U.S. states on the continent of North America that are south of Canada and north of Mexico, plus the District of Columbia....

to effectively protect, and of little strategic importance.

"...the mainland of Alaska is so remote from the strategic areas of the Pacific that it is difficult to conceive of circumstances in which air operations therefrom would contribute materially to the national defense."
- General Malin Craig, US Army Chief of Staff, November 1937

This stands in marked contrast to the attitudes of US military leaders during the Cold War

Cold War

The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...

immediately after World War II:

"...as I continue to correspond and to talk with people throughout the United States and the Department of Defense, they too can see clearly the importance of these two battalions which you make up. The real honest-to-God and real-world first line of defense in Alaska ... nearer our opponent, Communist Russia, than any other armed troops in the United States."
- General James F Hollingsworth, Commanding General, United States Army Alaska
United States Army Alaska
United States Army Alaska is a military command of the United States Army located in the state of Alaska, USA. A subordinate command of the United States Army Pacific, USARAK is the ground element of the Alaskan Command. USARAK is headquartered at Fort Richardson and commanded by a major general...

(USARAL), February 1971

True to the earlier viewpoint, the US Army reassigned all Alaska National Guard

Alaska National Guard

The Alaska Department of Military and Veterans Affairs manages military and veterans affairs for the U.S. state of Alaska. It comprises a number of subdepartments, including the Alaska National Guard, Veterans Affairs, the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, Alaska Naval...

units out of Alaska to Washington State in August 1941. Alaska was now without military reserves or any form of Home Guard

Militia

The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...

. In the face of an encroaching enemy, the defense of nearly 34000 miles (54,717.6 km) of US coastline was left to the best efforts of unorganized local citizens and already overworked seasonal laborers.

That enemy was demonstrating a definite interest in taking Alaska. In the early months of 1942, a Japanese Navy

Imperial Japanese Navy

The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...

reconnaissance

Reconnaissance

Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....

unit was caught on film making detailed surveys of Alaska coastline.

Enemy combatants strode unopposed onto American soil and made inquiries among the populace about the local economy. Enemy aircraft

Aircraft

An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...

and submarine

Submarine

A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...

sightings were common, inspiring great fear among the locals, and culminating in the raid on Dutch Harbor and the occupation of the Aleutian Islands of Attu

Attu Island

Attu is the westernmost and largest island in the Near Islands group of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska, making it the westernmost point of land relative to Alaska and the United States. It was the site of the only World War II land battle fought on the incorporated territory of the United States ,...

, Kiska

Kiska

Kiska is an island in the Rat Islands group of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska located at . It is about long and varies in width from - Discovery :...

and Adak

Adak Island

Adak Island is an island near the western extent of the Andreanof Islands group of the Aleutian Islands in Alaska. Alaska's southernmost town, Adak, is located on the island...

that June.

Creation of the ATG

By the time of the Dutch Harbor bombing, a Major Marvin R Marston had submitted a new plan to defend the entire Alaska coast by enlisting the local citizens. He had conceived this plan while visiting Saint Lawrence Island and contemplating the fate of the locals he'd met. Marston's proposal finally met with favor when word of it got to Alaska territorial governor Ernest Gruening

Ernest Gruening

Ernest Henry Gruening was an American journalist and Democrat who was the Governor of the Alaska Territory from 1939 until 1953, and a United States Senator from Alaska from 1959 until 1969.-Early life:...

. Gruening had sought to organize a new guard for Alaska, including every able man and boy, since he got word that the US Army would reassign the Alaska National Guard.

Motivated by the recent Dutch Harbor attack, the Alaska Command assigned Major Marston and Captain Carl Schreibner within days to serve as military aides to Governor Gruening. Shortly after, Gruening and Marston flew a chartered plane to begin setting up units of the new Alaska Territorial Guard (ATG). This included one of the most strategically important sites in all Alaska, a tiny mining town called Platinum

Platinum, Alaska

Platinum is a city in Bethel Census Area, Alaska, United States. The population was 41 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Platinum is located at .-History:...

-- the only source of that strategic metal

Platinum

Platinum is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Pt and an atomic number of 78. Its name is derived from the Spanish term platina del Pinto, which is literally translated into "little silver of the Pinto River." It is a dense, malleable, ductile, precious, gray-white transition metal...

in all the Western Hemisphere.

