AMCHITKA
aka Ostrove Amchitka
Alfred Gloeckler’s Amchitka & Attu Scrapbook
1943+
Aleutian Islands during World War II; Alfred Gloeckler's Recollections
I left Seattle in January 1943 and arrived in Anchorage the end of January 1943. In February 1943, I left
for Amchitka. Anchorage was nothing but an air base at that time. We were a four man team of radar
inspectors. At that time, no radar posts had been developed. Months later several radio locations were
developed at different locations on Amchitka. The weather was so bad that the Air Force had a hard
time flying. It was so bad that we lost so many planes that the average life of a pilot was about 2
months. They would take off and the weather would change and they could not return because of the
fog. Months later I was on a radar site 35 miles from Kiska when our radar picked up a Japanese Fleet.
We called into the air base and gave them our report. The weather was good but no planes were sent to
rout them. The next day the Japanese were removed from Kiska. A Japanese ship ventured into the
Bay. I was on duty. We had a torpedo boat in our harbor and they fired one shot and the Japanese took
off heading for the open waters. We on the base were in trenches until the last of the Japanese ships
left. My thoughts on the affair were that an agreement was made that we would not stop them from leaving Kiska. Shortly after
that U.S. and Canadian troops invaded Kiska -- the U.S. from one end of the island and the Canadians from the other. They met
and some of the troops were killed by friendly fire. From Amchitka, I was sent to Attu to inspect radar posts until the war was
over. Since I had no furloughs from the time I arrived in the Aleutians, I spent 36 straight months in the Aleutian Islands, The
Hell Hole of Creation. I was given a 29 day furlough and flew from Anchorage to Canada and took a train to U.S.
[THE PICTURE 35 MM STRIPS ARE FROM AMCHITKA. I KNOW THIS FOR I HAD THE 33MM FROM HOME. SOME TIME AFTER I
WAS ON AMCHITKA THEY GOT SOME CAMERAS IN THE PX. I FOUND THIS GERMAN CAMERA AND FELL IN LOVE WITH IT.
THE ONLY TROUBLE WITH IT WAS IT TOOK 120 FILM. I FOUND I COULD CONVERT 620 FILMS TO IT AND NO ONE ELSE HAD A
CAMERA TO USE 620 FILM SO WAS ABLE GET ALL I NEEDED. I HAD NO TROUBLE SELLING MY 35MM CAMERA.]
AL GLOECKLER
9704 OVERLEA DRIVE
ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND 20850-3741
PHONE: 301-424-6811
eMail: apgjr@verizon.net
[Webmaster's Notes: Al's photos are some 66 years old. Over time the emulsion on many of the photos had cracked, missing
pieces, suffered mold destruction, or has started to simply fade with time. Each of the photos on these pages (from Attu,
Amchitka, and near Kiska) has been extensively digitally re-processed and manually repaired/restored. We worked with Al to
determine location, captions, and dates for each of these photos. A first for our Aleutian’s websites: I’ve colorized the original
B&W photos. Not all photos lend themselves to excellent results…I’ve included the original B&W photos, slightly touched up,
for your viewing pleasure as well (See the [B&W Original] links included with the photo description. To view the colorized
versions, simply left-click on the color thumbnails.
A beautiful photo
Line of sub text
1. Fishing on Attu. The salmon are swimming upstream, returning home to die. I'm on the right, I don't
remember the name of the other soldier. [B&W Original]
2. Showing their catch; (L to R) Tracy and Joe Coslosk [B&W Original]
3. Myself (Al G.) showing off my catch. [B&W Original]
4. L-R: Tracy, don't remember his name, and myself (Al). [B&W Original]
5. I'm reaching down for another fish. [B&W Original]
6. Jim showing his double catch! [B&W Original]
7. You can see the salmon splashing as they attempt to get upstream. On the left is Anthony Cash, I'm
on the right. [B&W Original]
8. Catching some more. You couldn't eat these fish as they were falling apart. L-R: Cash, me, and Joe.
[B&W Original]
9. Taken on Attu. L-R: Jim Vic Vatter (my right-hand man), Dan Shinderman, myself, and Anthony
Cash. [B&W Original]
10. On Attu. Acting up in front of our hut. L-R: Luke, Cash, and myself. [B&W Original]
11. On Attu, my home for several years, taken inside the hut. Looks as if I'm writing home or to some girl!
[B&W Original]
12. Attu. Tracy getting some sun, a rare commodity on Attu. Besides a bit of rare sunshine we
experienced lots of rain, fog, and wind that could blow you away! [B&W Original]
13. Attu. Saturday came around once every week, and Luke was due for his bath. Never could figure out
Luke was over six feet tall. [B&W Original]
