(1909-1996) Sharpshooter-Eskimo Scout Served in Scout’s primary mission alongside men. Delivered U.S. mail by dog team
When Laura Beltz Wright died in Anchorage, Alaska in 1996 at age 87, Wright’s obituary described her as one whose “cheerful heart and home were always open,” and “an inspiration to all who knew her.”
Born in Candle, Alaska, Laura Beltz Wright was a member of the Eskimo Scouts, also known as the Tundra Army and the Alaska Territorial Guard (ATG). The units were created in 1942 during WWII out of the United States’ concern over enemy invasion of the territory of Alaska. They patrolled 5,000 miles of Aleutian coastline and 200,000 miles of tundra to defend Alaska and provide intelligence on any enemy operations. The Scouts also rescued downed US airmen.
Most women served as nurses at the field hospital in Kotzebue, but out of about 27 female members of the ATG, Laura Beltz Wright operated quite outside the traditional female role of her time. Her pastor and friend of the family stated that her life was “more unbelievable than a novel.”
The best sharpshooter in her company and the sister of Senator William Beltz, she hit the bull’s eye 49 out of 50 times during a training drill and served in the Scouts’ primary mission alongside the men.
Wright delivered U.S. mail by dog team, caught fish to feed her dogs, was a midwife, conducted funerals, and was also involved in other community activities. She was even chosen “Queen of Fairbanks” in a beauty contest.
Wright married John Allan Hagberg and the two operated a gold mine while raising their 6 children. They moved to Fairbanks so that the children could attend high school, and one of their sons would become an airline vice president.
Hagberg died in 1948, and in 1951, Laura married Dallas A. Wright. They moved to Anchorage and opened a downtown parka shop where Laura designed and patented Laura Wright Alaska Parkys.
Her designs won numerous awards, including Best Costume in a Miss Universe pageant. Some of her most notable clients include Elvis Presley, Willie Nelson, Ricky Nelson, Shirley Jones and Burl Ives.
When she died in Anchorage, Alaska in 1996 at age 87, Wright’s obituary described her as one whose “cheerful heart and home were always open,” and “an inspiration to all who knew her.”
Laura Wright Alaska Parkys is currently owned by her oldest granddaughter, Sheila Ezelle (BuyAlaska.com).
The Eskimo Scouts were organized in response to attacks on United States soil in Hawaii and the occupation of parts of Alaska by Japan during World War II. Also known as the Alaska Territorial Guard (ATG), a military reserve force component of the US Army, it was organized by U.S. Army Major Marvin “Muktuk” Marston, and operated until 1947.
Serving without pay, Marston’s recruits were mostly rural Alaskan Natives. Women were among the first volunteers for the newly formed Arctic armed force and were experts at surviving in harsh weather conditions.
Volunteers were recruited from 107 Alaska communities which included cooperation between the Aleut, Alutiiq, Athabaskans, Haida, Inupiaq, Tlingit, Tsimshian, Yupik, and also Euro-Americans.
Their service included safeguarding the Western Hemisphere’s only platinum source, while protecting the air route between the United States and Russia.
Minimum enrollment age, officially, was 16 but Scouts ranged from 80 years to (unofficially) as young as 12. Women and sometimes children trained with rifles, served food, assisted with transportation and operated radios.
The only members of the National Guard on continuous active duty mission, the Eskimo Scouts currently patrol ice floes in the Bering Straits, monitor movements on the tundra, and perform Arctic search and rescue efforts.
It was not until 1971 that women were officially allowed to join the Army National Guard. The first of its official Eskimo Scout women were trained at Camp Carroll at Fort Richardson, Alaska. By 1980, about 60 women were assigned to Eskimo Scout units throughout western Alaska.
But this proud tradition of service and extraordinary era in U.S. military history came to an end in 2000 when the Pentagon decided to retrain and reorganize the Eskimo Scouts as infantry units with the possibility for worldwide combat deployment and reassigned the remaining Eskimo women to noncombat units.
Although women have always been active in patrol missions, they did not receive pay, benefits or recognition for their work until the later decades.
A version of this article is included in 100+ Native American Women Who Changed the World, by KB Schaller, scheduled for publication in fall 2013.
Sources: Alaskool Home; LitSite Alaska; Wikipedia; usgwararchives.org, obituaries of Alaska’s Pioneers, Laura Beltz Wright, as extracted from End of the Trail; Cox, Melanie (contributor), Obituaries of Alaska’s Pioneers as extracted from End of the Trail, beginning April 5, 1997, Wright, Laura; Fold3 Person Page, Laura Belle Beltz Hagberg
KB Schaller, Cherokee/Seminole, is a journalist, novelist, historical researcher, guest blogger and conference speaker is author of Gray Rainbow Journey (winner, USA Book News-National Best Books Award); winner, Florida Publishers President’s Best Books Award; also author of the sequel, Journey by the Sackcloth Moon (both OakTara). Journey Through The Night’s Door, third in the series, is in final draft stage. Schaller lives in the Miami-Dade/Broward County area of South Florida.
