This Website is dedicated to the men and their dependents who were stationed at the 7th USASA Field Station, Wildwood Station, Kenai, Alaska. The 7th USASA Field Station was started when the Field Station, 8607th AAU was moved from Fairbanks, Alaska to Wildwood Station. WO Wally Raabe and M/Sgt James R. Cook* were instrumental in getting the 7th USASA on line as an Army Security Agency unit. In 1953 the 7th USASA became an official ASA site. &During the following years the 7th became a vital player in the "Cold War". We saw the beginning of the Space race when Russia launched the "Sputnik" in October 1957 and we witnessed history on January 3, 1959, when President Eisenhower signed a proclamation granting Alaska Statehood. On July 4, 1959 the forty-ninth star was added to the United States Flag, representing Alaska. It was an exciting time to be in Alaska, however, the 7th USASA Field Station was in the last months of it's life. On August 15, 1959 the 7th USASA Field Station was closed but it did not die, it reopened on September 22, 1966 as the 7th Radio Research Field Station in Udorn, Thailand and there it remained until September 30, 1976. STRATCOM came to Wildwood after the ASA left and there may have been another military occupant before the Army gave it up in 1972.
Wildwood Station was turned over to the Kenai Native Association as part of the native land settlement in 1972. They operated it for nine years, where they had a store, a restaurant, a bar and rented the apartments. In 1983 the State of Alaska leased the 19 acres and 6 buildings with the option to buy at the end of three years. The plan was to retrofit and remodel Wildwood Station as a 196-bed medium custody male prison. It opened in 1983 and remains a prison, Wildwood Correctional Center to this day. (See the picture below)
"Wildwood Station was originally named "Seward Station", before the name was changed to "Wildwood Station". I think the reason for the change was the confusion on its location with Seward, Alaska." Stan Wilner, Wildwood Station, 1953-1955 "It was named Wildwood Station by our original group in 1953 when the base opened because many of our original group was from the Philadelphia, PA area and had spent our best pre-Army Summers in Wildwood, NJ. We all viewed Kenai as the complete opposite to the fun-filled Seashore Resort. We even got the first CO of the Station to agree with our choice". Larry Huttinger, Wildwood Station 11/1953 - 09/1955 How Wildwood Got It's Name
*Here are some interesting stories told to me by Smoki Cook Van Heyningen, M/Sgt James Cook's daughter.
Coming from Fairbanks was Wildwood Station's first Commanding Officer, Major Nolen. The Major, being a strong family man, would have the Fire Station flood an area between the theatre and the barracks each year for ice skating. Prior to that, before they got really security oriented, the kids were using the gravel pits inside the OPS field.
One of the things Smoki remembers well, when they first got to Wildwood, that there was no theater or PX. The PX was downstairs in the basement of the barracks and the theatre was in the day room, with free movies. They built the theatre around 1954. Also, there was no commissary. The groceries came from Anchorage. The women would make out a list and a couple of GI's would take a duece and a half to Anchorage and do the shopping. One time they got someone else's groceries and ended up eating rice for the entire month!
Wildwood Correctional Center
