Comments by "Sar Jim" (@sarjim4381) on "Johnston Atoll, Island of the Cold War" video.

  1. I don't know if it's already been covered, but the whole history of LORAN in the Pacific deserves to be remembered. The Coast Guard took over operation of the 72 widely dispersed and lonely atolls in the Pacific from the Aleutians into Canada, down the West Coast into Mexico, and then across the Pacific to Japan, South Korea, and over to Australia. The stations were difficult to keep in phase with the early tube type receivers and transmitters, and the station equipment needed constant testing, maintenance, and repair. Some stations were only visited by a resupply ship once a month, or even once every two months. The Coast Guardsmen had to learn not only the LORAN radio equipment, but normal radio communications gear, the generators that supplied power, and desalinization equipment on some islands. They had to become experts with just about everything a base required, as well as learning enough medical skills to care for each other in case of sickness or accident until they could evacuated. Almost as important was having one guy that was a good cook with the monotonous diet of canned and dried foods. My uncle served at a couple bases as a replacement when waiting for the rest of a new crew to be delivered, and he said it was great duty for a guy who just didn't like a lot of people around, fishermen and divers, or for someone escaping from a wife he didn't want to be around. :-)
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