View to the Past 

A Driving Guide to 

World War II Buildings 

and Structures on 

Amaknak Island and 

Unalaska Island 

Base End Station at Ulakta Head overlooking Unalaska Bay, 2000 
NH

Map sour

The Aleutian Islands, Alaska 

WORLD WAR II N

HISTORIC LAND

IN THE ALEU
C.B. McCoy, Dutch Harbor, 1943. Courtesy Museum of the Aleutians.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Alaska District wishes to thank the 

following persons and agencies for their assistance with this project: 

City of Unalaska, Jeff Dickrell, Museum of the Aleutians, Anne Rowland, 

Ounalashka Corporation, Philomena Hausler, Unalaska Historical Commission, 

Qawalangin Tribal Council, National Park Service, D. Colt Denfeld, 

and the State of Alaska Office of History and Archaeology 
Aerial view, Amaknak and Unalaska Islands, ca. 1942. Courtesy National Archives, Pacific Alaska Region
Dutch Harbor Naval Operating Base 

“Every station, office, and activity ashore exists but to 

serve the NAVY AFLOAT, UNDER THE SEAS, OR IN THE

AIR.” (War Diary, Dutch Harbor, Alaska).

Dutch Harbor Naval Operating Base was constructed as 

a naval air station in 1940-1941, at a deep-water port on 

Amaknak Island used for centuries by the Unangan 

people and Russian fur traders. As the diary entry above 

proclaimed, the base provided a landing field and 

weather data for pilots and also repaired, refueled, and 

reprovisioned the submarines and other U.S. ships that 

patrolled the Bering Sea and Pacific Ocean. 

Some of the remaining defense fortifications of the 

Naval Operating Base can be seen on the lower slope of 

Mount Ballyhoo, just north of the airport runway. These 

structures include earthen revetments, which shielded 

aircraft from enemy fire and the Aleutian wind, and 

concrete munitions-storage magazines. Tall concrete 

blast walls protected the entrances to many of the 

magazines. 

In 1940, anticipating the spread of the war in Europe to the Pacific Theater, the U.S. military began construction of 

forward-operating bases in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. By 1943, American troops were stationed throughout 

this remote, 1,200-mile-long archipelago. From airfields at Adak, Dutch Harbor, and Fort Glenn, U.S. pilots flew 

patrol bombers, fighter-bombers, and observation aircraft on combat and reconnaissance missions over the 

Aleutians. 

On June 3 and 4, 1942, six months after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Japanese pilots bombed Fort Mears and the 

Dutch Harbor Naval Operating Base on Amaknak Island. Three days later, Japanese soldiers invaded Kiska Island, 

600 miles west of Dutch Harbor, and Attu Island, 800 miles west of Dutch Harbor. American forces recaptured Attu 

in June of 1943, at the price of many American and Japanese lives, and the Japanese army abandoned Kiska one 

month later. U.S. troops remained in the Aleutians until the end of the war in 1945. 

In 1985 and 1986, the federal government designated Adak Naval Operating Base, Dutch Harbor Naval Operating 

Base and Fort Mears, Fort Glenn, and the battlefields on Attu and Kiska islands as National Historic Landmarks in 

recognition of their significant contributions to the defense of the nation during World War II. 

WORLD WAR II ON THE ALEUTIAN FRONT

PBY-5-A parked in a revetment at the bottom of Mt. Ballyhoo, ca. 1942. 

Courtesy National Archives, Pacific Alaska Region.

Fort Mears 

Fort Mears, named after Colonel Frederick Mears, was 

established to defend the Dutch Harbor Naval 

Operating Base. The fort was constructed during 1940-

1941 on the narrow strip of land between Margaret Bay 

and Unalaska Bay, the only flat terrain on Amaknak 

Island. After the construction of Fort Mears was 

underway, defense installations were also built at Hill 

400, Mount Ballyhoo, Eider Point, and Summer Bay. 

The photograph above shows wards of the 250-bed 

hospital at Margaret Bay. In addition to treating 

injuries from training exercises, construction accidents, 

and rat bites, the hospital also treated men who 

contracted diseases such as pneumonia, mumps, and 

German measles. The nurses at Fort Mears Hospital, 

the Naval Air Station Hospital, and the field hospital in 

Pyramid Valley were the only women stationed at 

Dutch Harbor during World War II. 

Hospital wards at Fort Mears, Dutch Harbor, Alaska, ca. 1941. 

Courtesy National Archives, Pacific Alaska Region. 

1 
The six driving routes—shown on the map on the facing page—were chosen based on the following 

criteria: 

Land ownership 

Most of the land on Amaknak and Unalaska islands is owned by members of the Ounalashka Corporation, 

descendants of the Unangan people who have lived on these islands for over 8,000 years. Some World 

War II structures, such as those on Hill 400 and Tundra Drive, were not included in this guide because 

the access roads are on private property. 

Accessibility and Safety 

All six routes are within the City of Unalaska road system and can be driven in a two-wheel-drive rental 

car during the summer. Some roads, such as Overland Drive in Unalaska Valley and the road to the top of 

Mount Ballyhoo, have not been included in this guide because of unstable road conditions. Although it is 

possible to drive on these public-access roads in a four-wheel-drive vehicle during the summer, portions 

of the roads are steep and narrow with large jagged rocks and many deep ruts. 

HOW TO USE THE DRIVING GUIDE

BEFORE YOU BEGIN . . . . 

Ounalashka Corporation 

Land-Use Permit 

All visitors planning to walk or hike anywhere beyond 

the City of Unalaska road system must obtain an 

Ounalashka Corporation Land-Use Permit. This 

permit can be purchased at the Visitors Center or at the 

Ounalashka Corporation Office. 

