Alaska Territorial Guard

Alaska Territorial Guard
Map showing the locations of Alaska Territorial Guard units (with membership counts), major military bases, and evacuated Aleutian villages.
Active	June 1942 – March 31, 1947
Country	United States of America
Branch	United States Army
Type	Military reserve force
Role	Defense of Alaska
Size	6,389 personnel
Garrison/HQ	Juneau, Alaska Territory, United States
Nickname(s)	Eskimo Scouts, Tundra Army
Engagements	World War II Aleutian Islands campaign
Commanders
Notable commanders	Marvin R. Marston

The Alaska Territorial Guard (ATG), more commonly known as the Eskimo Scouts, was a military reserve force component of the US Army, organized in 1942 in response to attacks on United States soil in Hawaii and occupation of parts of Alaska by Japan during World War II. The ATG operated until 1947. 6,368 volunteers who served without pay were enrolled from 107 communities throughout Alaska in addition to a paid staff of 21, according to an official roster.^[1] The ATG brought together for the first time into a joint effort members of these ethnic groups: Aleut, Athabaskan, White, Inupiaq, Haida, Tlingit, Tsimshian, Yupik, and most likely others. In later years, all members of some native units scored expert sharpshooter rankings.^[2] Among the 27 or more women members were at least one whose riflery skills exceeded the men.^[3] The ages of members at enrollment ranged from 80 years old^[4] to as young as twelve^[5] (both extremes occurring mostly in sparsely populated areas). As volunteers, the Alaska Territorial Guard members were those who were too young or too old to be eligible for conscription during the World War II.

One first-hand estimate states that around 20,000 Alaskans participated, officially or otherwise, in ATG reconnaissance or support activities.^[6]

The ATG served many vital strategic purposes to the entire Allied effort during World War II:

• They safeguarded the only source of the strategic metal platinum in the Western Hemisphere against Japanese attack.^[7]
• They secured the terrain around the vital Lend-Lease air route between the United States and the Soviet Union.
• They placed and maintained survival caches primarily along transportation corridors and coastal regions.

In addition to official duties, ATG members are noted for actively and successfully promoting racial integration within US Armed Forces,^[8][9] and racial equality within the communities they protected.^[10]

Several former members of the ATG were instrumental in achieving Alaska Statehood in 1959, as members of the Alaska Statehood Committee and/or delegates to the Alaska Constitutional Convention.

In 2000 all ATG members were granted US veteran status by law, acknowledging the contribution of the ATG, some of whose members are still living.^[11] But efforts to find the surviving ATG members and assist them through the application process are difficult due to lack of written records, oral cultures, lack of trained staff, passage of time, and unclear bureaucracies and advocates.

Nevertheless, active correction of the historical record is proceeding through the Alaska Army National Guard, office of Cultural Resources Management and Tribal Liaison ((888) 248-3682 toll-free) as well as the Office of Veterans Affairs, State of Alaska, PO Box 5800, Ft. Richardson, AK 99505-5800, (907) 428-6016.