Prior to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, there were only about 2,500 miles of roads in Alaska, and only one major highway, the Richardson, between Valdez and Fairbanks. Ties to the United States amounted to ship service from Pacific Northwest ports and a few Pan American Airways clipper flights. Alaska was, by all accounts, still very isolated from the rest of America. But it had not been caught totally unawares by Japan’s aggression.