14. Attu. Four P-38s enjoying the good weather, which was rare indeed. Most of the time we stayed inside!
That is another P-38 and a P-40 parked on the ground. [B&W Original]
15. Attu. J. C. Johnson from Johnson, TX outside our hut. You can see that the bottom portion of the
hut was built into the ground (up to around 3 feet) to keep it from blowing away. Winds could easily
reach into the 100mph range. [B&W Original]
16. Amchitka. Changing a tire at the motor pool. I don't know the names of the men in the photo. [B&W
Original]
17. Amchitka. One of our group but I can't remember his name. After 60 years I'm lucky to remember
my own! [B&W Original]
18. Attu. The snow was so deep you can barely see the top of our hut! During the winter months you had to
dig a trench to find the door. Snow would sometimes pile up 6 feet or more around our door! [B&W Original]
19. Attu. A picture of the bland area around our hut. This one appears to be down at the "beach!" [B&W
Original]
23. Person in our radar inspector group - name unknown.[B&W Original]
22. Stamp shows that it passed Army examination.
20. People unknown. The background is one of the islands but the people are in dress uniforms. We
rarely wore dress uniforms. We mostly wore regular winter clothing. [B&W Original]
21. Attu: The building is a workshop that we had in 1944. I am the one in the picture. [B&W Original]
24. Person in our radar inspector group - name unknown. [B&W Original]
25. This photo was taken in the Irish Hills in Michigan before I went into the service. [B&W Original]
26. On the left is JC Johnson, one of my group. Both were diesel inspectors. Person on the right is
unknown. [B&W Original]
27. Al in a tent in Amchitka. [B&W Original]
28. Left to right: Pete, Luke (from Kentucky), Al on Attu. It must be Spring because the snow is melting.
[B&W Original]
29. Al - Outside of our Quonset hut on Attu. [B&W Original]
30. Amchitka. Portable radar unit, probably a 270. In the background are huts and further back the ground
headquarters. [B&W Original]
31. Attu: equipment dump. [B&W Original]
32. At the motor pool on Attu. (Amchitka?) [B&W Original]
33. One of our inspector group -- name unknown. (Amchitka?) [B&W Original]
34. Al standing in the snow. (Amchitka?) [B&W Original]
35. Listening to the radio in a Quonset hut on Attu - person unknown. (Amchitka?) [B&W Original]
36. On the left, Keith from my neighborhood in Toledo. He was coastal artillery. Al on the right. [B&W Original]
37. Shoveling into a Quonset hut on Attu. Person unknown. [B&W Original]
38. Al standing in front a radar parts vehicle. [B&W Original]
39. APO stamped on photo back. APO was the Army Post Office designation for Camp Earl, located on Attu
Island, Alaska. When photos were mailed home, they also received an Army Examiner’s stamp of approval on
the photo back as well as on the envelope in which they were mailed. [B&W Original]
Click HERE to see a sample of such an envelope mailed home by Corporal Stander, attached to Battery B 42nd
C.A. complete with APO stamp as well as an examiner’s stamp.
40. Brand-new tug that had a boulder go through the bottom at low tide. Tug could not be freed and later was
blown up. [B&W Original]
41. Al getting his picture taken in a P-38. [B&W Original]
42. On Attu, waiting for a tug to take us to an outpost for an inspection. Person unknown. [B&W Original]
43. Probably building a runway. Possibly on Amchitka. [B&W Original]
44. The one and only time that we went to a gun range on Attu. Most of us did not possess a gun.
[B&W Original]
45. Al outside of a Quonset hut on Attu. The huts had to be dug in 3 feet because the wind was so strong.
[B&W Original]
46. JC Johnson from Texas and Willy Wildermouth from Ohio. [B&W Original]
47. Army Examiner’s stamp of approval. [B&W Original]
48. Target Practic on Attu -- person unknown. [B&W Original]
49. Willy on the left. Person on the right was a refuge from Germany. [B&W Original]
50. On a barge with supplies being towed to a radar outpost. [B&W Original]
51. Anthony Cash pulling a sled bringing fuel oil to the hut for our stove on Attu. [B&W Original]
52. PBY bringing in the mail. [B&W Original]
[Not sure this was a PBY. Editor. Mail delivery was one of the most important tasking assigned to anyone!]
53. Left (unknown) and Anthony Cash on the right [B&W Original]
54. Unknown person standing in front of Quonset Hut on Attu. [B&W Original]
55. Inside my Quonset Hut. [B&W Original]
56. Luke waiting on the dock on Attu. [B&W Original]
57. On the left, Keith from my neighborhood in Toledo. He was coastal artillery. Al on the right. (same people
as in #38). [B&W Original]
58. Al in his Quonset hut with all of his junk. [B&W Original]
59. Al with a Red Cross volunteer on Attu. {B&W Original]
60. Left to right: Cash, Al, and Luke. [B&W Original]
61. Vic Vatter on the right. Taking pictures to send home. [B&W Original]
62. The camp (Camp Earle, APO 726) and terrain on Attu. [B&W Original]
63. Al in front of #33, our home away from home in the Summer of 1944. [B&W Original]
Amchitka
aka Ostrove Amchitka
Alfred Gloeckler’s
Amchitka & Attu
Scrapbook
1943+
Aleutian Islands during World War II; Alfred Gloeckler's
Recollections
I left Seattle in January 1943 and arrived
in Anchorage the end of January 1943.
