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U.S. Senate OKs
Bill for Alaska Territorial Guard Pensions
newsminer.com
July 24, 2009
If an amendment to the defense spending bill becomes law, 26 elderly members of the Alaska Territorial Guard could have military pensions restored by this fall.
They were assigned to guard Alaska from the Japanese during World War II, but their pensions were decreased in January after the military no longer recognized their service.
The restored benefits are part of the bill approved Thursday by the U.S. Senate. The federal action would count the Guard's service as part of active military duty and reinstate the payments.
The Army had authorized some temporary funds for the pensions. State lawmakers passed a bill earlier this year to fill the pay gap until Congress makes a permanent fix.
The Army decided this year to no longer count service in the guard in calculating the military's 20-year minimum for retirement pay, although it still applies to military benefits.
An estimated 300 members are still living from the original 6,600-member unit formed in 1942 to protect the territory from attack. The unit stepped in after the Alaska National Guard was called overseas.
The territorial guards - nicknamed Uncle Sam's Men and Eskimo Scouts - received no pay or benefits for the job. Many replaced their time hunting and fishing for their food with frequent drills and duties that included scouting patrols, construction of military airstrips and hundreds of miles of trail breaking.
The unit was disbanded with little fanfare in 1947, nearly two years after the war ended.
The state has long recognized the contribution of the territorial guard, but federal recognition was slow in coming.
Congress finally passed a law in 2000 qualifying time served in the guard as active federal service. The Army agreed in 2004 to grant official military discharge certificates to members or their survivors.
Those who qualified for military retirement benefits began receiving increased pay for service in the militia starting in June 2008.
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