Journaling

The Alaskan Air Command Flying Safety Totem Pole, the tallest totem pole in all of Alaska, was erected just inside the main gate in October 1955. Today (2019) the main gate is no longer located just south of Arctic Warrior Drive on Pease Avenue. Back in 1955, Pease Avenue was known as the Boulevard. Its official name was Post Road.

The pole was carved by then 1st Lieutenant John E. “Tex” Lane who was the Flying Safety Officer of the 10th Air Division. On his own time, he spent 1500 hours designing and carving the pole and another 200 hours painting it. Tech Sargent Robert Danford from the 10th Air Division Comptroller’s office painted the finished pole with three coats of varnish.

The idea behind the pole was to promote safety throughout the Alaskan Command. Two smaller poles flanked the main pole one on each side. These poles one for conventional aircraft and one for jet aircraft had the unit numbers on plaques attached to them in relative order to the unit’s safety record. The order would change on a monthly basis.

When the totem pole was carved there were 3 fighter intercept squadrons assigned to Elmendorf AFB. The 64th, 65th & 66th. Each of these units is represented on the pole using the unit’s mascots. The 64th’s was a scorpion. The 65th’s was a rooster/cock. The 66th’s was a raven. The historian at Elmendorf was not able to identify what the other two figures represented.

Traditionally the top figure of a totem pole identifies the tribe or clan. The top figure on this pole is an eagle. It is distinguished by its curved beak. It is likely that the eagle represents the United States Air Force and comes from the Seal of the Air Force. The bottom figure on a totem pole on which the ones above rest is of a bear and more than likely represents the mascot of the Alaskan Command, Binky the polar bear.

By the time we arrived at Elmendorf in 1958, all three of the fighter intercept squadrons had been transferred or deactivated. The rankings poles were no longer standing in 1961. The iconic pole would remain standing until 1980 when it was taken down due to the wood deteriorating. The pole was replaced with a new one carved by Staff Sargent Michael Chester. His pole remained standing until it was taken down in 2007 due to the pole's deterioration and becoming a safety hazard.

Assets Used:
Anna Aspnes
FotoBlendz Overlays No. 15 https://www.oscraps.com/shop/FotoBlendz-Overlays-No.-15.html
Artsy Layered Template No. 291 https://www.oscraps.com/shop/Artsy-Layered-Template-No.-291.html
ArtPlay Palette Wellspring https://www.oscraps.com/shop/ArtPlay-Palette-Wellspring.html
ArtsyTransfers Wellspring https://www.oscraps.com/shop/ArtsyTransfers-Wellspring.html
Various Paper Textures