Cape Field at Fort Glenn
Cape Field at Fort Glenn | |
U.S. Army | |
NRHP reference No. | 87001301[1] |
---|---|
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | May 28, 1987 |
Designated NHLD | May 28, 1987[2] |
Cape Field at Fort Glenn was a military site significant for its role in
History
Origins
Because of the perceived vulnerability of Alaska immediately following the
Along with new airfields on the mainland and
Plans called for three hard-surfaced runways (four were eventually built), however time was of the essence in the construction of the base, as the air defense of Dutch Harbor was dependent on them. Instead of a hard surface, engineers chose to use a new material,
The first operational unit, the
Aleutian Islands Campaign
On 3 June 1942 the
Eleventh Air Force also dispatched
The Japanese attacks on Dutch Harbor, however inflicted only minor damage on the base, which were quickly repaired.[3] The mission of Fort Glenn Army Air Base was changed to serve as the initial forward base to launch bombing attacks against the Japanese forces in the Aleutians.[2] Known Air Force units deployed to Fort Glenn were:
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By the close of 1942, Fort Glenn AAB had 10,579 personnel assigned, but its role as an advance air base had been supplanted by new air bases on Adak and Amchitka Islands in early 1943 farther to the west. By the end of the year, the base had become a backwater; its mission had become the provision of housing and rations for transient personnel and the servicing of transient aircraft.
Closure
After the war ended, Fort Glenn remained open as a refueling stop for transient aircraft in the Aleutians along with Military Air Transport Service flights using the Great Circle Route from Japan to the United States. The main runway, however was extended to 8,300' to accommodate large, long range aircraft. By 1946, the base was manned only by skeleton staff due to the rapid demobilization of the Air Force.
The last Air Force personnel were withdrawn by 30 September 1947, and the base was put on inactive status and was effectively abandoned.[6] It was decommissioned in 1950 and the site was excessed between 1952 and 1955 to the Bureau of Land Management. The land was later transferred to a variety of owners, including Alaska Native corporations and the State of Alaska. Today hundreds of buildings, runways, and World War II artillery emplacements remain in various states of deterioration.[2]
Today Fort Glenn AAF is a virtual ghost town—except for a family of cattle ranchers who have renovated several World War II buildings and who call the base home. The expanse and undisturbed quality of the resource make Fort Glenn AAF an outstanding conceptual model for landscape preservation. In 1991, National Park Service historians visited the site to review the World War II-related construction, infrastructure, landscape, and objects.
It was determined that any environmental cleanup should be designed to remove loose cables, transformers, hazardous material, toxic waste, and ordnance. Nontoxic World War II-related objects such as empty barrels could be left in place; full barrels would be, of course, another issue. All other buildings, structures, and infrastructure—no matter how "unsightly"—would be left intact and preserved: in this case preservation can simply mean avoidance and the acceptance that the buildings and structures have a definite place within the landscape.
On Saturday July 12, 2008, nearby Mount Okmok, erupted, sending ash 50,000 feet in the air and forcing the evacuation of the residents of the ranch. The eruption obliterated all remains of the South Pacifier Emergency landing strip, although some evidence of remains still are visible in aerial imagery.[7]
See also
- List of National Historic Landmarks in Alaska
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Aleutians West Census Area, Alaska
References
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
- ^ a b "National Register Information System – (#87001301)". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
- ^ a b c d e "Cape Field at Fort Glenn". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on 2011-06-06. Retrieved 2008-01-10. If link is not working, a cached version as of 2008-01-09 is available from Google.
- ^ ISBN 0-933126-47-6
- ^ a b c Fort Glenn Army Airfield / Otter Point Naval Air Facility, Umnak Island, AK
- ^ AFHRA Document 00001959
- ^ AFHRA Document 00001996
- ^ "Alaska volcano erupts; island residents evacuated". Reuters. July 13, 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-13.
- Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-89201-092-4.
- Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1982) [1969]. Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. OCLC 72556. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2009-03-25.