The enrollment drive continued into early 1943, the organizers travelling in all kinds of weather and by every available mode of transport, including plane

Fixed-wing aircraft

A fixed-wing aircraft is an aircraft capable of flight using wings that generate lift due to the vehicle's forward airspeed. Fixed-wing aircraft are distinct from rotary-wing aircraft in which wings rotate about a fixed mast and ornithopters in which lift is generated by flapping wings.A powered...

, boat, snowmobile

Snowmobile

A snowmobile, also known in some places as a snowmachine, or sled,is a land vehicle for winter travel on snow. Designed to be operated on snow and ice, they require no road or trail. Design variations enable some machines to operate in deep snow or forests; most are used on open terrain, including...

, foot

Walking

Walking is one of the main gaits of locomotion among legged animals, and is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an 'inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults over the stiff limb or limbs with each step...

, and the most reliable means in the region, dogsled. When a promised plane failed to arrive after a week, Major Marston set out by dogsled on an epic 680 miles (1,094.4 km) trip around the Seward Peninsula

Seward Peninsula

The Seward Peninsula is a large peninsula on the western coast of the U.S. state of Alaska. It projects about into the Bering Sea between Norton Sound, the Bering Strait, the Chukchi Sea, and Kotzebue Sound, just below the Arctic Circle...

, during the coldest winter in 25 years. He survived by foregoing standard military survival

Survival skills

Survival skills are techniques a person may use in a dangerous situation to save themselves or others...

training in favor of the native methods of his Eskimo/Scott guide, Sammy Mogg.

Thanks to Marston and Mogg's heroic effort, the ATG stood as a first line of defense for the terrain around the Lend-Lease

Lend-Lease

Lend-Lease was the program under which the United States of America supplied the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, China, Free France, and other Allied nations with materiel between 1941 and 1945. It was signed into law on March 11, 1941, a year and a half after the outbreak of war in Europe in...

route from America to Russia, against attack by Japan and the Axis Powers

Axis Powers

The Axis powers , also known as the Axis alliance, Axis nations, Axis countries, or just the Axis, was an alignment of great powers during the mid-20th century that fought World War II against the Allies. It began in 1936 with treaties of friendship between Germany and Italy and between Germany and...

. This vital lifeline allowed the US to supply its Russian ally with essential military aircraft. This lifeline had proven to be crucial to Russia's survival during Hitler

Adolf Hitler

Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...

's Operation Barbarossa

Operation Barbarossa

Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...

^[^{Lend-Lease
Lend-Lease was the program under which the United States of America supplied the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, China, Free France, and other Allied nations with materiel between 1941 and 1945. It was signed into law on March 11, 1941, a year and a half after the outbreak of war in Europe in...}^].

Authority

The Alaska Territorial Guard (ATG) was organized in June 1942 under the authority of the office of the territorial governor, Ernest Gruening, who served as Commander-In-Chief. All members took an oath to obey the Governor's orders. The governor was directly supported by the ATG Adjutant General

Adjutant general

An Adjutant General is a military chief administrative officer.-Imperial Russia:In Imperial Russia, the General-Adjutant was a Court officer, who was usually an army general. He served as a personal aide to the Tsar and hence was a member of the H. I. M. Retinue...

, J P Williams. Headquarters was in the territorial capital, Juneau.

Mission

The mission of the ATG was to play a defensive role for the entire coast of Alaska. Offensive action was the responsibility of the Pacific Theatre commanders, operating from large bases at Dutch Harbor, Cold Bay

Cold Bay, Alaska

Cold Bay is a city in Aleutians East Borough, Alaska, United States.Cold Bay is one of the main commercial centers of the Alaska Peninsula, and is home to Cold Bay Airport.-History:...

and Anchorage

Anchorage, Alaska

Anchorage is a unified home rule municipality in the southcentral part of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the northernmost major city in the United States...

.

Explicit within the ATG mission was that of protecting the terrain around the American terminus of the Lend-Lease

Lend-Lease

air route to Russia on which warplanes were flown from Great Falls, Montana

Great Falls, Montana

Great Falls is a city in and the county seat of Cascade County, Montana, United States. The population was 58,505 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Great Falls, Montana Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Cascade County...

to Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada

Whitehorse, Yukon

Whitehorse is Yukon's capital and largest city . It was incorporated in 1950 and is located at kilometre 1476 on the Alaska Highway in southern Yukon. Whitehorse's downtown and Riverdale areas occupy both shores of the Yukon River, which originates in British Columbia and meets the Bering Sea in...

