We Whittle an Airfield From Tundra

A construction program was immediately begun on a twelve-hour a day schedule. From the dark hour of six in the morning till the equally
dark hour of seven in the evening, troops labored, grading the tundra, piling in rocks and laying steel mattings for the essential airstrips. After regular duty hours, details were organized involving most of
the personnel, for the purpose of constructing defense installations.
But in June 1943, Japan was a powerful enemy that proved a constant
threat to the security of America. And to counter this threat, American soldiers were asked to exert almost super-human efforts .........

First Bomber Lands on Shemya

The first bomber landed on the flat island of Shemya from a mission
over the Kuriles on the llth day of September 1943. It was an unsched-
uled landing by a B-24 which had taken off from Adak earlier in the day. The plane and crew had been shot up pretty badly with the pilot sustaining the loss of one arm. Shemya was already beginning to prove its worth.

Work on the airstrip eased up somewhat for the GI's. Civilian construc-tion companies moved crews in to improve on the hurried job initially completed.

Civilization Comes to Shemya

Permanent buildings were erected, but like the early tents, they too
were constructed in holes as protection against the wind. Pacific huts, prefabricated and shipped in crates, were set up in a day's time. Only
the tops of these oval dwellings could be seen above the protective
mounds of dirt. After a few months, a semblance of civilization grew
out of the northern wilds. Recreation facilities kept pace with tactical construction. Organizational mess halls and recreation huts were constructed as rapidly as possible until every unit could boast of one
in its area. Roads were improved, and electricity and oil stoves were
put in the huts. A sewage system was undertaken.

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