Uncle Sam's Men

You The Japanese were, in the illusions, they had occupied the islands of Atu and Kiska. There was a considerable talk about a full-scale invasion of coming through Alaska down

through the Canadian provinces and the preceding Northwest. Out of Anchorage, back in the early 40s, came a major Marston, whom every Eskimo on the coast and all of us who were here at the time referred to as muktuk, due to the fact that he loved to eat muktuk. He arrived at Nelson Island, called a meeting of the village, and explained that the president of the United States, who was Franklin Roosevelt at that time, wanted some eyes and some ears out along the Bering Sea Coast, that he didn't want to send soldiers from Florida or Texas or Louisiana up into the Arctic where they had no knowledge of conditions. But, wanted people who were familiar with the country, who could spot the head of a seal

against an ice floor at a thousand yards, to act as the eyes and ears of the military. And so was formed, the Tannuna Company of the Old Alaska Territory, O'Gard. Paul Agima, Tannuna, Charlie Akinga, Diamide, Victor Adams, no attack, Kurt Bell, Cooper Bay, Corporal Fritz Bibi, Eaten and David Brower, Beryl, Nick Charles Bethel, Charlie Coffee, Stevens, Truman Cleveland, Jugnak, Corporal Moses Crow, Gwynnuk, Corporal Charlie A. Edwardson, Beryl, Isaac Eben, White Mountain, Tom Ismelka, Delato.

And during the winter, the military men came in and they formed an Alaskan territorial guard army and got all the men in and they had a big meeting and got everybody to come to this meeting and the Governor Greening ordered those men, they ordered the men already had their guns, 30 out of 6 guns that was given to them from what they used during the first World War, and Governor Greening says that, give her a gun and they pointed at me and I looked at him and I thought, God not, I don't think I can shoot anybody and they said,

well, he whispered, killer, be killed or something like that, he said. Because of the importance of the territorial guard, I felt it essential to go to each village in person, up until then I had had very little contact with Eskimos. I was aware that in some cases they had been badly treated by whites and I did not know what resentment my lurk behind their smiling faces, I encountered none, only the greatest willingness to serve their country, Ernest Greening, territorial governor. Kate Green, Cotsaboo, Albert Eric Hegberg, Haycock, Sam Herman, Nunavac Island, Corporal John A. Hensley, Cotsaboo, Miles Ita, Beryl, Larry Joe, Igloo, Oliver James, Wayne Wright, Daniel Jones, Noem, Carl Kawagli, Bethel, George Lake, Pecus Point.

The major explained what he wanted, the young man nodding with a happy smile on his face and he held up his right hand and repeated after the major the oath of loyalty and allegiance of an officer, swearing to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. We all shook hands and congratulated him in Revartan poor, crews of the Ada. Mum, Mum, Brace, Nick, walk and geese who can let thou love us, walk with jeep, jeep, Pecus, they used to come up from Bethel by jeeps to train us. Up to three, four, marching. When they did the left right part, most of the guys didn't know their left from their right and they kept bumping into one another when the sergeant did the rear march.

After laughing about the running into each other, they'd start yelling, hey, you, hey, you, you're going the wrong way and they'd go back. The army sergeant wouldn't laugh at us, though. From the direction of Barryman's store came the rapid hep hep of marching men and two long columns of four turned on to the street. Their rifles with the shiny new slings were over their shoulders, the little boys marched with them in front of them and among them. The big boys, still under 16, which was the minimum age for the guard, stood in groups and watched enviously.

Company, halt, cried Rodney, and they came to a staggering halt, at ease, and the rifles came clattering down. Company, a tan, chun, and the rifles came stiffly back to their toes, their left-hand's rigid to their sides and their heads high, Henry Barnum, poor, crews of the ADA. So I got the gun and then they had to practice out in the field on the snow. They had a bunch of targets that you had to try to shoot at and then my turn came up and you had to stand in position and you had to sit and lie down. There's three different positions that you had to shoot the targets. I hit every target but one, right in the bullseye, and I shot the other bullseye twice and lift that one vacant, but I hit it right in the bullseye.

So that is the reason I got the 49 out of 50, and so I won the target shooting practice. The men signed up for their rifles and stood around and pleased interest and excitement, adjusting slings, working with the bolts, squining over the sights. I crawled around, focusing my camera on an old fellow and a big sealskin parka. His face and tent and puzzled, but full of rapture as he struggled with the stiff squeaking leather of his sling. The young man helping him turned to me and grinned with pride. He's my father, he said. Henry Barnum, poor, crews of the ADA. Obviously, there was no invasion. The Japanese were defeated at the Battle of Atu, but through the many, many months that the guard operated, there wasn't a sound in the sky. There

wasn't a light that flashed it in the night at sea. There wasn't the outline of a ship against the shoreline that wasn't immediately reported to the military in Bethel. So I was very proud of Atu, and I was ready to fight. And I would, too. Sergeant Charles Mendeloch, known Peter Mike Nacknick, Corporal Nathan Uggorp, Koyak, Tommy Nierko, Pointly, Wilson Appork, Sysmerath, Nick Pete Marshall, Wilford Ryan, you know what, Pete?

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