Adak: Why the Westernmost Town in the US Exists
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- čas přidán 31. 08. 2021
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Our other channels:
Wendover Productions - / wendoverproductions or nebula.app/wendover
Half as Interesting - / halfasinteresting or nebula.app/hai
Follow us on twitter: / wendoverpro
Writing by Tristan Purdy
Editing by Alexander Williard
Audio by Graham Haerther
Motion graphics by Josh Sherrington and Maddy
Thumbnail design by Simon Buckmaster
Project management by Gina Giorgi
Select footage courtesy Jayson Dudas: / @jaysworldtravels
Select footage courtesy Steve Herold: • Adak Alaska Bike Ride ...
Select footage courtesy the AP Archive and Getty Images
The island looks beautiful, but the complete absence of trees, like in other similar places, makes it kind of eerie.
just like Iceland
There used to be trees, in the old cemetery. Planted in coffee cans as far back as WWII, then placed in the "soil". Decades later this dwarf "forest" was investigated to find out why the trees remained so short, only to find out that the coffee cans had not rusted through so no vigorous root system evolved. Plant some trees, they will grow, though likely at an angle because of prevailing winds. I lived in Adak in the 80's, live in Texas now, but have always said I would move back if I had the opportunity. Thank you for dredging up some very pleasant memories. My best to y'all.
The Navy detailer (HR) once tried to entice me orders to Adak. He would say there's a woman behind every tree. I asked him how many trees on the island? I ended up being sent to Diego Garcia in the middle of the Indian Ocean.
@@tonydivito3489 I knew the 1st woman to be stationed at DG. She had some VERY interesting stories. About 1982. Thanks for the memories.
Welcome to the tundra.
This is incredible. I absolutely adore small, far-away islands - so this whole channel feels like it's just for me. Wish you guys had a Patreon for this channel.
Same!!!! I just can't tell how lucky I feel to get to watch what I truly like ( documentary on these remote arctic antarctic places ). I'm so thankful that someone is there on internet to quench my thirst and that too in such premium quality. I want to thank Sam so much
I always say to me girlfriend that i love small far away islands, like Pitcairn, tristan d’cunha, svalbard etc and she always asks why and indont know why lol
INTP guy here. I love that isolated, secretly located places, too.
You should move there and enjoy it.
I assume that the Patreon for Wendover brings funds for extremities as well.
Hey, Sam from Extremities, I love your work! It sucks that you aren't appreciated by Sam from Wendover or Sam from Half as Interesting.
Don’t forget Sam from Sam From Wendover
also Sam from the most recent Tom Scott video
We appreciate all Sams!
Sam from Bioark needs more love.
Don’t forget Sam from Sam from Quantum Leap
I was stationed on Adak back in the early 90s when I was in the Navy. Interesting place.
Very cool. Any interesting stories you can share?
@@flp322 I will say, as they mentioned in the video, the weather is no joke. I did see one person pull out his badge to get in to the building we worked in, and have the wind carry it off into the Bering Sea. Also, bald eagles are quite intimidating up close when you're trying to throw old food into the dumpster.
Also, lots of earthquakes.
I was Navy in the 80s, Adak was the assignment promised to any fuckups as punishment. There and Diego Garcia.
@@tncorgi92 I will say that Adak wasn't my first choice. There was a rock near the airport that people would spray paint messages on. The day I arrived it said "When I die I'll go to heaven because I've already been to Adak."
@@tncorgi92 I spent a year on Diego Garcia in the early '90s. Aside from from being so far from anywhere else in the world, it really wasn't to bad a place to spend a year. The fact that I really loved the tropics and fishing helped a lot.
Love the interviews and the choice to include the water color style visuals. You really went the extra mile with the production quality
I don't understand why there aren't forests there.