, then to Ladd Field, Alaska (now Eielson AFB) and on to Nome

Nome, Alaska

Nome is a city in the Nome Census Area in the Unorganized Borough of the U.S. state of Alaska, located on the southern Seward Peninsula coast on Norton Sound of the Bering Sea. According to the 2010 Census, the city population was 3,598. Nome was incorporated on April 9, 1901, and was once the...

. Here, Russian

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

pilots flew the planes on to their intended use, combat against Hitler's Third Reich.

By Date

The Alaska Territorial Guard operated from its inception in June 1942 until it was officially disbanded on 31 March 1947.

By Geographic Area

The Territory of Alaska was divided vertically by the 156th Parallel

Longitude

Longitude is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east-west position of a point on the Earth's surface. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees, minutes and seconds, and denoted by the Greek letter lambda ....

into Eastern and Western Areas. To the Eastern Area was added Southwest Alaska, including the Aleutian Islands, which had been evacuated of non-combatants.

The Western Area had a Field Headquarters in Nome

Nome, Alaska

, with the offices of the Commander, Quartermaster, Instructors, Public Relations Officer and Chaplains. Other field staff were located in Anchorage, Koyuk

Koyuk, Alaska

Koyuk is a city in the Nome Census Area, Alaska, United States. The population was 297 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Koyuk is located at...

, Selawik

Selawik, Alaska

Selawik is a city in Northwest Arctic Borough, Alaska, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 772.Selawik comes from "siilvik" which means "place of sheefish" in Inupiaq.-Geography:Selawik is located at ....

and Gambell

Gambell, Alaska

Gambell is a village on St. Lawrence Island in Alaska, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 649.-Geography:Gambell is located on the northwest cape of St. Lawrence Island in the Bering Sea, southwest of Nome...

(on Saint Lawrence Island, where Major Marston first conceived his plan).

The Eastern Area was headquartered in Juneau

Juneau, Alaska

The City and Borough of Juneau is a unified municipality located on the Gastineau Channel in the panhandle of the U.S. state of Alaska. It has been the capital of Alaska since 1906, when the government of the then-District of Alaska was moved from Sitka as dictated by the U.S. Congress in 1900...

and held the offices of Property Officer (a role filled by the Adjutant General) and Instructors. Field staff were assigned to Glacier Highway, Douglas

Douglas, Alaska

Douglas, Alaska is an area on Douglas Island in southeastern Alaska. Itoriginated in 1881 as a place providing services to miners of the nearby Treadwell gold mine, and was incorporated as a city in 1902. Douglas was once a larger town than neighboring Juneau, but dwindled in the early 1900s as...

, Ketchikan

Ketchikan, Alaska

Ketchikan is a city in Ketchikan Gateway Borough, Alaska, United States, the southeasternmost sizable city in that state. With an estimated population of 7,368 in 2010 within the city limits, it is the fifth most populous city in the state....

, Palmer

Palmer, Alaska

Palmer is the borough seat of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough in the state of Alaska, USA. It is part of the Anchorage Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city is 5,937....

, Hoonah

Hoonah, Alaska

Hoonah is a Tlingit community on Chichagof Island, located in Alaska's "panhandle" in the southeast region of the state. It is 30 miles west of Juneau, across the Alaskan Inland Passage. Hoonah is the only first-class city on Chichagof Island, the 109th largest island in the world and the 5th...

and Sitka.

By Ethnic Group

The Alaska Territorial Guard was drawn from 107 communities and from these ethnic groups: Aleut, Athabascan, White

White people

White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...

, Inupiaq, Haida, Tlingit, Tsimshian

Tsimshian

, Yup'ik, and probably more.

By Rank

The ATG, being organized by US Army officers, made use of the same US Army rank structure

United States Army officer rank insignia

United States Army officer rank insignia in use today.-History:The structure of U.S. ranks has its roots in British military traditions. At the start of the American Revolutionary War, uniforms, let alone insignia, were barely affordable and recognition of ranks in the field was problematic...