Weather Safety 

Aleutian weather is unpredictable. Within minutes, 

conditions can change from sunny and calm to strong 

wind and driving rain. Always carry a jacket and a hat, 

and dress in layers. 

Souvenirs 

Collecting “souvenirs” such as stone tools, ivory, eagle 

feathers, bones, or any World War II-era artifacts, 

including shell casings or nails, is illegal. 

Hazards 

Anti-personnel stakes (also known as screw pickets or 

Rommel stakes) were installed throughout Amaknak 

and Unalaska islands during World War II in 

anticipation of a ground assault by enemy troops. 

Double and sometimes triple rows of these sharpened 

iron spikes were planted in the ground: the first 4-foothigh row was strung with barbed wire; another parallel 

(offset) row of stakes was placed in front. The tops of 

the stakes in the second row protruded only 4 to 6 

inches above ground, hidden by tall grass. Many of 

these stakes are still in the ground. 

WATCH WHERE YOU STEP

Screw pickets. Top: Unalaska Island, 2001. 

Bottom: Amaknak Island, 2001. 

2 
MAP: All Routes 

3 
MILITARY CONSTRUCTION 

In September 1940, workmen from 

Siems-Drake, the civilian contractor, 

arrived on Amaknak Island to begin 

construction of Garrison 1 at Margaret 

Bay and the naval air station at Dutch 

Harbor. The 5-mile-long site for these 

installations consisted of swampy tundra, 

rocky hillsides, and steep embankments. 

High winds scattered stacked lumber, 

horizontal rain made footing treacherous, 

and dense fog often obscured the site 

itself. Not surprisingly, employee 

turnover was high: “as each ship brought 

a new recruitment of workers to Dutch 

Harbor, another pulled out of port with a 

larger number leaving Alaska” (National 

Register Nomination, 1992). 

Despite these challenges, the civilian contractor worked an accelerated schedule and, by September of the following 

year, completed Garrison 1 and many of the structures at the naval air station. After Siems-Drake employees were 

evacuated from the Aleutians in June 1942, the Navy Seabees took over construction. 

4 

Design of the Margaret Bay garrison followed the standards 

developed by the Army for its stateside construction. Garrison 1 

included a hospital, PX, chapel, mess halls, barracks, recreation 

buildings, and warehouses. Arctic entries and blackout windows 

were added to most of the buildings. Typically, buildings were 

painted white and aligned in a grid pattern. These neatly-spaced 

white buildings gave the garrison the appearance of a permanent 

military installation, but they also provided a highly visible target 

for enemy pilots. 

The infrastructure of the naval base at Dutch Harbor included 

above and below-ground fuel tanks, power plants, docks, a ship 

repair facility, warehouses, and a system of underground tunnels. 

The Navy hired Michigan architect Albert Khan to design the 

buildings. Khan’s designs emphasized construction adapted to the space limitations of the site, as well as protection 

from the harsh climate. Although the barracks, mess hall, and station brig he designed were successful on both 

counts, these buildings, like the buildings of Garrison 1, were vulnerable to enemy attack because a large number of 

personnel were concentrated in a small area. 

After the June 1942 bombing, military planners re-evaluated the placement of all existing structures. A variety of 

camouflage techniques were used on buildings, such as olive-drab paint, setting a structure directly into the hillside 

and benching it with sod, draping netting over the roof, and rubbing the exterior with mud and water.

For the newly created garrisons in Unalaska Valley and Pyramid Valley, the standard 63-man barracks design was 

replaced with small, randomly dispersed cabanas, Quonset huts, and Pacific huts. The men living in the 

prefabricated, 16-by 20-foot wood-frame cabanas sometimes gave them names such as “Bring ‘Er Inn,” “Squirrel 

Cage,” “Beli-Acres,” and “Sleepy Hollow” (The Aleutian, July 8, 1943). The prefabricated metal Quonsets, measuring 

from 16 by 36 feet to 20 by 40 feet, and the wood-and-metal Pacific huts were also assembled on site. These huts, 

in addition to the heavier elephant steel (Armco) huts used for munitions, became the new “standard” and the 

building type most commonly associated with World War II in the Aleutians. 

Naval Air Station (N.A.S.), ca. 1942. Road at far left is East Point Loop Road: power 

plant, main dock, Navy Mess Hall, Station Brig, and Navy Barracks are still standing. 

Courtesy National Archives, Pacific Alaska Region. 

BUILDING DESIGN 

Pacific Hut, Fort Mears, ca. 1942. Courtesy University of 

Alaska Fairbanks. 
Aerology Operations Building (1941) 

The former Aerology Operations Building, now the Aleutian World War II Visitors Center, is shown on each of the 

route maps as the designated starting point for the six driving tours. During World War II, the upstairs of the 

building housed meteorological equipment used to provide navy pilots and ship captains with weather forecasts, 

including information on wind speed and direction, impending storms, and the height of ocean swells. The Naval 

Air Transport Service operated on the first floor. 

Windows on the octagonal upper floor allowed radio operators a 360-degree view of Mount Ballyhoo to the north, 

Dutch Harbor to the east, the airfield to the west, and Fort Mears and Unalaska Bay to the southeast. After the naval 

base was decommissioned, the City of Unalaska used the Aerology Operations Building as an airport terminal until 

1985. 

The National Park Service, in cooperation with the land owner, Ounalashka Corporation, has restored the exterior of 

the Aerology Operations Building to its original 1940s-era appearance, and rehabilitated the interior as an 

interpretive center. The Aleutian World War II Visitors Center was dedicated in July 2002. 

