Women Veterans Day in Alaska

Although November 11 is the Veterans Day that many Alaskans will have off next week, November 9 is Women Veterans Day in Alaska, by order of Alaska Statute 44.12.078. Established in 2000, Women Veterans Day was created to "acknowledge and commemorate the sacrifices endured and valor displayed by American women veterans and to recognize their increasing role in the military."

Even before Alaska was a state, women were serving in the United States military. From 1942 to 1944, more than a thousand women served as Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs), playing an important role testing aircraft and ferrying planes and supplies to bases around the country, including in Alaska. When the WASPs were recognized for their service with a Congressional Gold Medal in 2010, three Alaska women veterans were among them: Ellen Campbell of Juneau and Virginia Wood and Nancy Baker of Fairbanks.

Congressional Gold Medal ceremony in honor of the Women Airforce Service Pilots, March 10, 2010. Congressional Gold Medal Ceremony by Nancy Pelosi, CC BY

Today, Alaska is the U.S. state with the highest concentration of women veterans in its population (Source: U.S. Department of Labor). There are more than 11,000 women veterans living in Alaska (Source: U.S. Department of Labor). Nearly half of Alaskan vets of both genders served in the Gulf War era and 17% of Alaska's veterans are 20-34 years old (Source: Washington Post). Young women in the military are changing the face of Alaska's veteran population.

Pictured from left to right: Brig. Gen. Deborah McManus, Capt. Allison Snow, Staff Sgt. Christina Cordes, Capt. Laura Grossman, and Maj. Krista Staff. Alaska Guard forms first all-female aircrew by The National Guard.

This Women Veterans Day, we thank Alaska's women veterans for their service and recognize their essential contributions to Alaskan and U.S. military history.

Learn more:

• Female WII Pilots: The Original Fly Girls. March 9, 2010 article from NPR.
• Murkowski: Three Alaska Female Aviators Recognized for their World War II Service. March 11, 2010 from Alaska Business Monthly.
• Daring Dames series on women aviators from Pioneer Air Museum blog. Includes several WASPs in August 2015.
• The Military and Alaska's Economy. December 2013 article from Alaska Economic Trends by the Alaska Department of Labor. Includes statistics about the military in Alaska.

Aviation Accidents and Incidents

Question: A relative of mine was involved in a plane crash near Juneau in the summer of 1987. Where can I find more information about the crash?

Answer: The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) publish information about aviation accidents and incidents. You can search NTSB’s Accident Database and Synopses, which covers aviation accidents and some incidents occurring after 1962, at http://www.ntsb.gov/NTSB/Query.asp. Available data includes type of aircraft, date and location, airline, type of air carrier operation, severity of any injuries, NTSB’s report status, and preliminary or final report. The full reports are generally not available for events occurring before 1993. Selected major accidents occurring more than ten years ago are also listed at http://www.ntsb.gov/publictn/A_Acc2.htm. NTSB retains detailed records and files relating to its accident investigations. For information about reviewing and ordering these documents, see http://www.ntsb.gov/info/sources.htm#PIB.

If the “crash” you are researching was not investigated by NTSB, you may find it in the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), at http://www.nasdac.faa.gov/. At this page, select the Data & Information tab, then the link for the Accident/Incident Data System. This database covers general aviation and commercial air carrier incidents since 1978. FAA defines “incidents” as “events that do not meet the aircraft damage or personal injury thresholds contained in the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) definition of an accident.”

In addition, you may find articles about the crash in the Juneau Empire or other Alaska newspapers. We have an extensive collection of Alaska newspapers on microfilm. More information about our newspaper collection, including information about ordering microfilm through interlibrary loan, is available on this blog at http://askasl.blogspot.com/search/label/newspapers.