On a small, rocky island in the middle of the Bering Strait, closer to Russia than to mainland Alaska, a piece of military history is succumbing to the elements. Though no longer in use, the simple, box-like armory that Arctic winters have battered has an historical significance that, unlike the building's physical form, will not soon wither under the weight of heavy snow.
A half-century ago, as tensions between the Soviet Union and Western powers continued in the years after World War II, the Alaska Army National Guard constructed a remote outpost on Little Diomede Island -- one of many strategic points in Alaska along the "Ice Curtain" -- the Arctic border that separated the USSR from the US, and which buffered the free world against the threat of communism.
Local hunters who had grown up traversing the landscape in search of polar bear, walrus and seal were called upon to play a critical role. They became "Eskimo scouts" -- vigilant eyes and ears ready to watch over and defend the border on behalf of the nation. Their efforts, in video clips and interviews, have recently been chronicled in a yet-to-be-released documentary, which also includes rarely seen footage of Soviet defection that took place on the island in 1989 -- a key event in the designation of the island's armory as "historically significant."
By 1960, when the 20-foot by 60-foot armory and its second-story overlook were built, the Cold War was in full swing. Little Diomede residents had already suffered capture, interrogation and release by Soviet hands, nabbed during a trip to visit relatives on nearby Big Diomede. Alaska's Arctic force was trained and on alert, ready to defend against invasion and report interlopers.
"It's one of the only locations where the actual non-combatants, but antagonistic forces, were facing each other on their home lands," said Jerry Walton, Deputy Director of Facility Management for the Alaska National Guard and producer of the documentary "Eye-to-Eye," which tells the story of the guard's significance to the Cold War and the central role Alaska Natives had in the effort from 1947-1991.
"It had glass that overlooked the Bering Sea and the Soviet Union," Walton said of the armory's second-story cupola. "If that was Sarah Palin's house she could see Russia from there."
"They were watching us and we were watching them," Walton said of the respective forces on either side of the border who were prodding one another with "military saber-rattling" activities -- performing maneuvers and shooting their weapons out on the ice.
"We were sending the message that we are here, we are armed, and we are protecting our people," and that we were a "ready, reliable fource," he said.
Villagers in Little Diomede and other Alaska outposts, like St. Lawrence island, were told to black out windows so that the Soviets couldn't see in and spy on them. From time to time they would notice low-flying Soviet aircraft or a submarine, find mysterious footprints along the coastlines, hidden rafts and other items clandestine foreign soldiers might leave behind, like light bulbs and gas masks. At least once, a villager on patrol vanished -- presumed kidnapped and killed by the enemy although suspicions were never confirmed.
Yet by 1989, the conflict was waning, and efforts were being made to ease border crossings between the two nations. In May of that year, an envoy of Soviet dignitaries sojourned across the frozen Bering Strait to Little Diomede, where an agreement easing travel restrictions was to be signed. But among the delegation were two men whose actions, but for the quick thinking of Eskimo scouts stationed at Little Diomede, could have caused the anticipated act of diplomacy to collapse. Would-be defectors were in the group and would look to the Americans in Little Diomede for a safe way out. Anatoly Tkachenko and Alexander Genkin, both 24 years old, working as journalists and longing to work in a free society, finagled a way to be in the Soviet press pool that was covering the event. On the ice, as pleasantries were exchanged among representatives from both countries, they approached villagers and asked for asylum.
Walton's documentary explains how Alaska National Guardsmen snuck the men away from the group and to the armory, where they remained in hiding until the Soviets left, explaining away their absences by reporting that the official number of people counted to be among the traveling party had been off. The men were later flown to Nome and on to Anchorage, where they were granted the right to stay in the United States.
"It is one of the last defection acts of the Cold War," Walton said.
Little Diomede is a steep, rocky island, and homes and buildings are built in close proximity clinging to its slopes. Last winter, the armory fell victim to its surroundings when heavy loads of snow sloughed off of adjacent buildings onto the roof, causing it to collapse. This spring, some basic work was done to weather-proof the damaged building and pull off exposed siding that might be torn away by the strong winds that often rip through the community. For now, that's how it will remain -- a battered shell of a building that played a key role in one of Alaska's historic battlefronts.
Because the building's no longer in use, maintenance and upkeep of it are not in the guard's budget. Community members are interested in repairing or rebuilding it, but would like it moved to a different location, Walton said, which raises other complications.
Although it's the only armory in the state with an official historic designation, the classification doesn't make preserving it any easier, he said. Modifications that alter it, including moving it, may not be allowed if they detract from the things that make it historic.
While architecture is one consideration in the preservation of historic buildings, Walton believes of greater significance to the armory at Little Diomede is its remote location and connection to the people who used it.
Does moving the armory affect the significance of why it is historic? In Walton's estimation, "Probably not at all."
Still, it will take money, navigating the federal requirements for preserving historic sites, and a way to justify an active armory on an island that is currently home to only one National Guardsman. Walton has hopes that one day cruise ships catering to military history buffs will play his film and deliver tourists to places like Little Diomede, Point Hope, Nome and St. Lawrence Island. Once there, those tourists would be treated to tours of historic sites, and perhaps, static displays recounting conflict and heroism in the Last Frontier.
In the meantime, the armory is shuttered, with its fate "up in the air," he said.
Contact Jill Burke at jill(at)alaskadispatch.com.