MILE 0: ALEUTIAN WORLD WAR II VISITOR CENTER 

Torpedo Bombsight and Utility Shop (1942) 

Several yards directly west of the 

Aerology Operations Building is the 

former Torpedo Bombsight and Utility 

Shop. This two-story steel-frame 

structure, measuring approximately 80 

feet by 120 feet, was where torpedoes 

were given a final check before loading, 

and repaired if necessary. A parachute 

loft and packing room were located 

upstairs. 

Torpedo Bombsight and Utility Shop, 2001. 

Aerology Building, ca. 1942. Courtesy National Archives, 

Pacific Alaska Region. 

Aleutian World War II Visitors Center, 2001 (Aerology Building, Dutch Harbor 

Naval Operating Base). Mount Ballyhoo in background.

5 

ALEUTIAN WORLD WAR II NATIONAL HISTORIC AREA 

Soon after the construction of Dutch Harbor Naval Operating Base and Fort Mears was underway, construction 

began on Fort Schwatka and Battery 402, a coastal defense post at the top of Mount Ballyhoo. Over 350 troops 

were quartered at Fort Schwatka in barracks, Quonset huts, and cabanas. In clear weather, the top of Mount 

Ballyhoo provided a panoramic view of approaching enemy aircraft and submarines. Two 8-inch anti-aircraft guns 

were positioned on Ulakta Head. In 1996, Congress dedicated Fort Schwatka and Battery 402 as a World War II 

National Historic Area. A land-use permit from the Ounalashka Corporation is required to visit this privately owned 

park, which is operated in conjunction with the National Park Service. 
Mile 0.1 Powerhouse (1942) 

This 93-foot by 103-foot concrete and reinforced-steel building 

originally supplied electrical power to Dutch Harbor Naval 

Operating Base. It now supplies power to the City of Unalaska. 

The 5-foot-thick walls and 61⁄2-foot-thick roof were built to 

withstand the force of a 250-kilogram bomb. After the hill 

directly behind the Powerhouse was hit by Japanese bombs in 

June 1942, it became known as “Suicide Hill” because of the 

men who died there. 

Mile 0.3 Navy Barracks Buildings 1 and 2 

 Navy Mess Hall (1942) 

Enclosed walkways 

once connected these 

large wood-frame 

buildings designed by 

Albert Khan. The 

self-contained, fuelefficient complex 

provided welcome 

relief from the wind, 

rain, and snow as the 

men walked from 

their barracks to the 

mess hall. An air raid 

shelter was located beneath the barracks (J. Dickrell, Center of the 

Storm). The barracks, now used as warehouses, retain their 

original 1940s appearance. 

Mile 0.3 Station Brig (1942) 

(For a better view of the building, turn right at the next street, 

Delta Way)

This small concrete and reinforced steel structure was part of the 

mess hall and barracks buildings complex. The Brig consisted 

of two standard cells, one solitary-confinement cell, and a small 

exercise area. On September 17, 1942, the crew of the U.S.S. 

Reid sank a Japanese submarine near Kiska Island. Five 

Japanese crew members survived and were taken prisoner. 

According to the official report, the prisoners were brought to 

the Brig at Dutch Harbor Naval Operating Base and questioned 

individually. “All prisoners freely answered questions ... and 

some information of military value was obtained” (War Diary, Sept. 

1942). After questioning, several prisoners were taken to the 

nearby Aeronautical Expedition huts (no longer standing) where 

they were held until September 28, 1942, when the U.S.S. 

Chaumont transported the captured submarine crew to the 

continental U.S. for internment. 

Mile 0.3 Delta Western Dock, 

 S.S. Northwestern (1940-1942)

Living quarters for the Siems-Drake construction crew was a 

refurbished 1889 freight and passenger ship, the S.S. 

Northwestern. The ship housed 280 workers and its steam turbogenerators furnished 2,300 volts of electricity to the naval base. 

On June 3, 1942, Japanese pilots bombed the ship, causing a fire 

that lasted for three days. Damaged beyond repair, the S.S. 

Northwestern was towed to the end of Captains Bay where it 

remains, half submerged. In 1994, the S.S. Northwestern 

Shipwreck Site was listed in the National Register of Historic 

Places. 

Mile 0.8 Rocky Point (oil-dock tank farm) 

Diesel and gasoline storage tanks were once located on the beach 

below Rocky Point (not visible from the road). These tanks were 

bombed during the 1942 attack on Dutch Harbor. Fire from the 

burning tanks produced thick black smoke that covered the 

shoreline for days. 

Mile 0.8 Cottage (private residence) (1912) 

This wood-shingle house pre-dates World War II and is one of 

the oldest homes on Amaknak and Unalaska islands. 

Mile 0.8 Radio transmitter power plant 

 (private property) (1919) 

This concrete structure supplied power to the Naval Radio 

Station Apartment House in the 1930s and 1940s. During World 

War II, the doors were reinforced with freestanding concrete 

blast walls. 

Mile 0.8 Naval Radio Station Apartment 

 House (private property) (1932) 

For many years, this six-unit apartment building was the only 

brick structure in the Aleutians. It was constructed to provide 

family housing for the radio operators working at the nearby 

naval radio station. The building was remodeled during World 

War II for use as a Chief Petty Officers quarters and mess hall. 

During the war, a colorful sea-life mural was painted on the 

walls of the basement lounge, and work crews camouflaged the 

exterior of the building with olive-drab paint. The building 

sustained only minor shrapnel damage in the June 1942 bombing 

of Dutch Harbor. 

EAST POINT LOOP ROAD 

Mess Hall, Dutch Harbor Naval Operating Base, 

ca. 1943. The mess Hall could seat 500 people. 

Courtesy National Archives, Pacific Alaska Region. 

Naval Radio Station Apartment House (left) and radio transmitter power plant 

(right), 2001. 

