(5:56 min.) (01 of 12) Background and arrival in Alaska Auburn University--TVA heavy construction--B. B. Tally Construction quartermaster--Ladd Field construction Jan '41-- Four total projects Ladd Field, Ft. Richardson, Elmendorf and Yakutat &...
(5:14 min.) (02 of 12) Building up defenses/Dutch Harbor and Adak Chief of construction operations--built 64 installations--Mostly coastal installations--Umnak Island construction 802 engineers/ 807 engineers Drexler?--attack on Dutch...
(4:59 min.) (03 of 12) Down the chain Marsden matting--harbor installation--dock washed away--Amchitka--Atka-- Attu and Kiska--Discrepancies with Lael Morgan--Garfield, (author)
(7:00 min.) (04 of 12) Weather at Amchitka and railroad to bering sea Apr '42 Engineers got word from Service and Supply (Roosevelt) find Railroad route from Fairbanks to sea.--Town meeting of the 3000 population of Fairbanks--Lots of...
(6:33 min.) (05 of 12) Building bases and prep for Attu 30,000 men working total--civilian contractors did lots of work--DeLong--General Tally--Cold Bay task force to retake Attu--General Buckner--Alaska scouts--12,000 men in first two...
(6:12 min.) (06 of 12) Lack of experience to arctic conditions Casualties due to cold--4 D-8 dozers stuck in tundra--Attu was a disaster, fiasco--Got winter supplies, shoe packs later--men stuck for 8 or 9 days --Japaneese were better equipped...
(6:24 min.) (07 of 12) Supplies from Massacre Bay Winched up ridge--Lt. Col Green--disposition of Japanese forces--Getting supplies up to engineer hill--Building a switch back road--each man going up carried K-rations, bullets or mortar...
(5:26 min.) (08 of 12) More on supply transportation Poorly prepared and equipped--Pushed caterpillars (bulldozers) off the top of ridge--3 of 4 survived--built switchback down to cats--escorting an engineer company
(8:13 min.) (09 of 12) Battle on Attu Took company of engineers to a ridge --walked back in the dark--connected with another unit--Japanese followed their path and attacked--Screamed "mitsui?"--Many G. I.'s killed--Capt. killed--Japanese got...
(3:59 min.) (10 of 12) Clean-up and next day Remaining Japanese ran into a draw--Engineer company sent in to kill the 26 or so--next day same thing happened again with--same results--only 30-40 left after that--Capt. Siddens charge--Two men...
(5:29 min.) (11 of 12) Prisoners Few prisoners taken--Strip search at a distance--sent prisoner back to rear--had problems because G.I.'s wanted to kill him
(4:40 min.) (12 of 12) Occupation Shemya runway washed away--Took a few days to get back to Anchorage--wrote history of Alaska construction--lots of people wrote it Bush edited--Left over the Alaska Highway--short time in states--then to south...
01 Began flying (2:43 min.) (01 of 09) On her way to school she was able to see airplanes taking off from the local airport. She thought that was what she wanted to do with her life. She saved up the $125.00 but the flight school closed...
02 Next step (3:39 min.) (02 of 09) During 1940, the U.S. Government was getting ready for war -- the Civilian Pilot Training program was started. They allowed one woman in each class of ten. While at Marshall College she learned how to do...
03 More military training (3:36 min.) (03 of 09) Pearl went to Sweetwater, Texas, to train with the Women's Air Corps. She heard that there was a need for pilots in Alaska. In 1944, she headed to Fairbanks, Alaska. She got stuck in Seattle...
04 First jobs in Alaska (5:04 min.) (04 of 09) Lockheed Vega took her to Fairbanks. Bush flying was what she wanted, but she couldn't get hired in Fairbanks. Herb Hagler at Fairbanks Air Service wouldn't give her a job as a pilot, but he told...
05 A plane of her own (5:30 min.) (05 of 09) There was no flight instruction in the winter so Pearl was laid off. She spent the winter of 1945 at the University at Fairbanks. She saw the Russian pilots flying the lend lease planes. Margaret...
06 Crash took six weeks to repair aircraft (4:58 min.)(06 of 09)
In the mean time took a job teaching in McGrath that keep her busy through the winter. In the spring went to lower 48 to get an airplane. In Seattle went to Northern Commercial...
07 Followed the lend-lease path (6:32 min.) (07 of 09)
Back then you had to check in with customs every time you stopped. Margaret met up with two others bound for Alaska (Major Ware and Joe Barber), and they figured to save money by taking the...