For almost 75 years, the stern of the destroyer USS Abner Read lay somewhere below the dark surface of the Bering Sea off the Aleutian island of Kiska, where it sank after being torn off by an explosion while conducting an anti-submarine patrol. Seventy-one U.S. Navy Sailors were lost in the aftermath of the blast, […]
Anchorage, Alaska — Alaska’s Office of Veterans Affairs receives many walk-ins from service members, veterans, their families and the general public inquiring about benefits and anything to do with veteran services. They received a special walk-in last Friday when Private Tommy Heckman, his wife, Martina, and their daughter, Irene, stopped by the office in East […]
JUNEAU, Alaska — The Coast Guard is working alongside state and local agencies to determine the path forward for the tug Lumberman anchored in the Gastineau Channel of Juneau. Representatives from the Coast Guard, Alaska Department of Natural Resources, Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, Alaska Department of Law, City and Borough of Juneau and the […]
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska — A World War II veteran and former Alaska Army National Guard member recently became a Tribal Veteran Representative (TVR), trained to assist fellow veterans secure state and federal benefits. Wesley Aiken, of Barrow, Alaska, voluntarily joined the Alaska Territorial Guard (ATG) in April 1943. During WWII, over 6,400 Alaskans joined […]