Turn left out of the Visitors Center parking lot onto Airport Beach Road. Continue straight at the stop sign onto East Point Loop 

Road. You may encounter heavy equipment and many large trucks as you drive through this industrial area. Please use caution. 

6 Route 1 

Former Navy Barracks, 2001. 
MAP: Route 1 

7 
AIRPORT BEACH ROAD (NORTH) 

Turn right out of the Visitors Center parking lot onto Airport Beach Road. (To visit the Sitka Spruce Plantation National 

Historic Landmark, take the first left off Airport Beach Road onto Biorka Drive. Sitka Spruce Park is approximately one block 

uphill on the left.) 

Sixty years after the war, only a few structures from Fort Mears 

remain along Airport Beach Road. In 1942, hundreds of 

buildings―mess halls, barracks, hospital wards, warehouses, 

and mechanic shops―surrounded Margaret Bay and extended to 

the shore of Unalaska Bay. 

Mile 0.7 Bombing of Fort Mears (1942) 

Early on the morning of June 3, 1942, where the Grand Aleutian 

Hotel now stands and across the street on the shore of Unalaska 

Bay, Japanese aircraft dropped 16 bombs on Fort Mears. The 

commanding officer had known for several days that an enemy 

attack was expected, and had ordered his troops to evacuate the 

garrison and take cover in trenches and foxholes on the 

surrounding hills. 

Tragically, 50 

soldiers who had 

arrived in Dutch 

Harbor late on the 

night of June 2 

were not informed 

of the evacuation, 

and the following 

m o r n i n g t h e 

bombing killed 25 

of these men and 

injured the others. 

Mile 0.7 Pill Boxes (1941-1942)

These hexagonal reinforced-concrete structures were named for 

their resemblance to a style of woman’s hat with a flat crown 

and straight sides. Pill boxes provided emergency shelter in case 

of enemy bombing and were also used as machine gun bunkers. 

W.J. McKinistry, who was stationed at Dutch Harbor during 

World War II, remembered 

that “they told us [on June 4, 

1942] that the Japanese were 

making a ground invasion of 

Dutch Harbor [rumor] and 

asked for volunteers to go 

down to the barracks area to 

help man a pill box on the 

beach. I volunteered, but 

don’t ask me why!”. (interview in The Williwaw War). 

Mile 0.7 Hog Island, (1942-1944) 

 Fort Mears Garrison 7 

After the June 1942 bombing, troops from Fort Mears were 

dispersed to Unalaska Island and to nearby Hog Island (named 

by Russians who raised pigs there in the early 1800s). From 

Hog Island, Garrison 7 radio operators transmitted critical 

meteorological data, tide information, and constant weather 

updates to the military outposts along Unalaska’s coastline. 

Although only a mile from Amaknak Island, the 250 men 

stationed on Hog Island were often stranded for weeks at a time 

when bad weather prevented supply boats from reaching them. 

Their diary entries attest to the serious food shortages 

Bombing of Fort Mears, June 3, 1942. Courtesy 

Anchorage Museum of History and Art, B11.15.94. 

experienced during the winter of 1942-1943: “canned sweet 

potatoes and sauerkraut for two days;” “only pancakes and 

sauerkraut for two weeks;” “down to two meals a day of canned 

sauerkraut;” and “rations ran out; all we have is flour and 

cauliflower, no salt” (Robert Garrett, Henry Oehrig, E.F. Paulus, and 

James Massey, interviews in The Williwaw War).

Mile 1.1 Trench on Hill 200 (1941-1942) 

 Turn left at gas station onto Salmon Way. 

The clearest view of the 

trench is from the 

M u s e u m o f t h e 

Aleutians parking lot 

below Hill 200. The 

trench line was dug in 

an offset pattern to 

prevent an enemy 

soldier from jumping 

into the trench and 

firing straight down the 

line with an automatic weapon. The uneven pattern would also 

have prevented an enemy pilot from making one long, 

continuous strafing run above the trench. 

Return to Airport Beach Road and turn left. 

Mile 2.0 Marine Railway and Shop 

 Building (1941-1944) 

(For the best view of this building, turn right at Gilman Road 

and park near the intersection of Gilman Road and Airport 

Beach Road) 

The former Marine Railway and Shop Building is the only World 

War II structure at the former Iliuliuk Submarine Base that has 

retained both its historic appearance and original function. Just 

as navy vessels were repaired here 60 years ago, fishing boats 

today are winched into the Shop Building for repair on a set of 

tracks (the railway) that leads up the shore from Iliuliuk Harbor. 

The submarine dock was removed after the war, and the other 

structures associated with the submarine base have been either 

removed or extensively remodeled. 

8 

Pill Box overlooking Hog Island in 

Unalaska Bay, 2001. 

Trench on Hill 200 overlooking Salmon Way 

and the Museum of the Aleutians, 2001. 

The Marine Railway and Shop Building, 2001. 

Route 2 
MAP: Route 2 

9 
Hill 400 Coastal Defenses, Amaknak Island 

Two months after the 

bombing of Fort Mears, 

Navy Seabees began 

constructing a defense 

installation on Hill 400. 

Also called Bunker Hill 

and Little South America 

(for its geographic 

shape), Hill 400 

overlooks Unalaska Bay, 

Iliuliuk Harbor, and 

Captains Bay. This 

strategic location provided an ideal coastal defense site. 

Panama mounts for 155-mm guns were installed at the top of 

Hill 400. Small elephant-steel magazines stored ammunition 

and fuses; larger concrete-and-steel ordnance magazines were 

cut into the side of the hill. The two-tiered Base End Station on 

top of Hill 400 is visible from Airport Beach Road. 

