Region’s military history highlighted at free public lecture

Follow the flight path of the Alcan Highway and re-discover how construction of the Alcan Highway aided the United States and its Allies to victory in World War II at a free historical lecture Thursday at Eagle River High School.

“Routes to War, Victory and Freedom,” is yet another installment of the Knik Lecture Series – the brainchild of Katie Ringsmuth, an Eagle River resident and adjunct history instructor at the University of Alaska Anchorage whose passion for connecting today’s Alaska residents with events from the past led to her create Tundra Vision, an educational consulting firm dedicated to helping teachers and students understand how the state’s history impacts its future.

“Knowing history is an investment in the future,” Ringsmuth said. “The presentation on Oct. 12 is the perfect opportunity for people living right here to learn about the history surrounding us here and how that impacts our future.”

Scheduled speakers include:

Craig Lang, who is co-founder and director of the BRAVO 369 Flight Foundation and recently completed a commemorative flight of the Alaska Siberia Air Route, is the event’s keynote speaker. Nearly 8,000 American military aircraft carrying other war materials followed the route from Great Falls, Montana, through Canada and Alaska and across Siberia to Krasnoyarsk, Russia on route to World War II battlefronts. Lang is set to discuss his commemorative flight taken with Jeff Geer, the founder of BRAVO 369.Ivan Hodes, who is the Deputy Director of the Friends of Nike Site Summit – Alaska’s premiere Cold War historic preservation organization – and a teacher in the Anchorage School District, will also discuss the military’s historic impact on the local area and in the Aleutian Islands. Hodes taught at the former naval base at Adak in the Aleutian Region School District for two years. He is a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom and interned for Senator Mark Begich.Chugiak resident and veteran Z.W. “Ski” Kowalewski will be on hand to sign his memoir titled, “A Sailor’s Life in World War II.” Kowalewski is a former U.S. Navy pilot who flew in the Battle of Midway. Proceeds from his $10 memoir are donated to help fund programs at the Chugiak-Eagle River Senior Center.

Ringsmuth teaches at the Alaska Middle College housed at the Chugiak-Eagle River UAA campus where Anchorage School District students seeking their high school diploma along with college credit attend.

Her goal for her students is to teach them how to be participants in history.

“I do not want to turn them in to mini historians,” she said with a bit of a chuckle. “But rather, I want them to understand the state’s past so they can cultivate that in to a brighter future for Alaska and for themselves. I want to encourage them to stay here post their education and develop careers here to help grow our state.”

Ringsmuth hopes Thursday’s events help connect members of the current military community – many who have come from other parts of the country and know very little about Alaska’s military history – to the past that laid the foundation for them being stationed on the Last Frontier.

“My hope is that this gives them a broader context of how the military was established here and the historical role Alaska has played in the development of our modern military establishment,” Ringsmuth said. “I hope by becoming participants in the lecture series and hearing these speakers that it will give them a greater sense of appreciation for where they are and their role in its future.”

Ringsmuth will also present a shortened version of her lecture topic, “Uncovering the Lost Story of the Alcan Highway,” which documents the role that African American troops played in building the highway and subsequently in the black rights movement.

Thursday’s event begins at 7 p.m. with a half-hour mingle session with various Alaska history authors signing their books as well as representatives from the Alaska Aviation Museum, Alaska Veteran’s Museum, Chugiak-Eagle River Historical Society, Connect Knik! – a new historical club for UAA students – and the Friends of Nike Site Summit.

The lecture begins at 7:30 p.m. with a welcome from Ron Crawford, a CER UAA professor. The event is moderated by David Ramseur, author of, “Melting the Ice Curtain.”

Editor’s Note: Learn more about Katie Ringsmuth and Tundra Vision online at www.facebook.com/TundraVision. Eagle River High School – the location for tonight’s lecture – is located at 8701 Yosemite Drive in Eagle River. Amy Armstrong is a longtime Eagle River resident and freelance writer.