, with these exceptions:

Throughout the duration of the ATG, no member rose above the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, including the Adjutant General.
The designation "Private" appears to have been little used, though most members were in fact of Private rank.

By Workload and Pay

The 21 staff officers were all full-time, paid positions (except for the governor, whose ATG duties were in addition to his regular office and without added salary). All other positions were strictly part-time volunteer, without pay.

By Sex

That total includes at least 27 ATG members who were women. Most women served as nurses at the field hospital

Field hospital

A field hospital is a large mobile medical unit that temporarily takes care of casualties on-site before they can be safely transported to more permanent hospital facilities...

in Kotzebue

Kotzebue

Kotzebue is the name of the following people:*August von Kotzebue, dramatist*Otto von Kotzebue, navigatorKotzebue is also the name of a place:*Kotzebue, Alaska*Kotzebue Sound...

, although at least one woman served the ATG's primary mission alongside the men. Laura Beltz Wright of Haycock is also noted for being the best sharpshooter

Marksman

A marksman is a person who is skilled in precision, or a sharpshooter shooting, using projectile weapons, such as with a rifle but most commonly with a sniper rifle, to shoot at long range targets...

in her company, scoring 98% bulls-eyes. She was chosen Queen of Fairbanks

Fairbanks, Alaska

Fairbanks is a home rule city in and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska.Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska, and second largest in the state behind Anchorage...

in a beauty contest, an honor her daughter later shared. One of her sons rose to become an airline vice president.

By Age

The age of ATG members at enrollment ranged from 80 years old to as young as twelve, even though official regulations put the minimum age at sixteen.

By Number

All told, there were 6,389 members of the Alaska Territorial Guard (ATG), according to an official roster.

Unofficial tally

Alongside those who served in the ATG, many others worked to support them, including food service, providing equipment and supplies to the Quartermaster, repair work, etc. Major Marston put the estimate at 20,000 Alaskans who materially participated in ATG activities, in his Western Area alone.

ATG Activities

All ATG members except the 21 staff officers served without pay, and had to perform their new ATG duties in addition to the often difficult challenges of subsisting in Arctic

Arctic

The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...

and extreme marine environments.

The ATG trained for and/or actively carried out the following:

Issuing of weapons and ammunition
Instruction, drill and target practice
Transport of equipment and supplies
Construction of ATG buildings and facilities
Construction of airstrips and support facilities for other military agencies as needed
Coastal and inland scouting patrols
Breaking hundreds of miles of wilderness trails
Setup and repair of dozens of emergency shelter cabins
Distribution of emergency food and ammunition containers for the US Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
Firefighting
Land and sea rescue
Enemy combat

The ATG received commendations for:

Shooting down Japanese air balloons carrying bombs and eavesdropping radios
Rescue of a downed airman

In addition, some ATG members performed the following:

Medical care at the field hospital in Kotzebue
Kotzebue
Kotzebue is the name of the following people:*August von Kotzebue, dramatist*Otto von Kotzebue, navigatorKotzebue is also the name of a place:*Kotzebue, Alaska*Kotzebue Sound...

ATG Artists

During the 1930s, as part of FDR's New Deal

New Deal

The New Deal was a series of economic programs implemented in the United States between 1933 and 1936. They were passed by the U.S. Congress during the first term of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The programs were Roosevelt's responses to the Great Depression, and focused on what historians call...

programs to ease the country out of Great Depression

Great Depression

The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...

, the Works Progress Administration (WPA)

Works Progress Administration

The Works Progress Administration was the largest and most ambitious New Deal agency, employing millions of unskilled workers to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads, and operated large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects...

hired many noted American artists. On the US entry into World War II, several WPA

Works Progress Administration

artists took work with the War Department

United States Department of War

The United States Department of War, also called the War Department , was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army...

. A few of these artists made their way to Alaska to help document the Aleutian Campaign and other Alaskan military operations, including the new Alaska Territorial Guard. Some of their work was featured nationwide on a number of wartime posters

United States home front during World War II

This page, United States home front during World War II, covers the developments within the United States, 1940–1945, to support its efforts during World War II.-Economics:...