Pyramid Valley, Unalaska Island 

A concrete power plant is the only structure remaining in the 

valley where a 50-bed hospital, dental clinic, morgue, 

warehouses, Quonset huts, and cabanas once stood in 1943. 

After the war, some cabanas were moved or salvaged for 

lumber; the rest of the buildings were removed during a 1986 

federal environmental cleanup. 

The most visible reminders of World War II in Pyramid Valley 

are the Sitka spruce trees planted during the 1940s as part of a 

military tree-planting program in the Aleutians. The goal of 

this program, promoted by General Simon Bolivar Buckner, 

was to “reduce the monotony of the landscape for thousands of 

soldiers, ... curb erosion, ... and rectify Nature’s apparent 

omissions” (D. Bruce and A. Court: Trees for the Aleutians). Despite the 

severe winter storms of Southwestern Alaska, a number of the 

trees planted in this valley have survived. 

Agnes Beach and Captains Bay Dock, 

Unalaska Island 

In response to the June 1942 bombing of Fort Mears and Dutch 

Harbor Naval Operating Base, the military ordered the 

evacuation of all Unangan people in the Aleutian Islands. Two 

months later, 189 residents of Unalaska were taken by ship to a 

relocation camp in Southeast Alaska. During the 2-1⁄2 years the 

Unangan were forced to live in the relocation camp, “there was 

widespread and wanton destruction of [their] property . . . [by] 

armed forces personnel and civilians alike” (Military report in 

The Williwaw War). Furniture and personal items were stolen or 

vandalized, and plywood ripped from the inside walls of 

homes. 

The residents of Unalaska were allowed to return to their homes 

in April 1945. When the ship docked just south of Agnes Beach, 

the people did not realize at first how much their homes had been 

damaged because Haystack Hill blocked their view of the town. 

Nick Galaktionoff, who was 20 years old at the end of World 

War II, described his homecoming in a 1992 interview: “At 

Unalaska, they unload us at Captain’s Bay dock and from the 

army truck—up the valley way. . . by the time we got in the town 

there it looked bad” (B. Smith, Making It Right, Vol. II). Another 

Unangan elder remembered “When we came [back] to Unalaska 

we were happy and we were sad at the same time. Windows 

[were] broken, doors kicked in, personal belongings were gone. 

It made you feel like crying whenever someone got to go inside 

of their homes” (Anfesia Shapsnikoff, 1972 interview in Old 

Buildings, New Foundations).

Mile 2.1 Cabana (private home) 

 Unalaska Island 

Because so many of the homes in the town of Unalaska were 

unhabitable at the end of the war, the Army moved a number of 

buildings down from Pyramid Valley as temporary housing for 

the Unangan. These 16- by 20-foot wood-frame buildings, called 

cabanas, were relocated in an area of town between Broadway 

Avenue and the Iliuliuk River that eventually became known as 

“New Town.” Moving and 

remodeling cabanas, as well 

as salvaging lumber from 

them, became common 

practice in Unalaska in the 

post-war years and in the 

decades to follow. Many of 

these cabanas are still in use 

as housing. Please respect 

the privacy of residents as 

you drive past these homes. 

Mile 2.5 Unangan World War II Monument 

Unalaska Island 

Turn left at Raven Way. Pull into City Hall parking lot and walk 

up a short path to the top of the knoll overlooking Iliuliuk Bay. 

This stone monument was erected as a memorial to the Unangan 

people who sacrificed their homes and their lives during the war. 

In 1988, Congress passed An Act Concerning War-Time 

Relocation of Civilians (Public Law 100-383). This act 

a c kn o wl e d ge d t h e 

i n j u s t i c e s a n d 

unreasonable hardships 

endured by the Unangan 

people of the Aleutian 

Islands (Smith: A Sure 

Foundation). In 1989, 

Congress authorized 

reparation payments to 

each of the 400 survivors 

of the internment camps 

(Alaska Geographic: Dutch).

AIRPORT BEACH ROAD (SOUTH) 

Turn right out of the Visitors Center parking lot onto Airport Beach Road. At Mile 1.9, turn right onto Henry 

Swanson Drive, just before the wooden bridge to Unalaska Island. Pull over immediately to left, near bridge. Park facing 

south. Hill 400 is now on your immediate right; Agnes Beach and Pyramid Valley are on your left, across Captains Bay. 

10 

Unangan monument overlooking Church of the 

Holy Ascension, 2001. 

Note: The unpaved road through Pyramid Valley is a public 

right-of-way; the land, however, is privately owned. If you 

visit this area and intend to get out of your car, you will need 

to purchase a land-use permit from Ounalashka Corporation 

(available at the Visitors Center).

Panama gun mount and ammunition huts on 

Hill 400, overlooking Unalaska Bay, 2000. 

Cabana (private residence), Unalaska 

Island, 2001. 

Route 3 
MAP: Route 3 

11 
UNALASKA TOWN SITE 

Turn right out of the Visitors Center parking lot onto Airport Beach Road; drive south on Airport Beach Road and cross over 

the bridge to Unalaska Island. Continue downhill past City Hall and cross the Iliuliuk River Bridge. On the north side of the 

bridge, Airport Beach Road becomes 5th Street. At the first stop sign, turn left onto Broadway Avenue.

Mile 2.8 Burma Road Chapel (1942) 

The former Burma Road Chapel, now the Unalaska Convention 

and Visitors Bureau, is the only remaining military church on 

Unalaska Island and Amaknak Island from the World War II era. 

Despite new doors, windows, and paint, the building is still 

recognizable as a 1940s-era structure. The Sitka spruce on each 

side of the chapel were likely planted soon after the chapel was 

built, as part of the military tree-planting program. 

