Routes to War, Victory and Freedom

KSKA: Tuesday, November 14, at 2:00 p.m. As part of Alaska Public Media’s observance of Veterans Day, we’re taking a look at how Alaska became involved in World War 2. We will hear three separate stories, the first of which comes from a navy pilot who flew in the Battle of Midway. We’ll then learn about the hard work and sacrifices made by the black soldiers that helped build the Alaskan Highway. We’ll finish the program learning about the Lend Lease program that sent American planes to Russia.
LISTEN HERE

Caterpillar tractor with grader widening the roadway of the Alcan Highway in 1942 (File photo courtesy of the Library of Congress)

As part of Alaska Public Media’s observance of Veterans Day, we’re taking a look at how Alaska became involved in World War 2, and how those events attracted the attention of the continental United States and the rest of the world. We will hear three separate stories, the first of which comes from a navy pilot who flew in the Battle of Midway. We’ll then learn about the hard work and sacrifices made by the black soldiers that helped build the Alaskan Highway. We’ll finish the program learning about the Lend Lease program that sent American planes to Russia.

LISTEN HERE

GUESTS:

Z.W. “Ski” Kowalewski, a former Navy Pilot who flew in the Battle of Midway. Ski has published a memoir of his WWII experiences entitled, A Sailor’s Life in World War II.
Katherine Ringsmuth, UAA Adjunct Professor of History and the sole proprietor of Tundra Vision: Public History Consultants
Craig Lang, Director of the BRAVO 369 Flight Foundation

Moderator:

David Ramseur, author of Melting the Ice Curtain and a Visiting Scholar in Public Policy at UAA’s Institute of Social and Economic Research

LINKS:

A Sailor’s Life in World War II, available on Amazon
Alaska Highway Memorial Project
Black soldiers’ work on the Alaska Highway commemorated, from the ADN
Giving the black soldiers that built the Alaska Highway their due, from the ADN
Hometown, Alaska’s show on “Melting the Ice Curtain” featuring David Ramseur
The 75th anniversary of Aleut evacuation, from Alaska Public Media

RECORDED: Friday, October 12, 2017 at Eagle River High School.

BROADCAST: Tuesday, October 14, 2017. 2:00 pm – 3:00 p.m. AKT

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