Alaska Museum, Juneau

Walking along the waterfront, we head for the state museum. It's permanent exhibits trace Alaskan history and social life. Exhibits include the First Peoples of the region; the importance of fishing and whaling to the native culture and the state's early development; Alaska's interaction with Russia and the US; then the place of Alaska in WW2 history.

From the beginning of 1940, the US ploughed considerable resources into Alaska to defend US territory. The building of the Alaska Highway, military installations, airports and harbours were all erected swiftly along with a communications system. Alaska became a strategic part of the defence of US soil. In 1942, the Japanese invaded and took hold of Attu and Kiska, 2 of the Aleutian Islands. It wasn't until 1943, they were regained and it was from there that bombing raids were made on the Japanese Islands.Read more