Shemya, AK 1975

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April, 1975: En route to Anchorage, AK prior to next leg of trip to Shemya. Here we are flying near Mt. Rainier.

10th of April, 1975. En route to Shemya; 1st stop was Anchorage, AK prior to arriving at Elmendorf AFB, AK. Here we are approaching Anchorage airport.

10th April, 1975. Gettng closer to Anchorage's airport.

Here you can see Anchorage airport's runway.

Lining up for a landing at Anchorage's airport.

Here you can still see the ice flows as we approach Anchorage airport. Spring "breakup" is experienced in Alaska beginning in April.

After spending a week at Elmendorf AFB, Anchorage, AK, I boarded a Reeve Aleutian Airline Lockheed passenger plane bound for Shemya, AK. The "point of no return" location is at Adak. Once we leave Adak for Shemya, there is no turning back for adverse weather

A view from the starboard side of the aircraft towards Shemya, AK as we approached the small 2x4 mile island. The sun was shining a bit this day, and it was a somewhat smooth flight from Adak to Shemya. Pay no attention to the somewhat dilapidated parts.

A view of Shemya Island from the southeast side. One can see the WWII grooved 10,000 ft runway running east/west.

A view of Shemya looking north from the south end of the island.

Another view looking north...you can see the two White Alice antennas on the northern side of the Island.

Heading for a west-east landing on the 10,000 ft WWII runway. You can see the remnants of two older and smaller runways along with their taxi-ways and revetment areas near the bottom of the photo.

Heading for a west-east landing on the 10,000 ft WWII runway. You can see the remnants of two older and smaller runways along with their taxi-ways and revetment areas near the bottom of the photo.

En route from the landing strip to building 600 dorm, we passed by the Civil Engineer's building (seen on the left). Two small islands on Shemya's west side can be seen in the background, "Hammerhead and "Alaid."

A view of the rear-side of the base chapel. Aggatu Island to the west of Shemya can be seen in the backgroud.

To the right in this photo you can see the small outline of Cobra Dane, a six-story phased array radar system aimed towards Russia. Yes...Sarah Palin really could see Russia from her back yard! :-) Also seen here in the far off distance (about 35 miles away)

An early exploratory tour of Shemya brought me to the east side of Shemya, along what was referred to as the "Beach Road," and a view towards the east...towards the United States...so far away...from family and friends...and the security of tera firma!

Steller Sea Lions inhabit the eastern/northeastern shoreline of Shemya. A male will take over a rock and collect females to his harem. This local was referred to as "Seal Point."

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A view of Shemya Island from the southeast side. One can see the WWII grooved 10,000 ft runway running east/west.

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