Mile 3.1 Bomb Site (1942): 

 Bureau of Indian Affairs Hospital 

J u s t p a s t t h e 

i n t e r s e c t i o n o f 

Broadway Avenue and 

Cathedral Way is the 

site where the Bureau 

of Indian Affairs 

Hospital once stood. 

In early June 1942, 

hospital personnel 

received word from 

base intelligence that 

an enemy air strike 

was expected at Dutch 

Harbor. The hospital 

staff immediately moved patients to nearby dugout shelters. On 

June 4, a Japanese bomb hit next to the hospital, severely 

damaging the building. Only two people were in the hospital at 

the time, the head nurse and the janitor, but neither was injured. 

In an interview, ward attendant Martha Tutiakoff recalled that the 

explosion “tore out the whole end of the building and destroyed 

the nurses’ quarters and all their belongings. It twisted and 

shattered the rest of the building...[but] there was no fire” (The 

Williwaw War). The hospital was rebuilt, but burned in the 1950s. 

Mile 3.2 Church of the Holy Ascension 

(1898) National Historic Landmark 

The site on which the present Church of the Holy Ascension was 

constructed in 1898 has been the site of the Russian Orthodox 

Church in Unalaska for almost 200 years and the spiritual center 

of the Unalaska community. Parishioners regularly maintain and 

repair the building. After the Unangan were evacuated from 

Unalaska in August 1942, the military used the Church primarily 

as a warehouse until 1945, and the building received no 

maintenance for three years (A Sure Foundation). 

When the Unangan returned home in April 1945, they found their 

church in severe disrepair. Holes in the roof and broken windows 

had allowed “wind and rain [to penetrate] behind loose shingles 

and siding, causing a permanent dampness to the 

building” (Making It Right, Vol. I). The parishioners repaired their 

church as best they could, but could not afford the extensive 

structural restoration required, and the condition of the building 

continued to deteriorate. The Church of the Holy Ascension was 

designated a National Historic Landmark in 1970. It was restored 

in 1996 at a cost of 1.4 million dollars, with funding from the 

National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Aleutian Pribilof 

Islands Association, and the Russian Orthodox Church. 

Mile 3.2 Bishop’s House (1883)

The Bishop’s House, with its distinctive Italianate styling and 

Victorian trim, was designed and constructed in San Francisco, 

shipped piece by piece to Unalaska, and then reassembled at its 

present site. The 30-foot-square elementary school that was 

once attached to this building burned in 1960. 

Mile 3.7 Unalaska Memorial Park and 

Cemetery 

This small memorial park was constructed in 1992 next to the 

Unalaska Cemetery. The park displays memorial plaques 

honoring Unalaskans lost at sea, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the 

Unangan people and military personnel who died during World 

War II. Benches overlooking Illiuliuk Harbor flank a pill box 

and the 9-foot-high, solid brass propeller salvaged from the S.S. 

Northwestern by the City of Unalaska. Most of the grave 

markers in the cemetery are Russian Orthodox, and some of the 

gravesites and surrounding fences are more than 100 years old. 

12 

Bureau of Indian Affairs Hospital, June 1942 after 

Japanese bombing. Courtesy University of Alaska 

Anchorage Archives, C.A. Clower Collection. 

1898 Church of the Holy Ascension, ca. 1943. Courtesy University of Alaska 

Anchorage Archives, Harris M Whiting Collection. 

Unalaska Cemetery, 2001. 

Route 4 
MAP: Route 4 

13 
14 

UPPER UNALASKA VALLEY 

The Move to Unalaska Valley 

After the 1942 bombing of Dutch Harbor, work began 

almost immediately on moving Fort Mears operations 

from Margaret Bay to Unalaska Valley, a more 

geographically protected area. By 1943, construction of 

the new installation (designated Garrisons 2 and 5) was 

completed, and the men of Garrison 1 were now quartered 

in 46 barracks buildings and 14 officers quarters, in 

addition to 674 Quonset huts and 350 cabanas scattered 

randomly throughout the valley. After the battle on Kiska 

Island in 1944, the army established the North Pacific 

Combat School in an area of Lower Unalaska Valley 

known as Ski Bowl (J. Dickrell). 

Sixty years later, only 

one intact cabana can 

be seen from the road 

in Upper Unalaska 

V a l l e y . S o m e 

buildings were moved 

into town for housing 

after the war, and 

others salvaged for 

lumber. Many were 

removed during an 

environmental cleanup. The rest have fallen due to years of 

rain, wind, and snow load. Although the buildings in 

Upper Unalaska Valley are no longer standing, many of 

the foundations remain; a drive through the valley provides 

a sense of what it might have been like to live here during 

World War II. 

Mile 5.3 Water System Remnants 

On the creek bank at the washout are traces of 

the original World War II water system. The 

rectangular concrete structure on the left was 

the chlorination station. Protruding from the 

bank to the right of the station are wood-stave 

water pipes wrapped with wire. 

Mile 5.3 Munitions Magazines 

 (1942-1943) 

When you reach the washout at the end of the 

road, look to your left across the river. The two 

black tunnel-like openings in the hillside are 

the entrances to munitions magazines known as 

elephant steel shelters or Armco huts. These 

structures were built of panels of heavy-gauge 

corrugated steel bolted together and covered 

with soil. Grass and willow soon grew over the 

soil, making the shelters very difficult to 

detect. 

Unalaska Valley/Pyramid Valley Water 

System (1943) 

Soon after the Fort Mears troops moved to Unalaska 

Valley in July 1942, testing revealed that the water supply 

for the new garrisons was contaminated. The source of the 

contamination was traced to living quarters located above 

the watershed. Although personnel quarters were 

immediately moved down the hillside below the watershed, 

by the end of the year it became necessary to strictly ration 

water use. During this time, an “outbreak of acute gastroenteritis was traced to unclean messing gear due to a 

shortage of available hot water . . . . in the galleys” (War 

Diary: Dutch Harbor, Alaska). 

