The sea lanes surrounding Alaska are the gateway to the Arctic Ocean, and of vital importance to the United States during the Cold War. In this film, the men of the Coast Guard cutter USCGC Klamath (WHEC-66) visit Alaskan waters, and perform various humanitarian missions among its Native American residents. Klamath also monitors the seas, servicing buoys and making certain the sea lanes are safe for transit. They also wave the flag near the shores of the United States' key adversary during the time the film was made: Soviet Russia. Klamath was an Owasco class high endurance cutter originally built for World War II service.
The United States Coast Guard has a long history of service to Alaska. In 1865, the U. S. Lighthouse Service’s tender Shubrick, then operating under the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service, became the service’s first unit to touch Russian Alaska’s coastline. The tender was the flagship supporting Western Union’s expedition to string a telegraph cable from North America to St. Petersburg, Russia.
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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