A bit of personal Adak trivia: As Marine communicator with a top secret clearance, nearing the end of my first tour in Vietnam,1968, the Naval Air Stn., Adak Ak., was 'threatened' as a 'potential' next duty station. The ploy was to get this young Marine to extend his Vietnam tour another 6 months. . .It worked and I stayed warm. . . A cruel deception, in deed.
They threated me with Shemya and Thule.
So, you learned the value of a government promise, eh. Looking back in knowledge of what you did, what would you tell your younger self?
@@patriot9455 Patriot, We all own our own destiny. Being from the Northwest, it's quite possible I would have loved Alaska. Those additional 10 mos. in Vietnam proved to be an absolute waste of youth, blood and sanity.
Loving the rate of content. The podcasts were great but this is next level.
More! Faster!
Yeah, I wasn't sure if the video format would work as well at first, but this is just as amazing as it can get.
@@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721 yeah it’s the best channel yet from those guys over at what’s it called again?
I loved preferred that the podcast had multiple chapters while the videos are one long sausage, but yeah still nice
Just like Leeds getting a draw vs your lot at Elland Road then us rocking up at emptyhad and stealing all 3 points
"...the only american soil ever occupied by a foreign country during a war"
- Angry British/Canadian noises
That's not what they said. They said "during THE war", meaning WWII only.
@@rmar67 That would still not be true though, as many American Pacific islands were occupied by the Japanese. These include places like Guam and Wake Island (which are still part of the US), Palau and the Marshall Islands (which are now sovereign nations but still part of the US’s “commonwealth”), and the Philippines, which were an American territory back then. The only way to make his statement correct would be to say that Attu and Kiska were the only North American holdings the Japanese occupied during the war.
No, no, I'm good with it. I take it as an admission that Michigan was legitimately part of Canada during the War of 1812.
@@rmar67 still wrong
Guam was occupied and the Philippines were US soil at the time too
@@jonathanwilliams1065 They were not incorporated territories, though, unlike Alaska at the time.
Thanks for making this. I was wondering when you would cover Adak. I spent a bit of time on Adak and other near by islands in the summers of 2004-08 doing biological work for the federal government. I enjoyed seeing footage of the island of places I have walked and boated. Adak is truly a unique town.
Thats so awesome
My mom lived here in the 60s when she was a little girl. She’s told me stories about sitting on the docks seeing fishermen bring in crabs bigger than her, and her and her siblings digging tunnels in the snow drifts on the side of their house. Sounds like quite an interesting place.
I think an episode on Diomede would be interesting as well.
Ditto
didnt he already do that? i remember sam made something about the diomede islands in one of his videos before in one of his channels
@@xXxSkyViperxXx Don't know but I'd imagine under this format it would get a certain attention that it would otherwise lack.
@@reesebear2 i learned about it from one of his videos before. It was probably in wendover maybe
^
I spent 24 months there (84 - 86), NavFac Adak. Really enjoyed it. I found out that my grandfather had actually been part of the CB battalion that built it during WWII.
I was also at Navfac (OTAC) from 84-86, I suspect that we know one another.
"I can see Russia from my house!"
- some Alaskan politician
Actually that was Tina Fey...
@@ToddStafford I know. It was a classic SNL skit.
Not in Adak, but on Little Diomede Island you can
She also talked about getting free health care for herself over the border in Canada.
@@ToddStafford Palin's answer to the next question was classic. "Explain to me why that enhances your foreign policy credentials?" "Well it certainly does because our next-door neighbors are foreign countries!" czcams.com/video/PV0VnWSWsO8/video.html She also talked about getting free health care for herself over the border in Canada. Loser!
I've always loved the Billy Mitchell quote: "Whoever holds Alaska holds the world".
