Cleaning Up From World War II

An environmental mystery on Alaska's Great Sitkin Island

- By Lindsey Schneider

Lush grasses bend over windswept cliffs, which give way to the churning ocean. High above, a snow-capped volcano towers over it all. What is this place? It's Great Sitkin Island, in Alaska's Aleutian chain.

A string of rugged islands in Southwest Alaska, the Aleutian chain was formed by volcanoes in the Pacific Ring of Fire. The weather here can be ferocious. There are high winds, thick fog, and bitter cold but also gorgeous sunny days. The islands and their waters comprise one of America's largest marine wildlife sanctuaries, the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. More than 40 million seabirds nest here. Sea lions and fur seals gather in huge numbers, while sea otters and whales frolic in the swells.

WORLD WAR II BATTLEGROUND

This wild region has a surprising history. It's one of the only two World War II battlegrounds in the United States the other was Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. During the war, Japan invaded two of the Aleutian Islands and took the resident Unangax people prisoner. The United States fought back and quickly built military bases throughout the islands. Great Sitkin Island became the site of Sand Bay Naval Station, where Navy ships could refuel for far-off battles. The Navy built over 20 fuel tanks for their ships. The largest was almost big enough to fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool with oil. Smaller tanks held fuel for airplanes and jeeps. Hundreds of soldiers lived and worked there for two years. Sand Bay Naval Station even had a library and a movie theater!