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Southeast Alaska: Classy Kassie' Took Southeast Alaska to War; Escort Carrier named after Kasaan Bay By DAVE KIFFER - During World War II, the American military machine was cranking out warships almost faster than it could name them and several of the ships ended up bearing the names of Alaskan cities or places.

The U.S. Navy escort carrier USS Kasaan Bay (CVE-69) off Gould Island in Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island (USA), 16 September 1944.
Official U.S. Navy photograph

The USS Alaska was a heavy cruiser, the USS Kodiak was a landing ship. Perhaps the most famous, and tragic, Alaska-related warship was the USS Juneau, a light cruiser that was sunk by torpedoes during the Battle of Guadalcanal, leading to the deaths of 587 of its crewmembers, including five sons of the Sullivan family of Waterloo Iowa. (See "Sullivan Brothers Made USS Juneau Famous," Sitnews, August 4, 2008, sidebar to "Third USS Alaska saw action in World War II.")

But there was another ship with an Alaska name in World War II, the USS Kasaan Bay, an escort carrier that spent parts of the war in both the Atlantic and the Pacific.

History has apparently lost the reason why a relatively obscure body of water in Southeast Alaska would lend its name to an aircraft carrier.

The USS Kasaan Bay also, initially, was not even an aircraft carrier. Originally, when the keel was laid down, in 1943, it was intended to be a "fleet oiler," a supply ship. But early in the war it became obvious that more aircraft carriers were needed and it was a slow, expensive process turning out "fleet carriers." It was decided to repurpose some of the oilers into escort carriers.

Escort carriers could help ferry planes into forward areas and also perform convoy escort duties, particularly in the North Atlantic where German U-boats were running amok, especially in the early stages of the war.

Also called "jeep carriers" or "baby flattops," the escort carriers were basically half as long, 500 feet, as a fleet carrier and a third the tonnage (7,000 to 8,000 tons). They were crewed by around 850 sailors, a significantly smaller number than the fleet carriers.

The escort carriers top speed was around 18 knots so they were unable to keep up the faster moving attack fleets led by the fleet carriers. But they were cheaper to operate and build, which was why, during the war, the US produced 120 escort carriers and 30 fleet carriers.

They also had much less armor and other protection than the larger carriers Crews morbidly joked that the CVE classification actually stood for "Combustible, Vulnerable and Expendable." Although several of the ships met spectacular demises during the war, the Kasaan Bay was not among them.

The Kasaan Bay (CVE 69) was a Casablance class carrier. It was one of 50 escort carriers built by the Kaiser Shipbuilding Company in Vancouver, Washington and was completed in October 1943, a mere five months after its keel was laid. It was commissioned in December, 1943 and went to sea under the command of Captain B. E. Grow.

Initially, it was stationed in the Pacific and ferried passengers and planes from San Francisco to Pearl Harbor. But then it was decided to move the ship to the Atlantic and it was sent to Norfolk, Virginia. In May, it took a cargo of planes and equipment to Casablanca. The Kasaan Bay then was stationed in the Mediterranean Sea at Oran, Algeria and it took part in the invasion of the South of France in August of 1944. Pilots from the ship supported the invasion and were given credit for downing two German planes.

In August, the USS Kasaan was sent back to Norfolk. It made one more plane ferrying trip to Casablanca and then was reassigned to the Pacific as the US began ramping up for an expected invasion of the Japanese home islands.

In January of 1945, the carrier returned to Pearl Harbor and then went to Guam and Ulithi. It continued to travel between the forward bases and Pearl Harbor until it was permanently assigned to patrol the shipping lanes between the Marshall and Mariana islands, protecting the supply lanes for the Battle of Okinawa. - More...
Thursday PM - November 10, 2016

"I am so eager to get to work because I know the dedication to solutions that exists among the members of this majority organization," said Rep. Stutes. "We are facing a $3 billion deficit, a downgraded credit rating, and fiscal challenges like we have never seen before. Together we can overcome these obstacles and any other roadblocks in our way."

The members of the new House Majority met earlier Wednesday to formalize the team that will lead the new majority caucus in the 30th Alaska Legislature, which will convene January 17, 2017 in Juneau.

A 15-member Alaska Senate Majority was also formed Wednesday designed to represent all Alaskans in a diversity of geographic and political interests, with a fair mix of urban and rural representation from throughout the state.

The leadership team is represented by Sen. Pete Kelly (R-Fairbanks) as President, Sen. Peter Micciche (R-Kenai Peninsula) as Majority Leader, Sen. Kevin Meyer (R-Anchorage) as Rules Chair, and Sen. Anna MacKinnon (R-Eagle River) and Sen. Lyman Hoffman (D-Bethel) as co-chairs of Finance. - More...
Thursday PM - November 10, 2016

Alaska: New House Majority Caucus Announces Committee Chairs - The 22 members of the new House Majority Caucus in the Alaska House of Representatives have selected a bipartisan group of lawmakers to chair the committees that will addresses needed legislation during the upcoming 30th Alaska Legislature, which begins in January.