When I heard that name I immediately thought of the guy who cheated in Donkey Kong and tried to cover it up after
I've been to Adak in the mid 80's when the Navy base was there and there is no way anyone is going to mistake it for "Anytown , USA" . I spent a month in the summer on a cable repair ship working along the Aleutian Islands . Desolate is the word , windy with grey skies and seas , the sun making an appearance was an event . At the dock in Adak there were enormous Ravens and Bald Eagles scavenging the dumpsters , you could feed the eagles by hand . Glad I saw it but no desire to return . The base had a lot of Filipino personnel and their families there , I heard that the reason was that they got big economic incentives to do tours there because it was considered a hardship assignment .
Yup you know the real Adak. Not a fun place to live. We got the day off of school once because the sun came out. No lie.
@@boscopit Ah, yes, the famous "Sunshine Liberty". We got it on Kodiak, too. USCG Air Station 1981-'83. As an HC-130 pilot, I made several trips to Adak, but never spent the night. Usually went there for medivacs of Navy or civ. personnel to Anchorage in an emergency. A couple of my crew who ventured out to see the "Adak National Forest" made a wrong turn and wound up too close to the Class Four (nuke) storage area guarded by US Marine security. Got to collect them from the brig.
yeh, i laughed at "Anytown, USA" as well... A McDonalds, Seafood Restaurant, Husky CLub and Tundra Tavern do little to take away the daily gloom. Anyone that actually likes it there is somewhat peculiar. It is unlikely Adak will return to cold war population levels. Satellites and other technology has diminished its potential relevance. The black sand, earth quakes, minimal sunshine, sideways blizards, eagle shit and bland colors do wonders for your state of cheerfulness. It was like every day was January. Maybe it would be a good penal colony.
@@kkinva68 Yup. Uncle Joe could send his illegals there. I’m sure Gov Abbot would be on board!
Penal colony 😂😂😂! Sounds like it would be cruel and unusual punishment!
There in 1975 with the navy for 72 hours. An amazingly beautiful place. Buildings half buried in the ground with steel cables anchoring them down to prevent them being blown away by the wind.
Standing on the dock and watching 15 or more bald eagles without having to turn my head.
“The Aleuts had relocated”
Correction.
“The Aleuts had been forcibly relocated”
Great video! My grandfather was stationed at Adak during WW2. He was a radio operator recording Japanese radio transmissions. He had tons of great stories and I would love to see it myself some day.
Amazing. You should write his biography. It would be fascinating.
He might have known three young enlisted Army brothers. The family I was raised by had the three brothers all sent to Adak, spending '43-46 there. They are now passed.
My grandfather was a radio man on adak in the 1950's, always said they were just spying on the russians.
Two things worth mentioning:
The Adak National Forest, you missed it?
Second, When I arrived with Patrol Squadron 47 we were all instructed to go to the west end of the island to pick up a stone then deposit that stone on the east end. The thinking was if everyone did this then eventually the island would be returned to the mainland.
Cheers
That story stirred something in me. Equal parts funny, irreverent and spiritual. Fuck ya.
Brilliant
We AIRLANT people said the same thing about Iceland. Take a stone when you go home eventually it would go away. 🤣
And in Iceland there’s a girl behind every tree.
@@navret1707 just like Thule.
😄
My family was almost placed there in Adak, but had the option to go to Delta Junction in the interior between Fairbanks and Tok. My moms music teacher job took her to Delta Junction instead. She chose Delta because it was on the road system and more people.
A wise decision.
Love the interviews with the people from the island. Makes it feel real. Keep up the good work!
In all the years of youtube this has to be one of my favorite channels and the quality and story you are telling is so great!!!
I'm from a rural Alaskan island town, I get the appeal of these places for tourist, but it's a really different life that would be hard to return to.
Very cool. Any interesting stories you can share?
The day after Sam created a video on all his mistakes I found one here. Alaska wasn’t a state until 1959. So well after WW2.
You’re right
Did he actually ever say Alaska was a state before then? The territory was still called "Alaska," even though it wasn't a state yet
@@buzzbuzzluke Pretty sure there was a battle against the Japanese up there too
That was Sam from HAI, not Sam from Extremeties. They're totally different people, trust me.