. The artists included:

Magnus Colcord "Rusty" Heurlin
Magnus Colcord Heurlin
Magnus Colcord "Rusty" Heurlin Magnus Colcord "Rusty" Heurlin Magnus Colcord "Rusty" Heurlin (July 5, 1895 – March 10, 1986 was a Swedish-American artist.-Background:Magnus Colcord Heurlin was born in Christanstad, Skåne County, Sweden. He was the son of Berndt Felix Heurlin and Sophie Bjorklund....

- An ATG lieutenant, his painting was reproduced as the posters "Back the Attack" and "From Metlakatla to Barrow - The Territorial Guard".
Joe Jones
Henry Varnum Poor - His "Major Muktuk Marston Signs Up Soldiers" now hangs in the Pentagon
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...

's Hall of Fame.

Other artists, born in Alaska and already well-known, gained further exposure through contact with ATG members and artists:

Florence Nupok Melewotkuk - a Siberian Yupik
Siberian Yupik
Siberian Yupiks, or Yuits, are indigenous people who reside along the coast of the Chukchi Peninsula in the far northeast of the Russian Federation and on St. Lawrence Island in Alaska. They speak Central Siberian Yupik , a Yupik language of the Eskimo–Aleut family of languages.They were also...

from Saint Lawrence Island. Her work was promoted in the 1920s by Otto Geist, later an ATG major.
George Aden Ahgupukhttp://www.ahgupuk.com/ - a Shishmaref
Shishmaref, Alaska
Shishmaref is a village in the Nome Census Area, Alaska, United States, located on Sarichef Island in the Chukchi Sea, just north of the Bering Strait and five miles from the mainland. It lies within the Bering Land Bridge National Preserve...

artist since boyhood, he was befriended by Major Marston, who wrote and spoke of his artistry within and outside the ATG.

ATG influences

Several former members of the ATG were instrumental in achieving Alaska Statehood. In 1958 three of the eleven members of the Alaska Statehood Committee were former ATG members. Seven delegates to the Alaska Constitutional Committee had served with the ATG. Both are listed below under Noted ATG Members.

The ATG actively and successfully promoted racial integration

Racial integration

in the US Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

by proving the worth of native

Indigenous peoples

Americans as soldiers within US military forces

Military of the United States

The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard.The United States has a strong tradition of civilian control of the military...

much as the Navajo

Navajo people

The Navajo of the Southwestern United States are the largest single federally recognized tribe of the United States of America. The Navajo Nation has 300,048 enrolled tribal members. The Navajo Nation constitutes an independent governmental body which manages the Navajo Indian reservation in the...

, Commanche and Choctaw

Choctaw

The Choctaw are a Native American people originally from the Southeastern United States...

Code talker

Code talkers was a term used to describe people who talk using a coded language. It is frequently used to describe 400 Native American Marines who served in the United States Marine Corps whose primary job was the transmission of secret tactical messages...

s did elsewhere during World War II.

ATG members were also active in promoting racial equality

Racial equality

Racial equality means different things in different contexts. It mostly deals with an equal regard to all races.It can refer to a belief in biological equality of all human races....

in their communities, insisting on equal treatment for natives and whites alike at movie theaters, restaurants and other public facilities.

Recent developments

In 2000 Alaska's senior US Senator

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

, Ted Stevens

Ted Stevens

Theodore Fulton "Ted" Stevens, Sr. was a United States Senator from Alaska, serving from December 24, 1968, until January 3, 2009, and thus the longest-serving Republican senator in history...

, sponsored a bill ordering the Secretary of Defense

United States Department of Defense

The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...

to issue Honorable Discharges to all Americans who served in the Alaska Territorial Guard (ATG). Stevens

Ted Stevens

Theodore Fulton "Ted" Stevens, Sr. was a United States Senator from Alaska, serving from December 24, 1968, until January 3, 2009, and thus the longest-serving Republican senator in history...

was himself a World War II veteran

Veteran

A veteran is a person who has had long service or experience in a particular occupation or field; " A veteran of ..."...

, flying with the Army Air Corps

United States Army Air Corps

The United States Army Air Corps was a forerunner of the United States Air Force. Renamed from the Air Service on 2 July 1926, it was part of the United States Army and the predecessor of the United States Army Air Forces , established in 1941...

in China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

.

