Unalaska (Dutch Harbor) and the 1000-mile war

Whenever we mentioned we wanted to fly out to Unalaska, the only other place on U.S. soil to be bombed by the Japanese in World War II, we were told it was too far, the weather too dismal and too dangerous, or else we were met with a blank stare and the question of why? Ward, who is ever ready to take on a challenge, watched the weather forecasts for days, waiting for the right opportunity, which came yesterday, in the midst of our Homer stay.

(I just love how the sweatshirt came with a caution sticker!)

Seven hundred statute miles down the Aleutian Chain from Anchorage, further west than Hawaii (but not nearly as warm) we flew past old volcanoes,

 St. Augustine Island (in sea fog)

active volcanoes,

Mount Pavlof (near Cold Bay, AK)

and beautiful volcanic landscapes that make up the chain.

River on an Unimak Island

The Aniakchak Crater (the least visited National Monument in the country)

After four hours or so, we landed at what once was the U.S. Army's airfield at Dutch Harbor, now the main airport for the island of Unalaska. In our quest for a place to tie down the airplane (perhaps unsurprisingly, the airport doesn't get much in the way of transient aircraft, so they weren't sure where to put us), we ran into Dave, a Medvac pilot, who kindly offered to drive us around the island on an impromptu photo shoot. I was as captivated by the landscape as the World War II buildings that were abandoned at the end of the war. So first, a pictorial ode to the beauty of the island on an absolutely stunning day, so nice I would almost be tempted to move there. Almost.

Dave says there are wild horses on the island, but they were camera-shy for us.

And despite being scarce in the Lower 48, Bald Eagles abound here, 

sometimes congregating in groups of 20-30 birds or more, 

and are found all along the hills surrounding the bays.

And there are indeed signs of the old military encampment everywhere.

An observation post high on the hillside

Panama (rail) Gun Mount for anti-aircraft guns

 Abandoned Quonset hut. 

(Originally the sod would have completely covered it for camouflage.)

Elephant-nose Steel Magazine

Inside the Magazine

(note the office in corner with remnants of a communications panel on the wall inside)

Perhaps the oddest sight to me was to find pillboxes on the sides of residential streets, the town growing up around them, accepting them as part of the landscape, and in some cases using them as fence posts or storage sheds, which, if you know Alaskans, is not out of character.

Pillbox for machine guns w/ town-homes in back

Old Army building in the center of town, re-purposed for civilian use

 next to an abandoned, concrete communications post.

The gorgeous weather couldn't last, of course. We left the next morning in drizzle and fog, but the island was no less beautiful.