That’s a different Sam, Sam from HAI isn’t the same as this Sam. Trust me
Thank you for making this. I love learning about places like these. I may never visit, but it's like Adak has been ticked off my list.
I always look forward to THESE vids! Keep up the Great work!!!
This is the coziest kind of travel-ish content I've ever seen. Loving it.
4:30 Remark about the flag.
At that time (mid 19th century) the Russian flag was different: Black Golden White. It was official flag of The Russian Empire and these were emperor's house colors.
"Gas prices that can run north of $6 a gallon..."
Me in the UK: Wow, that's cheap!
Exactly this! Cheapest local price for me in UK now works out to $6.63 per US gal
Well, considering our gas in south central alaska (most population) is currently running around 3.60$ per gallon (and that feels steep), $6 looks pretty bad, but considering it's an island, and there really isn't anywhere to drive, I'm guessing it's no big deal.
@@-You-Tube- With the tanker driver shortage and the permanently high fuel tax rate here, our fuel is currently ~£1.50/litre or £6.82/gallon. That's 9.33 USD/gallon.
Dang! That's pretty stiff!!
Morbidly funny hearing people who wish for a new cold war say that there are "bad guys" across the ocean.
Goodness, I feel so fortunate to have access to quality content like this for free. Thank you for giving us your wealth of high-quality, diversely educational content!
Keep these videos coming. I super duper love to learn everything about remote arctic antarctic lands
My Dad was stationed there in the Navy in 1960. My Mom and I flew there in 1960 when I was 6 weeks old. I have a video transferred from 8mm of our plane landing and my Dad taking me in his arms for the first time.
Probably my favorite one of your channels!
I was stationed on Adak from December 92 to July 94, for the entire military draw down. When I got there it was Naval Air Station Adak, AK, a command of a little over 5000. When I left it was Naval Air Facility Adak, AK, a command of almost 500. I was one of the last people to get the 18 month tour there. Two weeks after I arrived, they changed the type of command it was, and the tour of duty was for a year. I'll say it here, I hated my job there, but the island itself was amazing. The people were wonderful. There was always something to do outside of work.
I was stationed there for a year in 68'. The emotions I feel surprised me seeing these videos. Most of the buildings shown must have been built in the 30 years after I left as I did not recognize them. The theater scene reminded me I used to have an after work job there in the snack bar as a short order cook, it was at the other end of the building. The tunnel between the snack bar building and barracks across the street came up right into our barracks. So many of the fine details have faded into the mists of old age. I still see the faces of the guys, remember many first names but never often even knew last names. Have tried over the years to find old friends but not had any luck. Too many people have the same names and of course many are not on any media. In my mid seventies now and of course many have passed, our age group did not have the most healthy life styles. lol
I did a couple of deployments there in the early 90s and I have to say they were some of the most enjoyable even though the weather was tough.
You should post the full interviews if possible Wendover, I'd love to watch them if possible
As always: interesting, well-edited and beautiful.
Sam That was great I loved it thanks btw im all signed up for curiosity stream and nebula
Hardly any reason to remove the key from the ignition of the car, when everyone know it's your car, and it is impossible to actually steal it and get away with it, as there is no way to go anywhere in the car.
Well, no, but it'd still stop kids from messing around with it or anyone else running down the gas tank.
You may never get dispossessed of the vehicle, but it could be misused just the same.
@@E4439Qv5 Everyone knows everyone, i bet no kids would steal a car and risk having everyone look badly at them and their parents.
Also why 6$ gas is no biggie
@@-You-Tube- yeah, i would bet most people dont even fill the tank to more than 25% because they dont want the fuel to go bad, before they have used it :)
No, bad idea, when you need to use the car in the winter you'll probably need to run it for a long time just to warm it up, so having low fuel is probobly not a good plan, probably more like "its fall time, guess I need to do my annual fuel tipping off before winter" 🙂
I was born here, a navy brat lol, back in the late 1970s. This vid was awesome for me.
