By GIL TRUITT
Special to the Sentinel
The influx of men to Sitka was well underway in 1942 shortly after the spring season had begun. The U.S. Navy patrol 16 was firmly in place on Japonski Island as were the Marines, and the Army was moving in steadily; civilian employees of Siems Drake were housed in an old ship “City of Victoria.”
The Coast Guard was here but small in number in comparison to the Army and Navy. A historian wrote the first soldiers arrived in August 1942. The year is correct but the month was April. The early soldiers were of Battery B, 250th Coast Artillery.
After a short stay the battery was changed to 266th and was estimated to remain in Sitka until August 1944.
The Battery became a good part of the town and participated in many activities in the community. The 1942 basketball league had the following teams: Service, U.S. Navy, Silverfoam, Holts Men’s Shop, Siems Drake, Commercial Tigers, and Sheldon Jackson and Sitka High. I always felt that this was the best and toughest league in Sitka basketball history. Hev Volger, Hal Mellor, Ray “Doggie” Everding, Harold “Curly” Jaros and Phil Gold. These fellas spent the next three seasons with the Battery B team. Nick Kasakan, Harold Donnelly, Dick Thielkie, John Didrickson and Tax Gatlin.
One day after school was dismissed for the day at the old BIA school on Katlian Street, I was heading up Lincoln Street and spotted a well-known local couple on the same side of the street but walking in the opposite direction. All of a sudden there was screaming, hollering with great affection when the soldiers started addressing the couple as “Mom and Dad.” There was a lot of hugging and laughter. The soldiers were from Battery B, and a number are listed above.
The local couple were Mr. and Mrs. Harry Sulser Sr. It was obvious that the two parties were friends of long standing. At any rate both were, as well as the huge crowd that witnessed the reunion.
The local paper reported many times that local families, groups or individuals had hosted or were to host parties or banquets for servicemen. Forever etched in my memory was the happiness shown on the faces of the Sulsers and the men from Battery B.
Sitka has traditionally had three major parades in any given year: Memorial Day; Fourth of July and Labor Day. Old time Sitkans have always claimed that the town saw the biggest Fourth and Labor days in 1942. The Juneau Empire ran a front page story of the two parades. The Memorial Day parade was also, but was somber in comparison to the two other festive parades.
The wonderous Army band added much to the holiday mood that permeated the town. It was drafted as a National Guard unit and was often billed as the best band west of the Mississippi. It was a big drawing card and gave concerts to packed houses quite often.
Over the years, the following brass bands performed at the parades mentioned above: Alaska Native Brotherhood, Salvation Army, Fire Department, City and Sheldon Jackson.
From 1939 to 1944 was the era of big Parades in Sitka. And the fourth of July the biggest celebration. IT WAS A DAY-LONG AFFAIR: sea food, shell fish, venison, game, plant life and many other edibles, and those plants used for medicine. The originals had knowledge of these and that is the reason for choosing to stay in this location. The knowledge was passed from one generation to the next.
And that brings us to the generation of World War ll. I think that generation was pretty much doing the same.
The next paragraph is about food and how that can be a source of happiness. And that should be no surprise to readers as well-fed people are generally very happy. One of the joys of growing up on Metlakatla Street was its proximity to the food supply. However, getting to the supply was not always easy. A brother, sister and I utilized the sources at Indian River and the beach at Totem Park. We had standing orders from neighbor George Habson and John Willard to include them when we made a picnic out of our catches. The two were elderly but experts. Mr. and Mrs. Hobson raised Annie, the mother of Eugene Bartolaba; and Mr. Willard was a former band master of the cottage and ANB bands.
After getting things started with barbeque chum salmon and chum salmon wrapped in skunk cabbage and buried in a small pit under the fire and recovered. When the salmon were done, we saw six soldiers on bikes and we thought they were making fun of us until two came down from the bridge and asked if our cooking was any good. We gave them samples and they literally went crazy and they asked if their buddies still on the bridge could have some. The two salmon were devoured in no time. We sat around and had a great time visiting. They wanted to know everything about the meal, its preparation, etc. Two days later, an Army truck delivered a box of apples to our house. We never saw those soldiers again.
Another day and a different Army unit, an Army truck came to our neighborhood and rounded up all the kids for a dinner to be hosted by the soldiers who had just appeared. This was two days before Christmas in 1941. When we were seated for the Christmas turkey dinner, the company commander explained that the party was not paid for by the company, army or government. Each soldier in the unit paid his share. It was something that each man wanted to do. These soldiers were all smiles and seemed happier than the guests. They were all wearing aprons and sang two carols for the town kids. They were good singers. When dinner was complete, the kids were all taken to the next building where gifts were awaiting them. This same Army unit hosted the same kind of party for the Sheldon Jackson school choir.
The kids on Metlakatla Street always had something going in the way of activities, sports, group and individual one-on-one type contests as well as track and field events. Softball was always a big plus. Soldiers who were out walking always joined and seemed to have as much fun. It finally dawned on me that servicemen experienced loneliness and got homesick at times. They needed an outlet. I hope we provided some of that outlet.
I often wonder what became of all those fine young men.
