LORAN Station Ocean Cape (Yakutat, Alaska)

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  Brian Mills (guest)

  LORSTA Ocean Cape was an “isolated” duty station manned with electronic technicians, machinist mates, a cook, boatswain's mate, seamen, a yeoman and a commissioned officer as CO, all of whom were assigned for a period of one year. The year I was there 1965 – 1966, the CO was LTJG F A Kelly. Two steel Quonset huts were connected end-to-end by a covered walkway and situated parallel to the beach about 100 yards inland. The Northwest Quonset housed the LORAN A electronics and generators. The Southeast Quonset housed the dining/recreation area, kitchen and living spaces. Summit Lake which lay behind the station was filled with salmon during spawning season but the best fishing was on the Situk River. Duck hunting in the fall on the lower Situk was challenging using the station riot shotgun. Meals were prepared during the week but weekends were do-your-own-thing. Wild game and antenna field strawberries were added to the canned food diet. The town of Yakutat was about 3 miles away by the only gravel road. Bicycling into town with woods on one side and Summit Lake on the other could be exciting if you met a moose. I followed one about 100 feet behind for a quarter mile before it headed off into the woods. Spooky! Could not see or hear him when I stopped to look. There is much more to tell but I’ll leave with a “hello” to my buddy machinist mate Ray Hoctor who dreamed to be a pilot and succeeded, retiring from a career as an Airforce pilot and then retiring as a captain for Continental Airlines. Brian Mills LCDR USCG (ret) Aviator 1414

  7 years ago | reply | hide comment