I bought my CD of Nirvanas Nevermind at the record store on Adak in the early 90s.. 😎
In 1996 the Navy Seabee Battalion I was assigned to, NMCB 4, sent a detachment to Adak to help with mothballing the base. I didn't get to go but several of my friends did. The detachment's primary job was to ensure preservation of Bering Chapel, which was built by Army Engineers in 1944. It's still standing but it's definitely showing the ravages of 25-years of disuse.
I was with NMCB-4 there in 1993
Was stationed out at NAVCOMSTA/NSGA Adak 1977-1978. Kind of wish I had stayed another tour or two, good fishing, good hiking.and good hunting.
Another fascinating story. I’ve been wondering how you find all the historical film clips for your videos. They add a lot.
I did an overseas tour of Adak back in '93 from March to August Loved it! Wish I could go back there again.
Thank you for the upload!
What an excellent video. Thank you Sam
Love your videos !!!! Keep up the great work
I love these in depth reviews of places many of is will never of heard of.
This is a great video. I did not realize Adak was as big as it was. Thanks for sharing this.
Amazing content! Thanks
I’m a regional manager at an ESA and my job is to connect with people in the Aleutian chain that may be interested in education services (free). I travel to communities as I am able. I’m not sure I can make it to Adak but watching this was so informative. I’ve been to Unalaska and the scenery was just beautiful.
Spent over a year in total on Adak, mostly 1997-2002, but also a bit a few years later. Environmental cleanup for the Navy. Beautiful place. Loved the volcanoes, loved the sea, loved the bald eagles, the otters, etc. Cleanest air you can imagine. Peaceful. I am an introvert, but even so, it is a lonesome place and won't work for most people for long.
Bro if you're ready this i really hope your channel does well i love this kind of content
Served with the Navy there in '81-'82 and again in '86-'88. There is no other place like it on the planet. Some days the winds would be at gale force, other days the snow would be blizzard conditions, and yet others, 65 degrees and sunshine. Some amazing memories.
Wow, I can't turn on notifications for this channel... I like the content a lot I hope I will catch upcoming episodes.
I love brm5, and it takes place here. Love the channel, nice to see this!
I lived on Adak from '90-'92 as a kid. Bizarre place. Toxic waste, terrible weather, old WWII bunkers, and wild life everywhere. There was a lot of people that loved it there and my family all thought they were weirdos. I have a lot of stories.
You ever look for that lost treasure haha
@@shawnp8076 Found some unexploded ordinance a couple times. My brother got chased by a bald eagle and we saw another one eat a small dog that belonged to our neighbor. There was also two suicides when we were there. One morning my friend and I walked down to the creek that separated our houses and it was neon green. They had dumped all the anti freeze from the vehicles at the mechanic's shop behind our house into the creek. It's a superfund site now.
Oh and my brother and his friend decided to make a raft and sail across the canal that ran between our neighborhood and the airport tarmac. They had found this piece of 3 foot thick Styrofoam as big as a a queen sized bed. They wanted to run on the tarmac. Of course as soon as they got on they were swept down the canal. Luckily it made a sharp curve and they were able to jump off it. There was also some piping blocking the canal. Otherwise they would have gone out to the bay.
I was up on Adak from April to Oct. 1959 with the CB {MCB10} We went there to take a dip out of the air strip. It was windy!!
Wow - a new channel! Subbed of course!
Thanks for using my video footage. I enjoyed watching your video choreographed with my footage. You did a good job. Thanks for contacting me about it.
We were stationed on Adak with the Navy from 1981-1984. Loved the place. A bit remote, but if you loved fishing and hunting it was a good place to be stationed.
My father was stationed there around the same time. It's my birthplace.
With all that wind I didn’t notice any wind turbines.
That's because the wind turbines would get blown apart by the regular occurrence of hurricane force winds. Also they'd probably freeze like what happened in Texas earlier this year.