The bill

Bill (proposed law)

A bill is a proposed law under consideration by a legislature. A bill does not become law until it is passed by the legislature and, in most cases, approved by the executive. Once a bill has been enacted into law, it is called an act or a statute....

was signed into law

Legislation

Legislation is law which has been promulgated by a legislature or other governing body, or the process of making it...

by President Bush that August.

Because of disagreement as to whose responsibility it was to seek the ATG veterans out to inform them of the new law, and because of the advanced age and geographic isolation of many of the veterans, a temporary position, filled by
retired colonel Robert A "Bob" Goodman

Bob Goodman

Robert "Bob" Goodman is an American boxing matchmaker, publicist and promoter. He is a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame. since 2009, the Florida Boxing Hall of Fame. and the New Jersey Boxing Hall of Fame, since 1990 and recipient of the prestigious Boxing Writers Association of...

, was created in the Alaska Department of Military & Veterans' Affairs (DMVA) in 2003, to find and assist as many former ATG members as possible. After the position ended that October, Bob continued the work, on his own and funded out of his own pocket. In support of this effort, he founded the Alaska Territorial Guard Organization (ATGO), a 501(c)(3) non-profit, in April 2006. He continues the work with the help of a small paid and volunteer ATGO staff. To date, they have found and helped obtain an honorable discharge for about 150 ATG members. They estimate there are several hundred more yet to be found.

Bob Goodman and the ATGO have pled the case of the ATG members and spouses with US senators

United States Senate

two Alaskan governors, most of the state legislature, the Anchorage Assembly, as well as numerous Alaska Native Regional Corporations

Alaska Native Regional Corporations

The Alaska Native Regional Corporations were established in 1971 when the United States Congress passed the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act which settled land and financial claims made by the Alaska Natives and provided for the establishment of 13 regional corporations to administer those...

and other corporations and foundations.

Timeline of ATG-related events

1931 - The Imperial Japanese Army
Imperial Japanese Army
-Foundation:During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to the Emperor were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū...

invades Manzhou (Manchuria)
Manchuria
Manchuria is a historical name given to a large geographic region in northeast Asia. Depending on the definition of its extent, Manchuria usually falls entirely within the People's Republic of China, or is sometimes divided between China and Russia. The region is commonly referred to as Northeast...

, confirming its intent to dominate East Asia
East Asia
East Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms...

and the Pacific
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

.
1935 - Billy Mitchell declares Alaska's strategicically important, goes unheeded by US military leadership. Earlier, Billy Mitchell was court-martial
Court-martial
A court-martial is a military court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the armed forces subject to military law, and, if the defendant is found guilty, to decide upon punishment.Most militaries maintain a court-martial system to try cases in which a breach of...

led for advocating the value of military air power
Aerial warfare
Aerial warfare is the use of military aircraft and other flying machines in warfare, including military airlift of cargo to further the national interests as was demonstrated in the Berlin Airlift...

.
1937 - The US Army officially declines a request for an air base
Airbase
An airbase is a military airfield that provides basing and support of military aircraft....

in Alaska.
1939 - Ernest Gruening is appointed Alaska territorial governor by his friend, US President Franklin D Roosevelt (FDR). Gruening gets four National Guard
United States National Guard
The National Guard of the United States is a reserve military force composed of state National Guard militia members or units under federally recognized active or inactive armed force service for the United States. Militia members are citizen soldiers, meaning they work part time for the National...

units organized in the Alaska Territory.
1940, Mar - A bill for an air base in Alaska fails to pass in the US House
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

.
1940, April - Hitler invades Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

and Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

(whose territory includes Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...

).
1940, May - US Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....

approves an air base in Alaska. Air raids from northern Alaska would help counter any Nazi bases built in Greenland, as a polar projection map will attest).
1941, Mar - Marvin Marston is commissioned
Officer (armed forces)
An officer is a member of an armed force or uniformed service who holds a position of authority. Commissioned officers derive authority directly from a sovereign power and, as such, hold a commission charging them with the duties and responsibilities of a specific office or position...

at the Pentagon as a major with orders to Alaska.
Mid-1941 - Ernest Gruening seeks a new guard organization for Alaska, anticipating the reassignment of the Alaska National Guard.
1941, August - The US Army reassigns Alaska National Guard soldiers away from Alaska, leaving the state with no military reserves or Home Guard
Militia
The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...

.
1941, December 7 - The Imperial Japanese Navy
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...

bombs the USA at Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...

, Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...

, sinking most of the US Pacific Fleet
United States Pacific Command
The United States Pacific Command is a Unified Combatant Command of the United States armed forces responsible for the Pacific Ocean area. It is led by the Commander, Pacific Command , who is the supreme military authority for the various branches of the Armed Forces of the United States serving...

. Soldiers' families are ordered evacuated from Alaska.
1942, Feb-Mar - A Japanese Navy reconnaissance
Reconnaissance
Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....

unit is filmed making detailed surveys of the Alaska coastline. Japanese crewmen (enemy combatants) came ashore and questioned the locals about the area.
1942, Mar - Major Marston realizes the practicality of a 'tundra
Tundra
In physical geography, tundra is a biome where the tree growth is hindered by low temperatures and short growing seasons. The term tundra comes through Russian тундра from the Kildin Sami word tūndâr "uplands," "treeless mountain tract." There are three types of tundra: Arctic tundra, alpine...

army' to defend the entire Alaskan coast.
1942, Mar - Japanese aircraft are sighted over Saint Lawrence Island.
1942, Mar/April - Major Marston presents a formal plan for the defense of Alaska shoreline.
1942, Jun - Japanese forces raid Dutch Harbor and take control of Attu
Attu Island
Attu is the westernmost and largest island in the Near Islands group of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska, making it the westernmost point of land relative to Alaska and the United States. It was the site of the only World War II land battle fought on the incorporated territory of the United States ,...

, Kiska
Kiska
Kiska is an island in the Rat Islands group of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska located at . It is about long and varies in width from - Discovery :...

and Adak
Adak Island
Adak Island is an island near the western extent of the Andreanof Islands group of the Aleutian Islands in Alaska. Alaska's southernmost town, Adak, is located on the island...

.
1942, Jun - The Alaska Command assigns Major Marvin Marston and Captain Carl Schreibner as military aides to Governor Gruening. Gruening and Marston soon embark on a trip to form the first units of the new Alaska Territorial Guard.
1942 - Major Marston (by now known as "Muktuk
Muktuk
Muktuk is the English word for the traditional, pre-agrarian, Inuit/Eskimo and Chukchi meal of frozen whale skin and blubber...

" after an eating contest with a village headman) opts to make an ATG recruiting run by dogsled when a promised plane fails to show up.
1943, Jan - Major Marston completes his circuit around the Seward Peninsula by dogsled during the coldest winter in 25 years. Living by native methods, he continues to travel the Arctic through 1945.
1945, August - VJ Day
Victory over Japan Day
Victory over Japan Day is a name chosen for the day on which the Surrender of Japan occurred, effectively ending World War II, and subsequent anniversaries of that event...

, The Empire of Japan
Empire of Japan
The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...

surrenders.
1947 - The Alaska Territorial Guard is disbanded.
1966 - The State of Alaska awards a medal to all ATG members.
2000 - US Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

Ted Stevens
Ted Stevens
Theodore Fulton "Ted" Stevens, Sr. was a United States Senator from Alaska, serving from December 24, 1968, until January 3, 2009, and thus the longest-serving Republican senator in history...

' (R
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

-AK) bill granting ATG members full veteran status is passed into law. Little is done to find and inform surviving ATG members and spouses, many of whom relocated numerous times in the intervening 53 years.
2003 - Robert A "Bob" Goodman, Colonel (Retired), Alaska Air National Guard
Alaska Air National Guard
The Alaska Air National Guard is the component of the United States Air National Guard operating within the state of Alaska.-Overview:Alaska Air National Guard units are trained and equipped as part of the United States Air Force. The same ranks and insignia are used and National Guardsmen are...

, takes up the task of finding as many former ATG members as possible, to help them apply for recognition as US veterans.
2006 - Bob Goodman founds the Alaska Territorial Guard Organization, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, to support his efforts on behalf of all former ATG members. To date, they have found and helped gain approval for about 150 ATG veterans.

Noted ATG members

Atwood, Robert
Robert Atwood
Robert Bruce Atwood was the long-time editor and publisher of the Anchorage Times, and a proponent of Alaska statehood.-Biography:...

