Frank Duffy of the U.S. Coast Guard

By: Tobin Bennison

Article Category: 20 Questions

Since December 2008, our good friend Frank Duffy — or Petty Officer Duffy, an E-6 Electrician’s Mate in the U.S. Coast Guard — has been stationed on the remote, treeless island of Attu, the last link on the Aleutian chain of islands and the westernmost point of Alaska.

Originally from Cocoa Beach, Frank joined the Coast Guard at 23, and his first unit was stationed with the Coast Guard Cutter Alex Haley from 2001-2004 in Kodiak, AK. From 2004-2005, Frank served with an Aid to Navigation Team in Honolulu, HI, afterwards serving in Ft. Pierce at the Coast Guard Station there.

Now on Attu, Frank and 19 other Coast Guard personnel (along with two dogs) oversee the operation of a Loran Station, which transmits signals that aid in navigation. The Loran system itself is fairly outdated, as almost everyone now uses GPS, and the station, the island’s lone structure, is due for permanent closure sometime in 2010. But Loran signals still serve as part of a vital backup system, and Attu itself, though a harsh outpost, is also a rich treasure trove of forgotten history.

During the later years of World War II, Attu saw occupation by the Japanese, and American soldiers were sent to reclaim the island, which they ultimately did after a series of protracted battles. After the War, over 20,000 American military personnel remained stationed there until the 1950s. When he’s not busy keeping the station’s electrical system up to snuff, Frank, an avid fisherman and hunter, spends his time exploring the island with legs that are now just as white as those of the black-socked snowbirds he used to mock as a kid.

Frank is due back in three weeks, just in time to spend Christmas with his wife Eva and their three children. As a kind of early Christmas gift for the Duffy clan, we thought we’d touch base with Frank via email and make him this month’s “Twenty Question” interviewee.

What first made you want to join the Coast Guard?
I grew up with the Banana River in my back yard and I love the water. I just wanted a job where I could always be near or on the water, plus I get to serve the Country. I’ve been in for 8-1/2 years.

Did you have a choice about getting stationed on Attu? How did your being sent there come about?
Yes, I did have a choice. I chose Attu because you get paid a little bit extra for being out here, and when you leave you have a good chance of getting to go where you want to get stationed next. Soon I’ll be getting stationed at Station Ft. Pierce for four more years where I’ll be an electrician working on boats and all the other electrical issues there. I was stationed there from 2005-2008, so I have some good friends who work at the Station and some good fishing buddies in town

How do you get to and from Attu?
It’s a long journey. You fly to Anchorage, then to Kodiak. You then have to take a Coast Guard C-130 plane to Attu, which is another 1,000 miles from Kodiak. We get a C-130 flight to bring us food and supplies once every two weeks. It’s the only flight to and from the island.

Tell us about the Japanese occupation of Attu during World War II.
The Japanese took Attu in 1942 with little resistance because there was only a small village of native Aleuts on the island whom they took captive and sent as prisoners to Japan. Given Attu’s strategic location, the Japanese hoped it would be a stepping stone to taking over America. They also new that taking over a piece of American soil would help demoralize the American people. On May 11, 1943, the Americans landed on the island and were hoping to take the island back over in five days. The battle ended up taking 20 days and resulting in a death toll of 549 Americans and nearly 3,000 Japanese. The Americans left a large military presence on the island until the 1950s.

We understand that the island is littered with reminders of the occupation and ensuing battle. What kinds of things have you found?
There are lots of bombs, mortars, bullets, and grenades left behind. Most of the buildings from the ’40s and ’50s have been destroyed due to the wind and weather. The coolest thing I’ve found was a dog tag on the beach. The name on it is “Lloyd Wamlacf.” I’ve tried to find him with no luck. My goal is to return it to him if he’s still alive or to send it to someone in his family. I also found a Japanese glass ball washed up on the beach; they used to use them for floats on there nets. You get a lot of stuff from Japan, Korea, and China wash up on the beach. I also find lots of Coke and beer bottles from the ’40s and ’50s. There are a bunch of rusted vehicles on the beach, too. The Americans ran them into the ocean before leaving the island to prevent anyone from using them if Attu was ever retaken. It was cheaper than shipping them back to the States. My favorite place to hike is called Fish Hook Ridge, the site of a major battle that has been left untouched since the fight. An American soldier named Joe Martinez got the Medal of Honor there. He died trying to take the ridge. You never know what you’re going to find there. You can see bullets behind the rocks where soldiers from both sides hid and fought. I’ve also seen some human remains on the ridge. The Japanese government is in the process of removing the bodies, cremating them, and sending them back to Japan.

Your isolated situation there reminds us of the John Carpenter version of ”The Thing,” in which an Antarctic research station is infiltrated by an extraterrestrial parasite that can mimic the human form. Do you have any spooky stories for us? Has the power gone out yet?
I hear that a lot. The power has never gone out; we keep our generators in excellent condition. The only thing I would say that gives me the chills is walking out on the battlefields and standing where hundreds of people fought and died. Especially when I ran across human remains.

Describe a typical day at the station.
We work Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. We get up at about 7 a.m., eat breakfast and start the workday. Our main purpose here is to transmit the Loran signal 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. I have to work on the generators, vehicles, and all the other electrical equipment on the island. During the winter, we spend a large amount of time on snow removal of the station and our runway.