@@InciniumVGC lol
I went there when I was 9 days old in 1975. Dad had a job there (US Navy) and mom took me and my brother there to live. Lived there two years. Dad kicks himself for ever leaving. They loved it there back when it was booming.
Bro you gonna love wendover productions
Imagine what Adak would become with just a fraction of the old Afghanistan budget.
Another giant waste of money?
@@westrim how so? If its of military significance and means that a huge majority of the islands buildings and infrastructure aren't decaying anymore its a great idea. They could be like the shetlands where they have so much excess wind energy they could sell energy back to the rest if the island chain and in turn possibly back to alaska, creating a whole energy economy of its own too.
@@westrim its pretty hard to be as colossally wasteful as afghanistan was
@@westrim If even 1/5th of the money that went into colonizing Afghanistan went into colonizing Alaska, that state would have millions of people and would be self-sufficient, lowering the cost of living for everyone already there.
@@SD-tj5dh The hurricane force winds that constantly batter the island would destroy any wind turbines. Yeah, it'd be another colossal waste of money. There aren't exactly a lot of people clamoring to move somewhere with such *great* weather. If that place could be more economically developed, it would be, because private companies would have already invested in it. Besides I'm sure we'll be back in Afghanistan, I mean after all we now have the Taliban back in control with billions of American tax dollars worth of state of the art military equipment, and their best friends Al-Qaeda are back too, and ISIS has upgraded to ISIS-K. So it's only a matter of time until the next 9/11, and the next endless wars that make the same people that got rich from the first batch of them even richer.
I LOVED the video in Superwide format. Keep it that way!
Easiest subscription I've ever given, ever. A few more I'd love to see: Ogasawara, Edinburgh of the Seven Seas, Tamanrasset, Uelen, Neft Daşları, and Yaviza
Adak I lived on Adak for 18 months in the early 1960s, my Dad was the Naval Station's Naval Administration Officer. Extraordinary video.
This brought back memories of my dad's stories of Adak and their fears of the weather more than the enemy. There weather predictions were a guess and navigating with a sextant. Planes leaving in near perfect conditions only to change to blizzard conditions very shortly after and never being seen again. I still have the photos of the crews of those that did not return and my dad could name most of the guys name's until he died
Very Nice work, nice perspective on Adak. Next is Atka.
*place with 130 mph winds*
the sign at the airport:
. Adak, Alaska
the winds
Maybe it said something else, but the wind blew away the other letters.
I still have the t-shirts I got from the Adak px, 1 in bright green and 1 in bright yellow, says "We do it in the wind and the rain", with image of runner leaning into the wind. Another t-shirt says "White Alice Classic 1984", with image of male and female runners in front of a radar dish. I have worn these t-shirts at least once per month since purchased in the mid 80's. Very comfortable now.
@@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721 It used to say "Birthplace of the Winds."
I loved living there 67-68 as a young teen. About 5,000 people at the time. The school shown, like the McDonalds, came along after my time. I don't remember anyone putting down roots there. There may have been a few, but certainly don't remember retired folks. But I was just there for a small slice of time. And I loved it.
You might want to look at a map of the Aluetian Chain in Alaska. Way out towards the end of the chain is an island called Shemya. It used to be a fairly large and well populated US Air Force Base. These days it's maintained by a civilian contractor and still has a few military guys out there watching the radar pointing directly West.
Then there's an Islan even farther West named Attu. On Shemya, we had a hacket they'd give you and on the back was a map of the end of the Aleutian Chain and it said "Shemya, it's not the end of the world but on a clear day you can see it from here."
Gosh! (That's a common exclamatory response amongst people from remote places, among whose ranks I winsomely place myself.)
Thank you for the interesting, relevant level of detail for this piece. And the camerawork is really very good.
I only wish talk of another cold war would never, ever be associated with nostalgia--or anything that nurtures desire or defense. Living intentionally on a breezy, beautiful island is motivation enough!