In February 1943, I left for Amchitka.
Anchorage was nothing but an air base
at that time. We were a four man team of
radar inspectors. At that time, no radar
posts had been developed. Months later
several radio locations were developed
at different locations on Amchitka. The
weather was so bad that the Air Force
had a hard time flying. It was so bad that
we lost so many planes that the average life of a pilot was about
2 months. They would take off and the weather would change
and they could not return because of the fog. Months later I was
on a radar site 35 miles from Kiska when our radar picked up a
Japanese Fleet. We called into the air base and gave them our
report. The weather was good but no planes were sent to rout
them. The next day the Japanese were removed from Kiska. A
Japanese ship ventured into the Bay. I was on duty. We had a
torpedo boat in our harbor and they fired one shot and the
Japanese took off heading for the open waters. We on the base
were in trenches until the last of the Japanese ships left. My
thoughts on the affair were that an agreement was made that we
would not stop them from leaving Kiska. Shortly after that U.S.
and Canadian troops invaded Kiska -- the U.S. from one end of
the island and the Canadians from the other. They met and some
of the troops were killed by friendly fire. From Amchitka, I was
sent to Attu to inspect radar posts until the war was over. Since I
had no furloughs from the time I arrived in the Aleutians, I spent
36 straight months in the Aleutian Islands, The Hell Hole of
Creation. I was given a 29 day furlough and flew from Anchorage
to Canada and took a train to U.S.
[THE PICTURE 35 MM STRIPS ARE FROM AMCHITKA. I KNOW
THIS FOR I HAD THE 33MM FROM HOME. SOME TIME AFTER I
WAS ON AMCHITKA THEY GOT SOME CAMERAS IN THE PX. I
FOUND THIS GERMAN CAMERA AND FELL IN LOVE WITH IT.
THE ONLY TROUBLE WITH IT WAS IT TOOK 120 FILM. I FOUND I
COULD CONVERT 620 FILMS TO IT AND NO ONE ELSE HAD A
CAMERA TO USE 620 FILM SO WAS ABLE GET ALL I NEEDED. I
HAD NO TROUBLE SELLING MY 35MM CAMERA.]
AL GLOECKLER
9704 OVERLEA DRIVE
ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND 20850-3741
PHONE: 301-424-6811
eMail: apgjr@verizon.net
[Webmaster's Notes: Al's photos are some 66 years old. Over
time the emulsion on many of the photos had cracked, missing
pieces, suffered mold destruction, or has started to simply fade
with time. Each of the photos on these pages (from Attu,
Amchitka, and near Kiska) has been extensively digitally re-
processed and manually repaired/restored. We worked with Al to
determine location, captions, and dates for each of these photos.
A first for our Aleutian’s websites: I’ve colorized the original B&W
photos. Not all photos lend themselves to excellent results…I’ve
included the original B&W photos with the color presentations as
well, slightly touched up, for your viewing pleasure.
1. Fishing on Attu. The salmon are swimming upstream, returning
home to die. I'm on the right, I don't remember the name of the other
soldier. [B&W Original]
3. Myself (Al G.) showing off my catch. [B&W Original]
5. I'm reaching down for another fish. [B&W Original]
6. Jim showing his double catch! [B&W Original]
7. You can see the salmon splashing as they attempt to get
upstream. On the left is Anthony Cash, I'm on the right. [B&W
Original]
8. Catching some more. You couldn't eat these fish as they were
falling apart. L-R: Cash, me, and Joe. [B&W Original]
9. Taken on Attu. L-R: Jim Vic Vatter (my right-hand man), Dan
Shinderman, myself, and Anthony Cash. [B&W Original]
10. On Attu. Acting up in front of our hut. L-R: Luke, Cash, and
myself. [B&W Original]
11. On Attu, my home for several years, taken inside the hut.
Looks as if I'm writing home or to some girl! [B&W Original]
12. Attu. Tracy getting some sun, a rare commodity on Attu.
Besides a bit of rare sunshine we experienced lots of rain, fog, and
wind that could blow you away! [B&W Original]
13. Attu. Saturday came around once every week, and Luke was
due for his bath. Never could figure out Luke was over six feet tall.
