Wonder Park Elementary School opened in 1969, the year we moved to Anchorage. I went there for second and third grade.
The apartment building we lived in from 1969-1971 before we moved into housing on the base.
A Huge Trip Down Memory Lane
I have literally waited 51 years for this day. We lived in Anchorage from 1969-1974. As a military kid, I got used to moving around a lot. I remember being particularly sad when I found out we were moving from Alaska though. I spent almost all of elementary school here. It was a really big part of my childhood. I have wanted to come back since the day we left. I have so many memories here.
We lived off the base from 1969-1971 and lived on the base from 1971- 1974.
We saw so many significant things on Elmendorf Air Force Base (now part of JBER-Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson). Elmendorf was a refueling base for troops returning from Vietnam. We saw those troops along with many former prisoners of war. President Nixon had two top secret meetings on our base with Emperor Hirohito from Japan while they were establishing post-World War 2 diplomacy. Those were never made public. The President stayed on our base and many of his staff stayed in the officer’s homes down the street from my house.
Elmendorf was a very vibrant, busy base in those days. Seeing it today was a little bit of a downer because it’s not nearly as vibrant as it was when we lived here. It’s an old base that saw its heyday during World War II and the Vietnam war. The housing we lived in was built during World War II. It was old even when we lived in it. Sadly, the house we lived in is no longer there but I completely understand why it is gone too. It’s still a strategically important base today but is used very differently now than it was between WWII and the 1970s.
It was so good to be able to go on the base though and see what’s left. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to my friend Becky’s son Taylor for facilitating our visit and driving us around the base. He is an officer in the Army and stationed at JBER. I can never thank him enough for making that dream come true.
The Captain Cook Hotel in Anchorage. We were told that it swayed 15 feet in each direction during the earthquake in 1964.
Lake Hood is next to Anchorage International Airport. It’s used by local bush pilots for their float planes. Alaska has the largest number of pilots per capita in the world.
The 8-plex building we lived in from 1971-1974. We were the third door from the left.
The spot where our house was is vacant today. The only thing there is a row of pine trees.
These homes were on the street next to our house when we lived there. They have different siding today but otherwise look the same.
This was Mt.Spurr Elementary School when we lived here. I went to school here from fourth through sixth grade. Today it’s a military training center.
Earthquake Park in Anchorage. When I was a kid, we used to be able to walk down to the water at low tide. You could see the rooftops of homes that fell off the bluff during the 1964 earthquake. Today, the bluff is unstable and you can no longer walk down to the water. The rooftops of the homes that collapsed into the water are no longer visible.
The F4 fighter is no longer used by the Air Force. There were a lot of them assigned to Elmendorf when we lived there. I can remember watching them do takeoffs and landings out my bedroom window at night. The runway was probably six blocks from our house. When they took off at night, I could see the blue after burner on the back of the plane.
My U.S. Army escort, Taylor Ufford. Who knew the little kid I used to check into children’s ministry at church would one day be an officer in the Army and give me a tour of my old home.
The base chapel circa 1973
Base Chapel today. It’s got different siding on it but looks pretty much the same.