Not sure if you all realize how fitting the photograph of that Sea Knight helicopter was at 14:47. The ship if flew from, USS Kansas City (AOR-3), was also decommissioned at the end of the Cold War, and was stricken from the Naval Register in...1997.
I visited the Adak National Forest, very good view of the Eagles everywhere. Loved visiting. Would live there if I had the means.
Very nice video
I love these but it took forever to hit my feed :( Come on algorithm!! Amazing work as always!
Did a short layover at ADAK in 84. Worked mids in the hangar serving the P-3's . Believe a lot of that effort was moved to Misawa Japan where I also went once. Heard a rumor that if you spent a long time deployed at ADAK you had to go to mandatory alcohol rehab/recovery-even a chaplain. Needless to say the arrival of liquor at the commisary was a huge event. The biggest thing was the price of everything. I think a McDLT at MacDonalds was 6 or 7 bucks in 84 dollars. That's like a 30 dollar burger now.
Cool fact! My families fishing boat growing up was sold to someone on Adak and shipped on a barge out to the island! That was about 2013!
I was one of those sailors that was there June of 1990 to December of 1990 with VP-47. Did some fishing and hiking, besides work of course, still remember these little chocolate looking flowers. Saw many a bold eagle and a number of WWII relics. Oh when I was there we had what we called Adak forest a very small group of trees next to the museum. Good memories.
As myself being born and raised thoroughly Alaskan, I always find documentaries about our state very entertaining.
These folks (adak locals) show the true Alaskan spirit, small multi race communities that dont care if the community grows or shrinks, they are there because they love the land, not because its profitable or easy
Not that they would resent more business, but that's not what keeps them there.
My uncle was stationed there when in the Navy. My cousin liked Alaska so much he just stayed there and has barely left in 40 years...
If you want isolation go farther west. Spent a month on Shemya Island back in 1955. Interesting feature were the warehouses stocked with supplies for the Korean war. One item was called "hot cans". It was a two compartment can of food. You turned it upside down and punched holes in the chemical side and poured water into it. It created a high temp reaction which heated the food compartment. It was surprisngly
Surprisingly tasty!
I really want to watch your stuff on Nebula, but the lack of TV apps kills it for me. It's been a while now. Where are the non-Apple TV apps?
I cast it from my phone to watch it on the tv.
In 1987, I was lucky to hop on a P-3C Orion navigation training flight. We flew from NAS Moffett to NAS Adak, Then on to Yokota AFB-Midway Island- and back to NAS Moffett. Adak was a surreal and amazing place. Bald eagles would perch everywhere like pigeons. Going to drink at the Tundra Tavern while it was still light at 11 pm. And driving through McDonald's paying $6 for Big Macs. We were closer to the Soviet Union than the nearest American city. On the way back we stopped at Midway Island. Another remote outpost. Filled with goonie birds, and old buildings. We were lucky to be billeted at the former Pan American Airways Clipper hotel furnished with art deco rattan furniture. The majority on the island were Sri Lankan contract workers. Technically in the USA but not classified as regular immigrants to the USA.
Being on deployment there those bald eagles would perch outside our barracks every day. It was wild seeing them on the way to work every day.
The arrival of McDonalds and the Big Mac was a HUGE deal. Until then, fast food was the cafeteria (kinda iffy) or Tundra Tavern (also kinda iffy).
LOVE LOVE LOVE this video!!!
I visited my good buddy on Adak during July 2023. I loved it!! The beauty is just stunning. It is lonely but I enjoyed the peace and quiet. The locals are amazing network of people that care for the elderly and look out for other. Like we are supposed to be doing. ❤️
U.S. Navy: 7 February 1968 to 3 August 1970 My job was to offload the bi-weekly supply ship which arrived from Seattle. At the time it all military except for the Crab processing on cove over from Adak Harbor. One of the best tours of my 24 year career since my family accompanied. "Community"
What an interesting place. Thanks for making this.
