Might and money: the impact of the military on Alaska arrived early and stayed late.

• Author: Bohi, Heidi
• Position: 50th Statehood Anniversary Special Section

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The separation of the "old Alaska" from the new Alaska" was the most noteworthy influence of the military's arrival in Alaska in 1940, and one that forever changed the state's economic, social and political climate and clout. While some people welcomed the boost that marked a major step toward Alaska's passage to Statehood, others believed the arrival of the first troops in Alaska that would become a permanent presence was paramount to being invaded by the enemy.

"The old Alaska's gone--she's wrecked," one sourdough lamented. At the same time, Territorial Gov. Ernest Gruening presented a more optimistic outlook. "The war is revolutionizing Alaska, every aspect of its life is profoundly changed and destined to be more so."

John Cloe, a retired military historian living in Anchorage, says most Alaska historians recognize that "The arrival of the military did forever change Alaska. It separated the old Alaska of the gold miner from the new Alaska of strategic importance, a fact that is recognized today by a sizable military presence in the state with the capability of deploying to the far ends of the earth."

THE BIG WAR

The decision to fortify Alaska was part of an overall national effort in response to the outbreak of World War II in Europe and increasing concerns over Japanese military expansions in Asia, Cloe says. The same year the first troops arrived in Alaska, also witnessed a major rearmament of the nation. The German conquest of continental Europe in 1940 stunned America. Congress, which earlier in the year had been reluctant to vote a $2 billion defense budget for fiscal year 1941, appropriated a $10.5 billion supplemental defense budget. It was America's first double-digit billion-dollar military appropriations bill. President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared a national emergency that summer and asked Congress to fund a 1,200,000-man Army. The following month, Congress passed the Two Ocean Navy Act, authorizing the fleet expansion by 70 percent. The National Guard mobilized in August, and Congress authorized the first peacetime draft the next month.

The Army went from a peacetime force of about 190,000 to 8.3 million by 1945 and the Army Air Forces jumped from 51,000 to 2.3 million during the same period. Part of the supplemental appropriations included the restoration of $12.7 million to fund the construction of Fort Richardson in Fairbanks and its airbase, Elmendorf Field in Anchorage. The War Department...