What are the seasons like?
The summer is awesome. The hills turn green with grass and there are flowers all over the place. It’s pretty foggy in the summer, but you get some absolutely perfect days, too. Plus, in the summer you can have up to 20 hours of light a day. I can remember fishing at midnight and thinking it was about 6 p.m. In December it gets light out around 11 a.m. and dark at 5 p.m. The summer here is short, though. Things turn green in June and start to turn brown in late August. The temperature is usually down in the 50s most of the summer, but you will get nice days in the 60s and low 70s. You get mixed snow and rain from October to December, and you can expect lots of snow from January to March. I lived in Kodiak for three years before this and the weather is bad there, but Attu is much worse. The craziest thing is the wind. It gets extremely windy in the fall, spring, and winter. We’ve had winds over 100 mph several times. The conditions can be very similar to that of a hurricane, but you can’t see anything because of all the snow. This week’s forecast: hurricane force winds and 43-foot seas. It gets ridiculously bad here.

What do you guys do for fun?
We play pool, darts, watch movies, go to the gym, snowboard in the winter, and fish for salmon, trout, and halibut in the summer. The only things to hunt are ducks and geese, which are plentiful since there are no predators. We can play volleyball or basketball in our warehouse, but it’s not heated, which makes the games interesting. The waves here are bigger than any I saw when I was stationed in Hawaii. The water is so cold and there is so much kelp that no one surfs here. We have seven television stations here, so we can keep up with whatever is on CNN. We also have Internet access about 60% of the time, though it’s very slow. It does seem like every time I talk to someone back home, I hear some news I had no idea about.

Does everyone get along?
Everyone gets along surprisingly well. We do argue and talk trash, but it’s all in good fun and never gets serious. You get to know everyone’s personalities well since you have to live together in the same building for a year.

Who does the cooking? What kind of food do you typically eat?
There are two Coast Guard cooks on the island who cook three meals a day Monday through Friday, and two meals on Saturday and Sunday. The cooks do a great job and the food is great — the best I’ve had in the Coast Guard. Good food keeps people happy and gives us something to look forward to every day. The only things we sometimes lack are fresh fruits and veggies. We can always dig something out of the refrigerator if we get hungry; it’s always open. The cooks put out a good spread for all the holidays out here. It’s hard enough not being home with your family and friends, so it’s a little more laid-back out here than it was at other units I’ve been to in the Coast Guard.

You’re something of a legend in local fishing circles back home. Give us a good fishing story from your time there.
My best fishing story is one of a 380-lb. halibut we caught from our station recreational boat. We had just caught and released a couple of 150-lb. halibut that day and were getting ready to leave when it hit my rod. I had already fought one, so I let my buddy Giovanni Beltran fight it. We were anchored and had to tie a buoy to our anchor and ditch it so we could chase the fish; we got spooled by a fish a week earlier. After about an hour-long fight, we got it to the surface and realized there was no way we could lift it into the boat. We towed it to the beach in our 18-ft. Boston Whaler and used a forklift to pick it up. The world record halibut is 459 lbs.; to catch a 380-lb. halibut is a once-in-a-lifetime catch. There is no commercial fishing pressure on the halibut here, so the fish get large and are still plentiful.

What do you miss most?
I miss my family the most. My wife Eva and I have three children, Thomas (6), Eva (4), and Luke (2). It’s been hard; my wife was diagnosed with Wegener’s disease in January of 2008. She was in good health when I left for Attu last December and had just finished going through chemotherapy. Unfortunately, her disease flared back up this past June while I was in Attu, and it required another round of chemotherapy. She only needs one more dose of chemo next week and she’ll be done with her second round of treatment. She’s doing great now and we’re hoping her disease is gone for good. I don’t know how she can take care of three kids, go through chemotherapy, and work part-time — she is truly amazing. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do, not being able to be at her side while she was sick. If you asked the single guys here what they missed the most, they would tell you women in general. It is strange, to say the least, going months at a time without seeing a female. Besides seeing the wife and kids, I’m definitely looking forward to going fishing in the “No Motor Zone” back home. I have dreams at night here about that place. I’ve been going there since I was a kid, and I plan to fish there until I’m too old and weak to hold a paddle.

We’ve heard that you also really miss some local restaurants. Where will you go first when you return?
I’ve been craving some sushi since I got here. I would pay $100 for some yellowfin tuna rolls from Grills right now.

What’s the most important personality one should have for enduring this kind of environment?
The most important quality to have is a positive attitude. If you only look at all the negative things, you’re going to have a bad tour here. You have to make the best this situation and realize that a year goes by pretty quickly — at least it has for me.

Name a material item you couldn’t live without there.
Even though it’s slow and doesn’t work very often, a computer with an Internet connection is the most useful item here. We have personal Internet we each pay $30 a month for, which isn’t bad considering how isolated it is.

Do you guys get many care packages? What’s the thing you request the most?
Yes, I have my wife send me stuff all the time like pictures and drawings the kids have done. Most material items I can order over the Internet, but it takes forever to reach here since we only get a flight every two weeks and not all vendors ship to Alaska. We did have someone send iPods to everyone out here. That was one of the nicest acts of kindness I’ve ever experienced. The whole crew was pretty touched by that.
What do you think you’ll miss about Attu?
I’ll miss the friends I’ve met here. They become almost like family after you’ve been stuck in the same building for a year with them. I’ll also miss the outstanding halibut fishing and all of the history that is here on Attu. Not many people get a chance to see this place; you can’t just get a plane ticket and come out here. There aren’t any commercial flights to Attu.

Would you ever want to repeat the Attu experience?
I don’t think I would want to repeat this experience. It’s too long to be away from your children. There some other units that are pretty isolated out there, but I think this is truly about as isolated as you can get. When I was stationed in Hawaii, I got to work on navigational aids in some remote spots on islands like Molokai, Lanai, and Kauai. I loved it. I could do that again and not even get paid.