The Waterbury Democrat., 1943-11-11
TROOPS CALLED
 ATKA "SIBERIA"
 OF ALEUTIANS
RY RUSSELL ANNABEL

RY RUSSELL ANNAhEL
 United Press Stan Correspondent)
 Atka Island, Alaska-(UP)-Now that the Japs have been kicked out of the Aleutians and there is little chance of them coming back save for nuisance raids. the story of Atka Island can be told, at least in part, for the first time.
 The story begins last summer when It. Gen. Simon Bolivar Buck ner, Jr., commanding general of the Alaska Defense Command, was engaged in a nice military juggling act of shellacking the Japs on Kiska and Attu as often as the weather permitted and at the same time hastily fortifying the 800-mile sweep of the Aleutian chain.
 Umnak and Cold Bay were ready as was Dutch Harbor and Kodiak. Adak had just been occupied and engineers were working there day and night to complete bomber and fighter strips. The occupation of Amchitka had been decided upon but as yet no ground reconnais- sance had been made.
 Buckner and his staff looked at their maps and concluded the pro jected chain of bases was complete on paper-save for the stretch of rocky. surf-beaten islands between Umnak and Adak. Buckner put his finger on one of these islands and said. We ought to have a base there
 The island was Atka largest of the Andreanof group and home of several hundred Aleut hunters. The Japs had secuted Atka and had bombed and strafed a government installation there shortly after the attack on Dutch Harbor. In peace time Japanese ships had often put into NaZaan Bay, Atkas chief har- bor, and had mapped and photo graphed the shoreline and the vil- lage.
 Buckner's desire for a base on Atka was soon put into effect. A .anding force, escorted by a naval task force, slipped into Nazaan Bay in early autumn, and within hours engineers were busy constructing roads and an airfield. Although Jap planes from KLSka twice bombed the garrison and Jap naval craft once entered the bay and made an ill-starred attack on shipping, the existence was not announced.
 Last winter the garrisons was one of the most isolated spots in the chain, as planes usually made the flight from Adak to Umnak without landing at the intermediate field, and surface craft rarely had occa- .ion to stand into the bay
 Among troop the station was known as the Siberia of the Aleu- tians. Conditions were so primitive that at one time there were 6 inches of water under the tables in the officers mess and the place was so cold that it was common practice to sis at table with your parka and fur eap on.
 It was a great event when weather would cause a transport plane loaded with passengers to land. The chaplains would show movies, the cooks would outdo themselves, and the commanding officer would organize poker parties and pray for continued bad weather so his guests would be unable to leave.
 This summer, however, Atka un- derwent a transformation. It can TO longer be called the Siberia of the Aleutians. The men have com fortable quarters, good mess build ings, a library, and an ample supply of motion pictures. For time they even had beer, when there was none available elsewhere in the islands. Their only gripe is that they haven't been in on any action since the early days when the Jap seaplane bombers used to come over.
 But they assert they are ready, and that if the Japs ever come back to Atka they will receive hot wei come