In March 1946 the world was recovering from World War II, but the seeds of coming wars were already taking root.
On March 3, 1946, Ho Chi Minh was elected president of Vietnam. The same day, British forces withdrew from Iran under the terms of a treaty signed by the Allied powers and Iran. A treaty signed in 1942 during the height of the war.
But, the Soviet Union ignored the treaty and remained in Iran.
Three days later, Winston Churchill gave his famous Iron Curtain speech in Fulton, Missouri. As he stood before the crowd at Westminster College, he issued the following warning:
“It is my duty, however, to place before you certain facts about the present position in Europe. From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic an iron curtain has descended across the Continent. Behind that line lie all the capitals of the ancient states of Central and Eastern Europe. Warsaw, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Belgrade, Bucharest and Sofia; all these famous cities and the populations around them lie in what I must call the Soviet sphere, and all are subject, in one form or another, not only to Soviet influence but to a very high and in some cases increasing measure of control from Moscow. The safety of the world, ladies and gentlemen, requires a unity in Europe, from which no nation should be permanently outcast.”
The United States, Europe, and the Soviet Union were firing what proved to be the opening shots of the Cold War.
Taken at the Northway Army Airfield in Northway, Alaska. Handwriting on the back of the photo states, “Husky at Northway, Mar ‘46.” There is no further information about the photo.
But, on a cold day in Northway, Alaska things were peaceful. Everything was winding down from the tension of previous years. During World War II the Northway Army Airfield had been in use by the United States and Canada. As a valuable staging link on the Northwest Staging Route for the Pacific front, the airfield bustled with activity. By 1946 however, the airfield had been turned over to the War Assets Administration for disposition. Within another year, they turned it over to private ownership.
The featured photo positions itself at this moment in history. Lodged between World War II and the coming Cold War. On a cold and snowy day in Northway Alaska a serviceman posed for a moment with his Siberian Husky for a photo.
And that’s the only information we can gather from it.
These are the photos I usually find myself wishing I had more information on. No matter how much research I do, I am always left with more questions. What was his name? How long was he stationed there? Was he stationed there? Did he serve during World War II? The questions go on and on.
It’s photos like these that I hope one day someone will happen to come across and know the person in them. It’s my hope they’d be able to provide the rest of the story. And better yet, it can be united with a family member or friend who cherishes it much more than I.