Unalaska had an orphanage, the Jesse Lee Home, but when it became full, Dodge requisitioned a vacant house and named it the Unalga Orphan Home. When that also became full, Dodge started housing children in the town jail. Among them was Benny Benson, who later designed the Alaskan flag. Peter “Big Pete” Bugaras, the Unalga’s master-at- arms–normally responsible for enforcing ship discipline and handling prisoners–decided he would start caring for the orphans. Bugaras had a reputation as “the strongest man in the Coast Guard,” and was described as “Greek by birth, a born fighter of men, and protector of all things helpless and small.” Burly and big-hearted, Bugaras took full responsibility for running the Unalga Orphan Home. He had his team fashion clothes for the children by crudely tracing outlines of their bodies on bolts of cloth, and cutting them out. Several recovered women in the village were appalled to see Bugaras enthusiastically scrubbing children clean with the same technique he used on dogs, but by all accounts, the little ones loved him. Outside help finally arrived June 3, when the Coast Guard Cutter Bear moored. Under the combined efforts of the two crews, many of the surviving victims began to recover and the pandemic subsided. The town’s final death occurred June 13. The sailors’ care had been somewhat rough-hewn, but it was ultimately effective. The mortality rate in Unalaska was around 12%, compared to other areas in Alaska that experienced up to 90% mortality rate. The early 20th century Coast Guardsmen of the Unalga were far from saints, but for years, the inhabitants of Unalaska remembered them as saviors. Community leaders like Russian Orthodox priest Dimitri Hotovitzky and Aleut Chief Alexei Yatchmeneff expressed their gratitude in a letter to Captain Dodge in July 1919: “We feel had it not been for the prompt and efficient work of the Unalga, when everyone willingly and readily exposed himself to succor the sick, Unalaska’s population might have been reduced to a very small number, if not entirely wiped out.” In the words of Unalga officer Eugene Coffin: “Navy ships and nurses were sent to Unalaska after we yelled for them.” With the arrival of Navy vessels USS Vicksburg and USS Marblehead arrival on 12 and 16 June, respectively, Dodge was able to resupply the Unalga and set course for Bristol Bay. With its departure on 17 June, the Unalga’s relief of Unalaska officially concluded. While the Unalga’s performance at Unalaska drew universal acclaim, the cutter and Marblehead were criticized for arriving in the Bristol Bay region too late to make a difference. As the disease had mostly run its course, the Unalga’s crew worked with the Marblehead and onboard Navy personnel to provide medical care and aftermath cleanup in the community. When the pandemic finally released the territory from its grip, as many as 3,000 Alaskans had died, most of them natives, with irreparable loss to the indigenous community and its culture. The crew of the Cutter Unalga made history as part of the lore of Alaska and the long blue line.. ABOVE: Unalga’s commanding officer, Capt. Frederick Dodge, commandeered a building and renamed it “USS Unalga Orphan Home.” (Photo courtesy of NOAA) LEFT: Unalga’s officers pitched in to help out the residents of Unalaska, including: (standing:) Lt.j.g. Willie B. Huebner, Capt. Eugene Coffin, Capt. Warner Keith Thompson, Capt. Theodore Graham Lewton. Lt. E. W. Scott, and Lt.j.g. (Dr.) F. H. Johnson, (and seated:) Lt. Carl E. Anderson, Senior Capt. Frederick Gilbert Dodge, Lt. Gordon Whiting MacLane. Issue 2 • 2021 . RESERVIST 49