As soon as the snow melted in Pyramid Valley the 

following spring, work began on a new water system. 

Water from Pyramid Creek was channeled through 16-

inch-diameter wood-stave and cast-iron pipe at Icy Creek 

Dam. From here, waterlines ran to Amaknak Island and to 

two dams in Upper Unalaska Valley. Water flowed from 

these dams downhill to the chlorination facility (Mile 5.3) 

before reaching Garrisons 2 and 5. 

When completed, the new water system provided a fresh 

water supply of approximately 3,500,000 gallons per day to 

all the military installations on Amaknak and Unalaska 

islands. This water system served the City of Unalaska for 

many years after the war. Remnants of wood-stave pipe 

can still be seen in Unalaska and Pyramid valleys and on 

the shore of Unalaska Bay.

Turn right out of the Visitors Center parking lot onto Airport Beach Road. Continue on this road until you cross the Iliuliuk 

River Bridge into the Unalaska Town Site, where Airport Beach Road becomes 5th Street. At the corner of 5th Street and 

Broadway Avenue, turn right onto Broadway Avenue and follow the road until you reach the washout. 

Elephant-steel munitions magazine. 

Cabana in Upper Unalaska Valley, 2001. 

Route 5 
MAP: Route 5 

15 
SUMMER BAY ROAD 

Mile 6.3 Second Priest Rock 

Named for its resemblance to Priest Rock, some 4 miles north, 

Second Priest Rock was a familiar landmark for the men of 

Garrison No. 6, as well as those stationed at Fort Schwatka on 

Mount Ballyhoo. 

Mile 6.5 Tramway Remains 

A track of rusted steel rails on the side of 

Mount Coxcomb is all that remains of a 

wood and steel tramway that once 

transported supplies up the mountain to a 

searchlight station overlooking Iliuliuk Bay. 

Opinions differed on the usefulness of the 

800-million-candlepower searchlight. One 

former member of Battery A recalled that 

when the light was shined vertically, it 

became a homing device for navy pilots 

trying to land in heavy fog. Another 

believed that the searchlight was of little 

use in the thick Aleutian fog, and it “more 

likely would have guided the enemy to 

us” (Jodie Jones and John Proffitt, interviews in The Williwaw War). 

Mile 6.9 Elephant Steel Magazine 

The most common function of this structure, also known as an 

Armco hut, was munitions storage, but elephant steel shelters 

were also used as generator buildings, plotting rooms, and 

searchlight shelters. The magazine was constructed on a 

concrete foundation with 10-foot panels of corrugated steel 

bolted together to form the roof and sides. No internal bracing 

was required. The entrance is a 10-foot-wide piece of corrugated 

steel pipe. The iron bulkhead above the entrance and at the back 

provided additional support to the exterior of the magazine when 

it was camouflaged with earth. 

Mile 7.3 ―7.4 Panama Mounts 

Each of the circular 

tracked Panama mounts 

supported a 155-mm 

gun that was removed 

from the mount when 

not in use. The track 

enabled the gun to 

rotate a full 360 

degrees. It took three 

men to operate these 

guns: the gun point, 

who pointed the gun in 

the right direction; the 

elevation setter, who raised the gun to the angle for the range; 

and the gunner, who fired the gun. 

Mile 7.4 and 7.8 Fuse Magazines 

These four structures, sometimes called fusee huts or igloo huts, 

contained ammunition fuses, which were stored separately from 

the ammunition. 

Mile 7.8 Munitions Magazine 

This elephant steel magazine was originally camouflaged with 

earth, grass, and brush. The only parts of the structure that were 

visible were the entryway and the vent pipe.

Mile 7.8 Base End Station 

This two-tiered concrete structure on the hillside provided a 

sweeping view of Iliuliuk Bay. Its position, shape, and lack of 

color also provided a 

degree of camouflage. 

The soldiers at this 

post used a scope to 

measure the azimuth 

(angular distance) 

between a target 

(approaching enemy 

vessels or aircraft) and 

the Base End Station. This measurement was then relayed to 

personnel in the plotting room, who used the information to 

calculate the correct range and firing angle for the 155-mm guns. 

Mile 8.3 Bridge 

Driving Route 6 ends at the parking area just before the bridge. 

The road up the hill leads to Morris Cove. It is extremely rough 

and recommended only for 4-wheel drive vehicles. 

Turn right out of the Visitor Center parking lot onto Airport Beach Road. Continue on this road until you cross the Iliuliuk 

River Bridge into the Unalaska Town Site. On the north side of the bridge, Airport Beach Road becomes 5th Street. At the first 

intersection, turn right onto Broadway Avenue then left at King Street. At the end of King Street, turn right onto Bayview 

Avenue and continue past Unalaska Memorial Park and Cemetery. After this point, Bayview Avenue becomes Summer Bay 

Road. 

16 

Fort Brumback on Morris Cove was one of the eastern points of Dutch Harbor’s coastal defense network known as “The Iron Ring.” 

Construction of the fort and access road, Summer Bay Road, began in 1942. Army Garrison No. 6 included administration 

buildings, mess halls, 10 barracks buildings, and 70 Quonset huts. A few badly deteriorated Quonsets are all that remain of these 

buildings. However, a number of Fort Brumback’s defensive fortifications, located between Summer Bay and Humpy Cove, are still 

standing. 

Tramway remains, 

2001. 

Base End Station, 2000. 

