Alaska Star - Building The Site Summit Star 12/03/09

Richard Stonebraker was a Specialist 4 in the Battery B, 4th Missile Battalion, 43rd Artillery in November 1960 when his commander, Donald Jahns, tasked him and three others to build a star on the side of Mount Gordon Lyon, the site of the Army Air Defense Command Nike missile site.

"I thought it was rather strange because our base was supposed to be a secret base, and here we are, we're putting up a star that points right to it," said Stonebraker, who now lives in Loveland, Colo.

A 15-foot-wide star was first built on top of a Site Summit gatehouse in 1958. Two years later, Stonebraker and his comrades built a star 117 feet wide using 250 light bulbs. The current star was reconstructed in 1989 and is 300 feet wide.

"Stoney," as Stonebraker was known, remembers the time fondly.

"I couldn't believe it," he said when he saw the star on the mountainside during a visit to Site Summit last summer. "The site is all but gone, but the star is still there. ... I'm very proud."

Below, Stonebraker shares his memories of building the star.

-- Nina Peacock

For the Star

Please bear with me in that this activity occurred about 50 years ago. As memory will fade over time, I will do my best to recall how that project was undertaken:

It was a bright sunny day in November 1960, and it was unusually warm for that time of year. The battery first sergeant (1st Sgt. Hammons) called for men who were not on duty that morning to assemble in the day room. When six of us had assembled, the First Sergeant announced that he had a special project the Battery Commander, Capt. Donald Jahns, wanted undertaken. Of the six of us, four were selected. The first sergeant then announced that the commander had ordered a star built on the side of the mountain, just below the launcher area, to wish Fort Richardson and Anchorage a Merry Christmas. We immediately got our field jackets and headed out.

When we arrived in the truck at the launcher area, we proceeded down the hill to pick a spot to lay out the star. I remember thinking to myself, "How will anybody see this from Fort Richardson or from Anchorage?" Considering the snows and the high winds that frequently attacked the mountain, I didn't see how this project could last for very long. I told myself, "But this is what the commander wanted," and this is what we would do.

We unloaded fence posts and hammers from the truck and walked over the side of the hill to the spot we picked. Two men grabbed fence posts while the other two grabbed the hammers, and we started to site the position of each post. As we progressed, we found it becoming increasingly warm and shed our field jackets. We (drove) fence posts into the ground and frequently checked to see if they were positioned properly. Before we knew it, lunch time had come and we were contemplating going back � to eat, but decided that it would take us a lot longer to build a star if we took the time to break and leave the area. So we continued with our project.

Once the posts had been placed and driven deep into the ground, it came time to string electric cable we had brought with us. There were light sockets built into the cable every couple of feet, and sometimes we had to adjust them so that they would not crash into the post during a high wind. As one of the other men and I stretched out the cable, the other two men attached it to the posts. Once that was complete, we made sure there was enough electrical extension to reach through the fence that surrounded the launcher area. Having completed that, we each took several light bulbs and started placing them in each of the sockets.

When we completed the project, it was about 4:30 and time to head back up to IFC (Integrated Fire Control) building at the top of the hill. Once there, we cleaned up and got ready for supper.

It was a great day outdoors and a chance to get away from the barracks. The next day we heard that the launcher crew had managed to pin an electrical line down to the plug sticking through the fence. We never thought any more about it until about Christmas time when the star was finally lit for the first time.

Imagine my surprise that when 50 years later I find that the star is still there. It's been replaced at least once, but is still being lit every year.

I am truly thankful that it is still there and still wish the people of Fort Richardson and Anchorage a very Merry Christmas each time it is lit. I find as time goes by, that I still love the old site and still love Alaska.