Alaska Territorial Guard Members Receive Official Discharge
March 28, 2008 at 2:11PM AKST
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Carl Smith smiles after receiving his official Alaska Territorial Guard discharge paperwork Thursday during a ceremony in Hooper Bay, Alaska. Smith was one of 130 Hooper Bay residents who served in the Alaska Territorial Guard from 1942-1947. Photo: Capt. Guy Hayes, DMVA Public Affairs.
Left to right: Maj. Gen Craig E. Campbell smiles as Pius Hoelscher, Andrew Brown Sr., Carl Smith and Gregory Slat Sr. receive a standing ovation for their service as members of the Alaska Territorial Guard during World War II. Photo: Capt. Guy Haye
Maj. Gen Craig E. Campbell, adjutant general of the Alaska National Guard, hands Pius Hoelscher an Alaska Territorial Guard patch like the one he wore 61 years ago during World War II. Photo: Capt. Guy Hayes, DMVA Public Affairs.
Maj. Gen Craig E. Campbell, adjutant general of the Alaska National Guard, smiles as he hands Gregory Slat Sr. his official discharge paperwork from the Alaska Territorial Guard. Photo: Capt. Guy Hayes, DMVA Public Affairs.
CAMP DENALI, Alaska – Sixty-one years ago more than 6,600 Alaskans volunteered to serve in the Alaska Territorial Guard, and Thursday, 50 of those members were officially recognized and discharged in Hooper Bay, Alaska.
Andrew Brown Sr., Gregory Slat Sr., Pius Hoelscher, and Carl Smith were four of 130 members of the Alaska Territorial Guard who enlisted in April 1942 from Hooper Bay. They received their official discharge paperwork, Thursday, from Maj. Gen. Craig. E. Campbell, adjutant general of the Alaska National Guard.
“Hooper Bay sets the example for all Americans,” said Campbell during the ceremony. “On behalf of Governor Sarah Palin and the people of Alaska, we thank you and your ancestors for outstanding service during World War II.”
The Alaska Territorial Guard was a component of the U.S. Army organized in 1942 by Alaska Territorial Gov. Ernest Gruening in response to attacks by the Japanese on Pearl Harbor Dec. 7, 1941.
Fearing the Japanese would invade Alaska, Gruening dispatched Maj. Marvin “Muktuk” Marston and Maj. Carl Scheibner to recruit and train volunteers to defend Alaska if the Japanese ever invaded.
Ranging in age from 11 to 80 years old, these brave men and women faithfully guarded their assigned territory, with no pay and little equipment, until the Alaska Territorial Guard was disbanded in 1947.
At the time, Alaska was twelve years away from officially becoming a state, so any time served was not counted as military service.
In 2000, Sen. Ted Stevens introduced legislation that changed law and officially recognized the members of the Alaska Territorial Guard for their service. Since that time, all volunteers who served in the Alaska Territorial Guard earned credit for their time as active federal service members and are now eligible for benefits from the Veterans Administration.
“It was a privilege to present these discharges to the Alaska Territorial Guard members of Hooper Bay today, but we still have 80 members in the Hooper Bay area who haven’t received their official discharge for their time in the Alaska Territorial Guard; we want to see everyone honored this way,” said Jerry Beale, state veterans affairs administrator.
Beale estimates that 5,000 Alaska Territorial Guard members still need to submit paperwork for their service, and they or their family members can do so by filling out an application on the Alaska Territorial Guard website, www.atg.alaska.gov.
In addition to honoring Alaska Territorial Guard members, Campbell also had the privilege of honoring a few of Hooper Bay’s current warriors.
“Ten members of Hooper Bay in the Alaska Army National Guard served in Kuwait and Iraq last year during a year long deployment, and we honor their courage today as they continue to carry the torch of freedom and tradition of patriotism in this community,” Campbell said.
The 10 Soldiers served in Kuwait and Iraq during the state’s largest deployment of troops since World War II, returning October 2007.
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