"Hickel rose from the streets, where he begged for meals and washed up at a fire hydrant, to be one of Alaska's wealthiest men, governor twice, and U.S. Secretary of the Interior."
And Jay Hammond was flying F-4U Corsair fighter aircraft against the Japanese military in the South Pacific while Wally was building that fortune, Charles. And as you must already know, lived with terrible back pain for the rest of his life as a result. How can you be that remiss in your Alaskan Legends theme? Because it doesn't fit your and Dermot's austerity narrative? You seem to forget this is class warfare writ large on Alaska's poor. That's exactly what it is and why your publisher is right in the thick of it for her (and her husband's) own ends.
That said, Jay Hammond lived a richer life than your publisher and perhaps likely as well than Walter J. I admired both men. But all-told, Hammond's legacy is the one most worthy of emulation, imho.