QUONSETTS BABY BECAME FAMOUS ’HUT * IN
WORLD WAR II—Can you think of what
Adak would look like if there were no
Quonset huts dotting the many hillsides*
When WorGL.d War II struck the United
States back in 1941 > Quonset Point, R.I.
was nothing more than a beautiful beach
with rows upon rows of summer homes. A
year later it was a bustling Naval Air
Station that was to lend its name to the
famous "Quonset Hut" familiar to thous —
ands of servicemen the world over and
familiar tc thousands of servicemen the
world over....-.
Affectionately dubbed "Quonset’s great
est baby," the Quonset. Hut was designed
at the air station during the war. Thous
ands of the huts were constructed at var
ious plants throughout the country.
Portable and ingenious, the huts have
served every purpose on Adak. The remains
of the thousands scattered on our Adak
hillsides show they were used for hosp
itals, chapels, mess halls, recreation
centers and wartime homes for American
sailors, soldiers and Marines.
The Quonset huts provided shelter not
only in the South and North Pacific but
Africa, Iceland, Iwo Jima, Okinawa and
Normandy.
The Naval Air’Station, Quonset Point
R.I. itself celebrates its 21st anniver
sary this month.
BAQ INCREASE BECOMES LaW EFFECTIVE
JANUARY 1—President Kennedy has sign
ed into lav/ the bill which increases mil
itary quarters allowances effective next
January 1.
The allowances as ‘approved are the
same as the bill passed earlier by the
House ofiRepresentatives and modified
by the Senate.
The major difference between the tvp
was the effective date. The House want
ed the increase to be included in pay
for October this year, although the Def
ense Department had recommended the Jan
uary date. The. Senate went along with
the DOD recommendations.
Under the new bill, enlisted men, E-4
and up, with over 4 years service can
elect to include the increase in their -
Hass MQH allotment.check which gees to
Tne family, can take the increase over
the pay table or can reduce the amount
now paid by check.
A 'BIT ABOUT SALMON
Five specie^ of salmon inhabit the
waters of the Pacific. Th^se are: the
Chinook or King salmon; the Silver or
Coho salmon; the Pink or Humpback Sal
mon; the Chum, Keta or Fall salmon; the
Red, Sockeye, or Blue-back Salmon. The
above species are sometimes referred to
by other names, however these are the
most common references. Most common in
Adak waters is the Pink or Humpback Sal
mon.
All species of Pacific salmon are an
adromous, that is, the adults migrate
from the ocean into fresh water to spawn.
1'he spawning seasons of salmon vary from
early summer to early winter. As the'
fish mature, they-reassemble and swarm g
up a stream to the gravel beds where ' I
they pair off and spawn. The eggs are
deoosited in a nest, fertilized, and
then covered with gravel. No species
-spawns more than once in its lifetime,
and the parents die from exhaustion and
body- depletion soon after spawning. The
eggs hatch in the soring and the larval
salmon leave the gravel nest in about
two months. "Lhe yolk is by now absorbed,
and the' young fish begin to feed in the
stream.- ,J-he time spent in fresh water
varies with the species, but at its con
clusion all young salmon migrate down
stream to the ocean, where they remain
for from one to several yeais. Although
slight straying occurs, a high percent- (
age of the samlmon return as adults to
the same stream from which they migrated
to the ocean as fingerlings. The age ‘of
a salmon is given as the number oi cal
endar years that have elasped since the
parents of the salmon spawned, i.e.,the
years frbm one generation to another.
When the salmon arrive at Adak in
schools for their spawning migration
they are at their best condition for
they are neither immature, nor has the
fat and protein content been reduced by
a long stay in fresh water. The best
salmon are caught before the fish have
spent any tine in the fresh water.Since
salmon do not feed after entering the
fresh water, physical changes become
evident, they become thinner, the skin
becomes discolored and is not consider
ed edible. Remember, it is against the
law to fish for salmon in fresh water
streams on Adak.