Shemya Homepage

SHEMYA, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, AK
The "Black Pearl" of the Aleutians

Aleutian Weather

 

Until 1995, if you happened to be in the U.S. military, worked for the U.S. government, or were a DoD contractor, you could have won an all expense paid vacation to Shemya, Alaska. This would include round trip air fare, shelter, and three square meals a day thrown in for good measure. Shemya is located near the western end of the Aleutian chain, roughly 1500 miles away from Anchorage, Alaska (see map). The island of Attu is just to the northwest, while Agattu is just off to the west and can be seen from Shemya on a clear day. On March 31st, 1995, after 50 years of being a haven for U.S. military and military support personnel, Shemya was turned over to caretaker status to be operated by the DoD contractor firm of PMC. The Island is now a strategic refueling stop for military aircraft as well as link in the United State's long-range early warning radar system.

Active duty military personnel would receive anywhere from a 1-year remote duty assignment on the Rock to a 4 year tour in Anchorage with frequent visits to the Rock, while contractor personnel would receive varying length assignments, usually no longer than a year. This of course, was the scenario after the war. The Japanese occupied Attu island as well as several others in the Aleutian chain during WWII. For an interesting read, check out the book titled "The Thousand Mile War: World War II in Alaska and the Aleutians" by Brian Garfield. It appears that more men and equipment were lost to mother nature's rage than to the physical fighting between warring sides!

While cruising the 'net one day, I wondered if some obscure place like Shemya would have a web page...certainly the folks on the Island would have adequate time on their hands to do something creative like a web page...and cranked up the search engines to see what was available. Sure enough, true to form, the web offered up several hits on "Shemya," however, non originated from the Island. To help fill the void, I've created this web site. To see a collection of pictures of post-war life on Shemya, click on the "Post WWII" menu link above. Click on the "WWII" menu link to see how folks lived during the war, and visit the Shemya Mailbag menu link to read about their stories. The "Shemya Links" menu item will take you to a page of links to other Shemya sites. To learn a little history of Shemya, click on the "books" icon below. If you missed the ominous clouds over the picture of Shemya at the top of the page, click on it and you can see the weather for the entire Aleutian chain. Oh, by the way, if you've got a sound card, turn up the volume and listen to the waves...sounds like the northwestern side of the island during high seas...hear the rocks rolling around?

Shemya History
Shemya History
(Elmendorf AFB, AK)

 
Construction of Shemya, 1943-1945
A History of Shemya, 1941

Provided by
Larry Donsbach

Construction of Shemya, 1943-1945
Construction of
Shemya

 

Badges, Patches, and Symbols of Shemya, AK

Shemya Veterans Association USASA Field Station, Shemya 404th Bomb Squadron, Shemya, AK Shemya, AFTAC This link will bring you to King Hawe's 6th SRW page!  
Click to go to 11th AAF History Site Fleet Air Wing 4

5073rd ABS, Shemya, AK 1965-1966 (click for large image)

Click for USAFSS External Site The Aleutian Store Official PayPal Seal


Javascript DHTML Tree Menu Powered by dhtml-menu-builder.com

Email Aleutian Photos and Stories
 

You can now purchase The History Channel's
"The Bloody Aleutians"

Visit Smitty's Place

E-Mail George Smith

 

Last Updated: 04 January 2013 13:53
Online since 1996

src="sounds/ocean.wav">