[B&W Original]
14. Attu. Four P-38s enjoying the good weather, which was rare
indeed. Most of the time we stayed inside! That is another P-38 and
a P-40 parked on the ground. [B&W Original]
15. Attu. J. C. Johnson from Johnson, TX outside our hut. You can
see that the bottom portion of the hut was built into the ground (up
to around 3 feet) to keep it from blowing away. Winds could easily
reach into the 100mph range. [B&W Original]
16. Amchitka. Changing a tire at the motor pool. I don't know the
names of the men in the photo. [B&W Original]
17. Amchitka. One of our group but I can't remember his name.
After 60 years I'm lucky to remember my own! [B&W Original]
18. Attu. The snow was so deep you can barely see the top of our
hut! During the winter months you had to dig a trench to find the
door. Snow would sometimes pile up 6 feet or more around our
door! [B&W Original]
19. Attu. A picture of the bland area around our hut. This one
appears to be down at the "beach!" [B&W Original]
20. People unknown. The background is one of the islands but the
people are in dress uniforms. We rarely wore dress uniforms. We
mostly wore regular winter clothing. [B&W Original]
21. Attu: The building is a workshop that we had in 1944. I am the
one in the picture. [B&W Original]
22. Stamp shows that it passed Army examination.
25. This photo was taken in the Irish Hills in Michigan before went
into the service. [B&W Original]
26. On the left is JC Johnson, one of my group. Both were diesel
inspectors. Person on the right is unknown. [B&W Original]
27. Al in a tent in Amchitka. [B&W Original]
28. Left to right: Pete, Luke (from Kentucky), Al on Attu. It must be
Spring because the snow is melting. [B&W Original]
29. Al - Outside of our Quonset hut on Attu. [B&W Original]
30. Amchitka. Portable radar unit, probably a 270. In the
background are huts and further back the ground headquarters.
[B&W Original]
31. Attu: equipment dump. [B&W Original]
32. At the motor pool on Attu. (Amchitka?) [B&W Original]
33. One of our inspector group -- name unknown. (Amchitka?)
[B&W Original]
34. Al standing in the snow. (Amchitka?) [B&W Original]
35. Listening to the radio in a Quonset hut on Attu - person
unknown. (Amchitka?) [B&W Original]
36. On the left, Keith from my neighborhood in Toledo. He was
coastal artillery. Al on the right. [B&W Original]
37. Shoveling into a Quonset hut on Attu. Person unknown.
[B&W Original]
38. Al standing in front a radar parts vehicle. [B&W Original]
39. APO stamped on photo back. APO was the Army Post Office
designation for Camp Earl, located on Attu Island, Alaska. When
photos were mailed home, they also received an Army Examiner’s
stamp of approval on the photo back as well as on the envelope in
which they were mailed. [B&W Original]
Click HERE to see a sample of such an envelope mailed home by
Corporal Stander, attached to Battery B 42nd C.A. complete with
APO stamp as well as an examiner’s stamp.
40. Brand-new tug that had a boulder go through the bottom at low
tide. Tug could not be freed and later was blown up. [B&W
Original]
41. Al getting his picture taken in a P-38. [B&W Original]
42. On Attu, waiting for a tug to take us to an outpost for an
inspection. Person unknown. [B&W Original]
43. Probably building a runway. Possibly on Amchitka.
[B&W Original]
44. The one and only time that we went to a gun range on Attu.
Most of us did not possess a gun. [B&W Original]
45. Al outside of a Quonset hut on Attu. The huts had to be dug in
3 feet because the wind was so strong. [B&W Original]
46. JC Johnson from Texas and Willy Wildermouth from Ohio.
[B&W Original]
47. Army Examiner’s stamp of approval. [B&W Original]
48. Target Practic on Attu -- person unknown. [B&W Original]
49. Willy on the left. Person on the right was a refuge from
Germany. [B&W Original]
50. On a barge with supplies being towed to a radar outpost.
[B&W Original]
51. Anthony Cash pulling a sled bringing fuel oil to the hut for our
stove on Attu. [B&W Original]
52. PBY bringing in the mail. [B&W Original]
[Not sure this was a PBY. Editor. Mail delivery was one of the most
important tasking assigned to anyone!]
53. Left (unknown) and Anthony Cash on the right [B&W Original]
53. Left (unknown) and Anthony Cash on the right [B&W Original]
54. Unknown person standing in front of Quonset Hut on Attu.
[B&W Original]
55. Inside my Quonset Hut. [B&W Original]
56. Luke waiting on the dock on Attu. [B&W Original]
57. On the left, Keith from my neighborhood in Toledo. He was
coastal artillery. Al on the right. (same people as in #38). [B&W
Original]
58. Al in his Quonset hut with all of his junk. [B&W Original]
59. Al with a Red Cross volunteer on Attu. {B&W Original]
60. Left to right: Cash, Al, and Luke. [B&W Original]
63. Al in front of #33, our home away from home in the Summer of
1944. [B&W Original]