Served as part of a USMC detachment stationed at the Adak NAS navy base there in 1987. I was astounded they built a town like this in the middle of nowhere, I only stayed 6 months before rotating out, that wind was crazy wild at times. I always enjoyed long, hot, 90 Deg + Georgia summers, freaking out if it ever got below freezing…I was pissed when I found out I was going to Adak…where exactly is that? ALASKA??? Fuuuuuuuudge!!!! Got lucky and was out of there in 6 months. Semper Fi!
US Coast Guard. Spent a few weeks there in 93. Flew out on HC-130’s during fisheries patrols. Remember the McDonald restaurant, the Navy was very accommodating, the Marines were playing with crayons as we entered the club one evening…
fascinating! do you seek these stories out yourself, or do people send them to you? this seems like a story I'd hear on NPR, just fantastic reporting.
I was stationed at U.S. Naval Station Adak, May 1971 to June 1972.
I was assigned to the Bearing maintaince shop. I was a Navy Seabee construction electrician
I was on deployment in Adak for several months in the early 90s and never knew it was an actual town. I thought it was just a naval base. Flying above the island I've been able to see most of it and it's absolutely beautiful once you leave civilization.
I lived on Adak between '81 and '83 5th and 6th grade student. We lived on Salmon Circle in Robert's housing, which I believe is now leveled.
Some things I remember: Playing at the dump. Staying out on the playground until 11 PM because there was still light. Sunshine liberty, when school closed so we could enjoy a 60-degree day in our shorts and t-shirts! Blizzards that shut down the roads for a couple of days. My sister being blown away exiting the Bering building after swimming lessons in the most chorine-laden pool I've ever been in. Baskin-Robins in the Bearing building. Playing hide and seek in foxholes left over from WWII...really hard to be found with the wind-swept tundra blowing over you. Herring fishing in Clam Lagoon - we always went late at night and my friend Barbara R. and I ate Tutti-Frutti drink mix in her dad's camper/pickup truck. Thousands of Sand Dollars. 4th of July fireworks over the Bering Sea wearing warm coats. Bald Eagles. Bald Eagles harassing pets, probably eating some. The time my dad and his fishing buddies were followed by a pod of killer whales (Mr. Swisher?) in their refurbished 16-foot (tiny) fishing boat. My mom learning to clean halibut he brought home. The best beer-batter fried halibut you can imaging. Finding the leavings of sailors in abandoned Quonset huts. Finger Bay. Traffic Circle. Salmon. Dolly Varden. Getting up at 3 AM to ride bikes to Traffic Circle with my sister to go fishing because the fishing is better at that hour (not sure who told us that...maybe it was a tide thing). A new school - Ann C. Steven's elementary was opened when I was there. Ike Isenhour, who ran the seismology station at the time, instilling a fascination with earthquakes to this day. Ms. M. Wilkins, my fifth grade and best teacher ever. Ms. Chainey, who was also a great teacher. Mr. G. Sawyer, who introduced us all to the synthesizer in band...because they were a big deal back then. Riding the bus home with rowdy marines. Bowling with mom and dad....the place was full of cigarette smoke and I kept score on paper score sheets. Sledding with all the kids in the neighborhood. Crab. Walking on catwalks alongside/underneath some very large piers and seeing the rainbow-colored Japanese Perch in the clear waters. The elephant cage where my dad worked. Looking at Mt. Sitka across the bay. Garbage flights. "AFARTS" radio. Watching the "droopy-wing" airplanes on the runway. Orientation and learning about hypothermia. Frequent earthquakes. Riding in the back of pickup trucks with the wind in our hair. The road rally/scavenger hunt.
It was a great place to be a kid.
The shot of the Motherland Monument at 6:47 is badass!
Thank You! 🌀❤️🌀
Awesome vid :)