Recollections of Saglek
Colonel Vic Miller, Goose Sector Commander referred to the 924th AC&W Squadron commander as the "Sultan of Saglek". My tour was from July 1963 to July 1964. On reflection it was a good experience. There were events aside from the daily administrations of military duties I think interesting to mention.
President Kennedy’s death in November 1963 comes to mind. I thought it was appropriate to conduct a memorial service in our chapel/theatre. It was announced to those that wished to attend and several came. Being in the Atlantic time zone, an hour ahead of the east coast, it was conducted at 5 PM. It’s more than probable that it was the first of many services to honor the late president.
The Attaluk family, Eskimos, were returning from fishing in Saglek Bay and were camped across the water on Big Island. One brother was accidentally wounded with a gun. Goose was notified. He was brought to lower camp. The Canadian AF came and flew him to Goose Bay. We assisted with the evacuation.
On weekends a group of airmen could board the Sultana, our landing ship tank (LST) and cruise up Saglek Bay to a sand bar that narrowed the Bay and fish for char, the delicious trout-like salmon. There was a Quonset hut on the sand bar to stay overnight. The fish came in from the Atlantic to spawn. Go on Saturday, return on Sunday. The crew returned home on Saturday. On one occasion Captain Vander Riet and I made the Saturday trip. I asked the airman who serviced the LST if there was enough fuel. He said it had only gone to St. John’s Bay, 5 miles and back so there should be enough fuel. We stayed too long. The tide was out and we were hung up. Much later, when the tide came in, we departed for lower camp. Halfway home we were out of fuel. Van, a communications officer and all around handyman took what gasoline and oil were in the built-up galley and made some "diesel". That didn’t last long and we were dead in the water. To complicate matters, the Sultana leaked and took on water. It was so dark, one could see the fluorescence in the water. We bailed to stay ahead of it. Fortunately, we had a "ship to shore radio" and made contact with the site and told them of our plight. Ed Burkette, A Canadian working in Engineering maintenance, "went to work". He took a rowboat, went across to Big Island where the Attaluk’s were camping. They came back with Ed with their motorized boat, loaded a 50 gallon drum of diesel and, with Ed, came to find us. What a welcome sight they were. We arrived back at lower camp well after daylight. It was Sunday, a good day to thank the Lord for our being "rescued". Sunday evenings featured baked or fried char. Um, um, good!
I could mention that I have a polar bear skin. On their way up to fish Saglek Bay the Eskimos killed two bears. Ed Burkette made the purchase. The Eskimo women cured them, a process I could not believe; chewing the hide with their teeth. Then he shipped one to my home in Duluth.
The day before Thanksgiving we had a "whiteout" and one of the D-8 cats was left between lower and upper camp. On Thanksgiving Day Van and I decided to retrieve it. In starting the diesel engine the pony engine licked back in my hand. I favored my left wrist for a month. Going to Duluth for a week after Christmas I stopped at the Goose dispensary. They x-rayed and put it in a cast. It had broken but was mending properly.
We accepted the offer of a surplus boat used by the Texas towers and it was delivered by the summer re-supply ship in 1964. It was a big "rowboat", natural finish, of laminated wood. Before any use of it was made, high waves and wind broke it’s moorings. The rocks put a gash in its side. When I left, Van was trying to repair its wound.
Saglek was a different world, remote but lively. Looking back it was a great part of experiencing life. Other accounts mention the B-26 that crashed in Saglek in 1942. A good friend and golfing buddy who flew support missions from Goose to Frobisher Bay and Resolution Island told me that at one time he had a copy of a diary that the pilot kept after the crash until he succumbed to the elements and lack of food. What an addition that would make to the Pinetree Line web site.
This detail was provided by Colonel Cyril Hanko, Retired for use on the Pinetree Line web site in December 1998. The B-26 diary that he mentioned is documented and part of two other web sites.