Roadtrippin’ 2025: The secrets of Adak and its military past
ADAK, Alaska (KTUU) - Adak helped protect the country during World War II. It’s part of the Aleutian Island chain and stretches more than 1,000 miles west across the Pacific from the Alaska Peninsula.
The military said the island “formed a spear pointing right at the heart of Japan.”
Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) says the base is 1,000 miles west of Honolulu and has three piers, two 8,000-foot runways, a big hangar, and 22 million gallons of fuel storage — one of the biggest fuel storage depots anywhere on the planet Earth.
This rugged island is part of the North Pacific shipping route and guards the Arctic. Japanese forces occupied Attu and Kiska in 1942 after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
There was also a telecommunications network built here during the Cold War: the Alaska Integrated Communications Extension, which creates the acronym “ALICE” — “White” was added title to create the full name “White Alice.”
It’s here where old bunkers rust while birds chirp happily above.
The population of Adak fluctuates depending on the time of year. Around May and June of this year, there were about 50 full-time residents.
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