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Totem pole honors Alaska veterans: Klawock elder Aaron Isaacs

Alaska National Guard

Aug. 28, 2018 | 1:49

Klawock elder Aaron Isaacs, former Alaska Army National Guardsman and U.S. Army 82nd Airborne paratrooper and current member of the Alaska State Defense Force, came up with the idea of crafting a totem pole that would honor Alaska’s veterans. Isaacs worked with local carver John Rowan, U.S. Marine Corps veteran, to design the totem pole that displays service branches and Prisoners of War-Missing In Action insignias, a 1960s-era U.S. Army Soldier, ancient warrior holding a double-headed dagger, an eagle and raven at the top, and a set of identification tags that veterans can pin unit crests and insignia to in the bottom of the totem pole. The Veterans Totem Pole was raised during a ceremony at Veteran Totem Park in the city of Klawock on Prince of Wales Island, Aug. 18, 2018.