Donald Bland was born in Dillon, KS on October 26, 1929. He served in World War II in the Navy, stationed in Alaska. In 1935, Brigadier General William Mitchell urged Congress to adopt a strong northern air defense, declaring, “I believe in the future he who holds Alaska will hold the world.” In 1939 Congress established a Panama-Hawaii-Alaska defense triangle to protect America’s vulnerable western coast. Alaska, the largest and least fortified of the three, soon saw the construction of naval bases at Sitka, Dutch Harbor, and Kodiak. Courtesy of nps.gov.articles