- Editor and publisher of the Anchorage Times
Anchorage Times
The Anchorage Times was a daily newspaper published in Anchorage, Alaska that became known for the pro-business political stance of longtime publisher and editor, Robert Atwood. Competition from the McClatchy-owned Anchorage Daily News forced it out of business in 1992.-History:The Anchorage Times...

, ATG lieutenant, Statehood Committee chair
Egan, William A
William Allen Egan
William Allen Egan was an American Democratic politician. He served as the first Governor of the State of Alaska from January 3, 1959 to 1966, and the fourth Governor from 1970 to 1974...

- territorial & state representative, ATG corporal, Constitutional Convention president, state governor
Geist, Otto William
Otto W. Geist
Otto William Geist , aka Aghvook, was an archaeologist, explorer, and naturalist who worked in the circumpolar north and for the University of Alaska for much of his adult life....

- Pioneer Alaskan archaeologist, promoter of Alaskan artist Florence Nupok Malewoktuk, ATG major and quartermaster. The University of Alaska Museum's main building is named for him.
Gruening, Ernest - Friend of FDR, territorial governor, ATG founder, Statehood Committee member, US Senator
Heurlin, Magnus Colcord "Rusty"
Magnus Colcord Heurlin
Magnus Colcord "Rusty" Heurlin Magnus Colcord "Rusty" Heurlin Magnus Colcord "Rusty" Heurlin (July 5, 1895 – March 10, 1986 was a Swedish-American artist.-Background:Magnus Colcord Heurlin was born in Christanstad, Skåne County, Sweden. He was the son of Berndt Felix Heurlin and Sophie Bjorklund....

- WPA artist, ATG lieutenant, famed Alaskan artist, first art teacher at the University of Alaska Fairbanks
University of Alaska Fairbanks
The University of Alaska Fairbanks, located in Fairbanks, Alaska, USA, is the flagship campus of the University of Alaska System, and is abbreviated as Alaska or UAF....

, influenced fellow artist Fred Machetanz
Fred Machetanz
Fred Machetanz was an Alaskan painter who first came to the territory in 1935, when he traveled to Unalakleet to visit his uncle, Charles Traeger, who ran a trading post there. He returned in 1942 with the U.S. Navy to the Aleutian Islands during World War II, and returned to Unalakleet after the...
Ipalook, Fred - Inupiaq native
Indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....

, ATG lieutenant, teacher for 39 years.
Ipalook, Percy - Inupiaq native, ATG chaplain, territorial & state legislator, Stathehood Committee member
Johnson, Maurice Theodore
Maurice Johnson
Maurice Johnson , of Spalding, was the founder of the 'The Gentlemen's Society' .In 1717 he assisted in the re-establishment of the Society of Antiquitaries . He invited William Stukeley to join the society...

- ATG member, Constitutional Convention delegate
Jorgensen, Holger - ATG sergeant, commercial airline pilot
Knight, William Wellington - ATG member, Constitutional Convention delegate
Lisbourne, Daniel - ATG member, mayor
Marston, Marvin R "Muktuk", Major, US Army - ATG organizer of Western Alaska, Constitutional Convention delegate, author of the book Men of the Tundra: Alaska Eskimos at War
McNeally, Robert J - ATG corporal, Constitutional Convention delegate
Mogg, Samuel Snell "Sammy" - ATG lieutenant, guide who led Major Marston by dogsled on an epic 680 miles (1,094.4 km) mid-winter organizing circuit around the Seward Peninsula.
Nolan, James
James Nolan
James Nolan is an athletics coach who was an Irish international runner from 1996 until 2008. He was a two time Olympian who specialized in the 800 metres between 1996 and 2000 before changing to the 1500 metres later that year...

- ATG member, Constitutional Convention delegate
Peratrovich, Frank J - Tlingit native; ATG captain; mayor; territorial & state representative; senator & senate president; Statehood Committee member; Constitutional Convention first vice president
Reader, Peter L - ATG member, Constitutional Convention delegate
Schreibner, Carl, Captain, US Army - ATG organizer of Eastern Alaska
Wright, Laura Beltz - ATG member, best sharpshooter
Marksman
A marksman is a person who is skilled in precision, or a sharpshooter shooting, using projectile weapons, such as with a rifle but most commonly with a sniper rifle, to shoot at long range targets...

in her company, shooting 98% bulls-eyes, former Queen of Fairbanks

External links

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