"Our caucus includes a diverse mix of new and experienced lawmakers that bring with them the skills, work ethic, and fresh ideas we need in these troubling fiscal times," said Speaker-Elect Bryce Edgmon (D-Dillingham). "The men and women chosen to lead the committees over the next two years represent nearly every region of Alaska, including both rural and urban Alaska. They are tasked with doing the heavy lifting to move legislative solutions through the committee process and I have faith that they will work diligently and always put the best interests of the people of Alaska above the needs and wants of special interests and lobbyists."

The members of the new House Majority Caucus have come together with a shared goal to overcome Alaska's fiscal challenges. Additionally, they are committed to hearing all needed legislation with ample input from the people of Alaska. - More...
Thursday PM - November 10, 2016

Alaska: Cathy LeCompte Appointed as Director of AVTEC - Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development Commissioner Heidi Drygas announced today the appointment of former Ketchikan resident Cathy LeCompte to serve as the Director of AVTEC, the department’s post-secondary vocational education school located in Seward. She is the first woman to serve as director of the school which was founded in 1969.

“AVTEC is an excellent choice for Alaskans seeking top quality career and technical education,” said Labor Commissioner Heidi Drygas. “Director LeCompte’s capable leadership will ensure the school continues to thrive.”

LeCompte was most recently employed as the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs for the University of Alaska Anchorage’s Community and Technical College. Prior to that, she was Campus Director of the University of Alaska Southeast in Ketchikan. LeCompte earned a bachelor’s degree in business management at City University and a master’s degree in leadership at Seattle University. - More...
Thursday PM - November 10, 2016

Alaska: Deceptive Solicitation Issued by “Alaska Council for Corporations” - The Alaska Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing has again received reports that an entity identifying itself as “Alaska Council for Corporations,” with an address in Ketchikan, Alaska, is mailing solicitations entitled “2016 Annual Solicitation Form” to Alaskan businesses.

The solicitation quotes, out of context, portions of the Alaska Statues in its efforts to request both money and information from Alaskan businesses. Although the solicitation contains a statement that Alaska Council for Corporations is not a government agency, and does not provide services on behalf of any government agency, businesses may misinterpret the official-looking document.

Alaska businesses are not required to do business with or to share information or submit any payment to the business entity representing itself as “Alaska Council for Corporations.” This is the third year the Division has issued warnings to beware of scams or deceptive solicitations from the Alaska Council for Corporations. - More...
Thursday PM - November 10, 2016

Columns - Commentary

JOHN L. MICEK: In Victory, A Side of Trump I Didn't Expect - The campaign is done. The votes are counted. And America is waking up from one of the strangest, angriest and most divisive presidential campaigns in recent memory.

So I'll be the first to say it: Congratulations, President-elect Trump. For the good of the nation, I hope you succeed.

We don't agree on much. Okay, we don't agree on anything at all. But that's politics. It's a competition of ideas. And on Tuesday night, a majority of Americans decided they liked yours better.

The blue-collar billionaire shtick worked -- even with the harsh rhetoric about undocumented immigrants and Muslims and your playboy past and the unacceptable treatment of women that you blithely dismissed as "locker room talk."

In victory early Wednesday morning, you were something I didn't expect: gracious and magnanimous. It was a stark contrast to your tone on the stump, which was hectoring and confrontational.

So when you said that it's "time for us to come together as one, united people," I'm going to take you at your word. - More...
Thursday PM - November 10, 2016

JOSEPH COTTO: Trump Win a Crushing Defeat of Globalism - President-elect Donald Trump's story is the American Dream, and that is why he scored a victory which will send ripple effects through the decades -- if not centuries -- to come.

If you stayed up until roughly 3:00 AM on Wednesday morning, your losing several hours' shut-eye was well worth the effort. His victory speech, in each of its improbable moments, was perhaps the greatest example in our nation's political history of grabbing victory from the jaws of defeat.

Quite simply put, there was nothing else like it, and I doubt there will be within the next hundred-or-so years.

Other writers surely have another take on the epic saga which was his campaign, but for me the conclusion is obvious. Trump overcame seemingly insurmountable odds to win the Republican primary and charged full speed into a general election that the smart set deemed him destined to lose.

His ordeal echoes another undertaking -- one in which an ambitious young man from New York City's outermost borough defied his father's expert advice and charted course for Manhattan. The ultra-competitive, highly-expensive, perennially-status-conscious island traditionally thumbed its nose at anyone from the Big Apple's less glamorous locales. - More...
Thursday PM - November 10, 2016