Kodiak Navy Base

Photo 1: The Radar Palace or Fleet Weather Central (FWC). In February 2000 this hill has no standing structures, but the foundations remain. Photo July 1958.	Photo 2: View from FWC shows several barracks that are all still standing in February 2000. The clubs on the hill to the right are all gone. The Golden Anchor, the current club, is on this hill now. The buildings along the far side of the taxiway are still there. Photo July 1957.	Photo 3: Navy Super Connie on taxiway heading for the hangar, Jewel Beach behind. Photo July 1957.	Photo 4: Super Connie preparing to take off as it passes FWC heading for the runway. Photo June 1957.

Kodiak City

Photo 5: The only paved road in Kodiak. Baptist church right of center in background. Signal Hill center background. Street name is Rezanof in February 2000. Photo June 1957.	Photo 6: View a little to the right of previous photo. None of the buildings shown exist in February 2000. They were demolished by the 1964 tsnaumi. This is now the site of Sutliff's Hardware. Photo June 1957.

Fort Abercrombie

Photo 7: Fort Abercrombie. Gun battery emergency command station on top of ready ammo bunker. Don and Shirley Warner shown. Photo July 1957.	Photo 8: Searchlight shelter No. 22 Miller Point, Ft. Abercrombie. Don Warner shown. Photo July 1957.

My wife and I were on Kodiak from May 1957 until May 1959 when I was attached to the Fleet Weather Central there. I see many notes to you calling it the Weather Center but it was Central or FWC as there were others around the world too.

Our first son was born there in the base hospital and many of our slides are of him. We lived in five different places in town, some were so bad we only stayed a month.

I worked at what was known as the "Radar Palace" on a hill above the hangar area where we sent up four balloons a day, two for visual "Pibals" and two large ones for "Radiosondes" with a instrument package attached. I am sure the National Weather Service still does this today but from a different site.

I loved to hunt and fish, and did a lot of both. We also went out to Ft.Abercrombie often for picnics and to shoot our guns. We reloaded our own ammo back then at the Radar Palace using lead from the old Coast Guard bouy batteries. Lots of good times.

When Russia sent the Sputnik up they would shut all the lights on the base out at night to view it as it passed over us. We in turn sent up numerous balloons with small lights attached and got a big kick out of it until the admiral called our skipper and put an end to it, no sense of humor I guess.

Rick Olsson Sep 1961-Oct 1962

Paul E. Carrigan

Paul E. Carrigan served as a Fleet Air Wing Four Aerographer. His brother has made his book available.

Bruce McKay

Date: Sat, 24 Jun 2006 10:53:17 -0700 
From: Bruce McKay   bmckay06 at adelphia.net
Subject: Fleet Weather Central Kodiak. 

I was a LT weather forcaster at Fleet Weather Central Kodiak  from 
June '58 to June '60.

I lived in Aleutian Homes and was in the second year of our 
marriage.    

I did a lot of fishing on the Buskin River mouth and had lots of 
salmon.  Hikes to Monashka Bay west of Kodiak lots of times. I did 
a lot of Glass Ball hunting on the beaches at 5:00am out  to 
Chiniak and south of Chiniak.  I took one trip  with wife to 
Anchorage for  few days to have a scope put on my deer rife.  Also 
I took the week trip to the Karluk River Fish camp around and west 
of Kodiak on the LST 161 or USS Kodiak.

I was on active duty for 6.5 years and the reserve for 31.  School 
teacher and principal in San Diego.  Lots of NAS North Island duty.

Bruce McKay



STRD32 at aol.com wrote:

Bruce,
 
Was nice to hear from you. I worked in the FWC when I first arrived 
as an AGAN then in a few months as an AG3 I went to the radar 
palace and radiosondes for the remainder of my tour.

I have a list of the married FWC personnel as of 11-57. The only 
one I remember with a 44 Mag (Ruger) was Dan McMann who lived on 
Mill Bay Road, he was a AG1. 

I spent just over eight years in the Navy and then another 27 1/2 
with the NWS before I retired.
 
 
Thanks again,
 
Don Warner
 
In a message dated 6/21/2006 4:24:55 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time, 
bmckay06 at adelphia.net writes:

I viewed your pics and Message on the Kodiak Site.

I was a Ensign weather forcaster at  Fleet Weather Central Kodiak  
from June '58 to June '60.

I also was a shooter off the road on the way to Ft Abercrombie.  
The guy I did some shooting with lived out toward abercrombie in a 
lone house on the street.  He had a 44 Mag revolver.   I had a 45  
Military issue weapon.  He was probably a AG 1 it couldn't have 
been you?  You probably didn't mix with AG or weather forecast 
personnel.

Kodiak was a great experience.

Bruce McKay

Temecula CA