Panama gun mount and munitions storage 

magazine. View facing north to Morris 

Cove and Split-Top Mountain, 2000. 

Munitions storage structure, 2000. 

Route 6 
MAP: Route 6 

17 
THE IRON RING 

18 

Remnant of a 6-inch gun shield at 

Fort Learnard, overlooking 

Unalaska Bay and Hog Island to 

the southeast, 2001. 

Soldier using M1910 Azimuth Finder, 

ca. 1942. Courtesy Kenneth Sprunger. 

Reproduction of a piece of canvas ca. 1942 from Fort Learnard. 

Courtesy Museum of the Aleutians. 2000.87. 

The many strategically placed observation outposts and defense fortifications constructed along the 

coastlines of Amaknak and Unalaska islands during World War II formed what was known as the “Iron 

Ring.” Anti-submarine nets strung across Iliuliuk Bay and Captains Bay were also part of this coastal 

defense system. The two largest coastal defense fortifications were Ulakta Head Battery 402 at Fort 

Schwatka and Eider Point Battery 298 at Fort Learnard. 

Fort Schwatka/Ulakta Head Coastal Defenses (1942-1944), Amaknak Island 

Fort Schwatka and Battery 402, constructed during 1942-1944, was the center point of the coastal defense 

system. At the top of Mount Ballyhoo overlooking Unalaska Bay, Ulakta Head is the northernmost point 

of Amaknak Island. This defense battery is 897 feet above sea level, the highest battery in the United 

States. Fort Schwatka and Battery 402 at Ulakta Head form the Aleutian World War II National Historic 

Area. 

Artillery at Battery 402 consisted of two 8-inch guns. Artillery support structures included the concrete 

Harbor Defense Command/Harbor Defense Observation Post, shell and powder magazines, a generator 

room and a radio room. The plotting room was below ground, connected by a tunnel to the Observation 

and Command Post. 

Fort Schwatka provided housing and support services for the men of Battery 402. Some of the buildings, 

such as the barracks and warehouses, were wood frame, but many others―the mess hall, PX, and supply 

and administration buildings―were Quonset huts. Although most of the concrete and steel structures at 

Ulakta Head are still standing, few of the wood-frame buildings and none of the Quonset huts at Fort 

Schwatka have survived 60 years of wind, rain, and snow atop Mount Ballyhoo. 

Fort Learnard (1942-1944), Unalaska Island 

Fort Learnard and Battery 298, accessible only by water, are located on the cliff above Eider Point, 

4 miles directly west of Ulakta Head. Until a road was built to the top of the cliff, supplies were 

transported to the fort by means of a tramway. Housing and support services buildings were similar to 

those constructed at Fort Schwatka and Hill 400. Only a few of these buildings remain intact due to the 

harsh Aleutian climate. 

A 492-foot-long underground tunnel provided access to the two 6-inch guns at Battery 298, which were 

set into pits, protected by large steel shields, and camouflaged by netting. Behind the guns was a battery 

magazine of reinforced concrete. The battery magazine and the gun shield remnants at Fort Learnard are 

still in relatively good condition, but only traces of the tunnel remain. The access road up the hillside to 

Fort Learnard is on private property, and the land at Eider Point is owned by the Ounalashka Corporation. 
Defense Installations 

19 
READING LIST 

The following books about World War II in the Aleutians 

can be purchased at the Aleutian World War II 

Visitors Center and the Museum of the Aleutians 

 Bradley, Charles C. Aleutian Echoes. University of Alaska Press, 1994. 

 Cloe, John Haile. The Aleutian Warriors: Part I. Pictorial Histories 

 Publishing Co., 1990. 

 Cohen, Stan. The Forgotten War, Vols. I, III, IV. Pictorial Histories 

 Publishing Co., 1981. 

 Dickrell, Jeff. Center of the Storm: The Bombing of Dutch Harbor and The 

 Experience of Patrol Wing Four in The Aleutians, Summer 1942. Pictorial 

 Histories Publishing Co., 2002. 

 Freeman, Elmer. Those Navy Guys & Their PBYs: The Aleutian Solution. 

 Kedging Publishing Co., 4th ed. 1992. 

 Garfield, Brian. The 1000-Mile War. University of Alaska Press, 1995. 

 Goldstein, Donald M. and Katherine V. Dillon. The Williwaw War: The 

 Arkansas National Guard in the Aleutians in World War II. University 

 of Arkansas Press, 1992. 

 Mitchell, Lt. Robert J., Sewell T. Tyng, and Capt Nelson L. Drummond, Jr. 

 The Capture of Attu. University of Nebraska Press, 2000. 

 Rearden, Jim. Koga’s Zero. Pictorial Histories Publishing Co., 1995. 

 Rennick, Peggy, ed. World War II in Alaska. Alaska Geographic, Vol. 22, 

 No. 1, 1995. 

 Rourke, Norman E. War Comes to Dutch Harbor. Burd Street Press, 1997. 

 Unalaska High School, Students of. Old Buildings, New Foundations: 

 Perspective of the Legacy of World War II in Unalaska and Dutch Harbor.

 Unalaska School District, 1992. 

20 
U.S. submarine, Iliuliuk Harbor, ca. 1942. Hill 400 in background. 

Courtesy University of Alaska Fairbanks, Hanna Call Collection, 70-11-27-N. 

21 
NOTES 

22 
Collapsed barracks, Fort Schwatka on Mount Ballyhoo, 2001. 
Prepared for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Alaska District 

by Jacobs Engineering Group Inc., February 2003 

Prepared for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Alaska District 

by Jacobs Engineering Group Inc., April 2003 

Dutch Harbor, ca. 1942. Courtesy Anchorage Museum of History and Art.